Modeling contextually elicited service quality expectations. Issue 2 (4th March 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Strombeck, Stephen; Shu, Shih-Tung
• Is Part Of: Managing service quality. Volume 24:Issue 2(2014)
• Page Start: 160
• Page End: 183
• Publication Date: 2014-03-04
• Subjects: Script theory -- Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) -- Service drama -- Service quality expectations; Customer services -- Management -- Periodicals; Customer services -- Quality control -- Periodicals; Service industries -- Management -- Periodicals; Service industries -- Quality control -- Periodicals; 338.40685
• DOI: 10.1108/MSQ-06-2013-0108
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0960-4529

Abstract

Abstract : Purpose: – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the critical role that context plays in measuring service quality. Design/methodology/approach: – This study replicated an experiment methodology to show that customers perceive an airline service drama as a sequence of scenes. A series of focus groups were then conducted to identify the context-specific set of service quality expectations that customers hold for each of these scenes. Finally, Formal Concept Analysis (FCA), a mathematical modeling technique, was applied to these findings to graphically illustrate how customer expectations for airline service quality vary by service scene. Findings: – Results from this study indicate that static measures of service quality are apparently inadequate in explaining customer expectations during more enduring service encounters. The FCA hierarchical model developed in this study revealed profound differences in customer service expectations across the six airline service scenes. These results suggest that more advanced methods for measuring service quality are necessary for service encounters that are longer in duration. Research limitations/implications: – This research brings into question a broad spectrum of research which fails to recognize that customers use different reference points in time to evaluate service quality. Practical implications: – Researchers and practitioners need accurate and reliable measures of service quality but the findings suggests that measurement specificity and diagnostic capability should not be sacrificed in the pursuit of more robust instruments. Originality/value: – This is the first study to empirically demonstrate that customers perceive the airline service encounter as a sequence of scenes. It is also the first study to mathematically model service quality dimensions using FCA.