Service Quality Measurement: Issues and Perspectives

This book is very useful for it is not just 'descriptive' in its nature, but 'prescriptive', too. It is descriptive in the sense that it describes the process of developing or using a metric in a problem situation, and prescriptive as it clearly prescribes how a beginner can put the theory into practice. In this globalized economy, maintaining quality of products and services has been the thrust area of interest among academicians and practitioners. Today, there are quite a good number of books and research articles available. Nevertheless, service quality measurement has always posed problems, particularly in the context of service industries due to the difficulty in the measurement of the intangibles and implied needs of the customers. The research literature is filled with articles on how to quantify the services, and there are several streams of arguments on the choice of the most ideal approach. However, the research gap lies in the answer to the question: 'Do these measurement instruments concur in their measurement outcomes or do they give different results in the same situation?' This book primarily makes an attempt to answer this question through a case study approach. Even though, there are several instruments for the measurement of service quality, the two most widely used instruments are SERVQUAL and SERVPERF metrics. Comprehensively, this book explains the systematic procedure of using both, the instruments in a service sector, and further, the procedure for conducting a statistical analysis so that one will be able to apply the same in any service sector. It then takes the reader through a series of tests in order to compare the two metrics, and to prove statistically if there is the same outcome in a problem situation. The results are sure to surprise the reader, and trigger the "research bent of mind" to undertake a similar study of such metrics and gain mastery over performing an independent research with very minimal guidance from a professional gu

Lewlyn L.R. Rodrigues has 27 years' experience in teaching, research, and administration in several countries. He has successfully guided two students for their Ph.D., and is currently having ten Ph.D. students working under his supervision at Manipal University, India in diversified areas, such as knowledge management, innovation and technology management, manufacturing, service quality, and system dynamics. The author has published a book on system dynamics, entitled 'theory and case studies', about 120 papers in journals and conferences, and won several best paper awards. Moreover, he is a reviewer of several journals, including the 'Journal of Knowledge Management Practice', the 'South African Journal of Management Research', the 'European Modelling' and the 'Simulation Symposium'. The author holds a B.E. in mechanical engineering, an MBA in human resource and quality, an M.Tech. in production engineering, and a Ph.D. in system dynamics. Rodrigues is the professor and head of the Department of Humanities & Social Sciences at the Manipal Institute of Technology, and may be contacted at l.rodrigues@manipal.edu. Girish K Nair is a lecturer in the area of finance and economics in international hospitality and tourism and business management at the Stenden University, Qatar. He is pursuing his Ph.D. in economics, and further, he is a researcher in diversified fields, such as human resource management, international finance, economics, and marketing and strategic planning. Nair can be contacted at gknair7474@yahoo.com. Anisa Hussain has an MBA in human resource and systems, and an M.Phil. in management. She is currently pursuing her PhD in organizational citizenship behaviour, and is an assistant professor at the Jamal Institute of Management, Trichy, in India. The author has about 60 papers published in conferences, and 34 publications in journals. She is a very versatile researcher who has expertise in knowledge management, technology management, innovation management, system dynamics modelling and simulation with an in-depth knowledge in statistical analysis. Anisa may be contacted at anisa.akh@gmail.com. Dr U Syed Aktharsha holds a PhD in knowledge management, and is teaching information systems at the Jamal Institute of Management. He is an active researcher on strategic issues of information systems, and has various works published in most reputed journals in India and abroad. He is responsible for around 145 papers in conferences and journals, and is among the most sought after guide for research and invited lectures in various high profile management institutes in the country. His research interests include knowledge management, ERP implementation and firm performance, service marketing and information system strategies. He may be contacted at syedjmcjim@gmail.com.