Many services fail. Failures are those encounters during which the user assesses the service as flawed (Maxham & Netemeyer, 2003; Palmer, Beggs, & Keown-McMullan, 2000), or improper (Maxham, 2001). An emergent service failure literature has determined that such failures play an important role in user perceptions and subsequent behaviours. The present study sought to discover the ways in which possible users responded to an ambiguous service failure. The purpose of the study was to twofold: (a) to understand the situational, emotional, and dispositional factors which influence users??? likelihood of complaining behaviours; (b) to develop connections between these factors and users??? preferences for service recovery. We were guided by several research questions including: RQ1: When the cause of the failure is ambiguous, to what/whom do users attribute blame? RQ2: How well do attribution of blame and perceived failure severity predict negative emotions? RQ3: What is the relative influence of each negative emotion in predicting the likelihood of each complaining behavior? RQ4: Does user disposition intervene in the relationship between emotion and complaining? RQ5: What is the role of appraisals and emotion in determining service recovery preferences? Borrowing from the service quality, consumer behaviour, health, and therapy literatures, we develop a conceptual framework for answering our questions. Consistent with recent research, we conceptualized that negative emotions following service failures were dependent on users??? appraisals of the situation. Specifically, we looked at the effects of failure severity and attribution of blame on anger, frustration, shame, guilt, regret, and dissatisfaction. We then conceptualized complaining behaviour as a coping mechanism for these negative emotions, and preferences for service recovery as manifestations of immediate desires users would have to address their emotions. To test our theory, an experiment with hypothetical scenarios and a survey instrument was developed. We manipulated two conditions (time lost and money lost) at different points in the survey while participants while self-selected into an attribution of blame condition (Self, provider, other). Undergraduate students at the University of Waterloo (n=288) served as the sample. The questionnaire assessed such variables as attitudes towards complaining, locus of control, tendency for avoidance, emotional response, complaining behaviours, and preferences for service recovery. Results from multivariate analyses confirmed that appraisals help predict negative emotions, and that negative emotions influence complaining behaviours. Results also demonstrated that appraisals and emotions do begin to explain variance in service recovery preferences. Contrary to the interactionist approach, results failed to support the notion that personal dispositions (such as attitudes and personality traits) moderate the relationship between situational factors and behaviour. Finally, conclusions for the study are made, and implications for future research and the design of service recovery strategies are discussed.

The aim of the current study was to develop and test a methodology that could be applied to the evaluation of the complaints processes of regulatory bodies of health professionals in Australia including mental health regulatory bodies such as the board that the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) are planning to set up to regulate the psychology profession. The methodology was applied to the evaluation of the complaints process at the Office of the Health Services Commissioner of Victoria (HSC). There were four main research questions. The first research question related to the extent to which the methodology was able to determine how well the HSC was performing in their role of resolving health complaints. The second research question explored the implications of the findings of the evaluation of the HSC complaints process for the management of health complaints in general. The third research question related to the strengths and limitations of the methodology when applied in a practical setting and the final research question related to further improvement of the methodology for future applications. Questionnaires and telephone interviews were used to examine the experiences of 133 providers and 150 complainants whose complaints had been reviewed and closed in one year. The methodology proved successful in assessing the performance of the complaints process at the HSC. The findings of the evaluation indicated that complainants and providers were generally satisfied with the process by which their complaints were managed. However, they were in general less satisfied with the outcome. In particular the evaluation highlighted the unintended negative consequences that complaints processes can have on the complainants and respondents. It was concluded that these maladaptive behavioural responses to complaints most probably have their origins in the negative emotional overlay attached to health complaints which has the potential to lead to unrealistic expectations of the process and outcomes on the part of complainants, and maladaptive post-complaint practices for health service providers. The findings highlight the importance of providing advocacy and support for the parties involved in health complaints as a means of minimising these maladaptive responses. Finally, it is acknowledged that these findings are specific to Australian health regulatory systems.

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Globalisation and stiff competition have changed the landscape of doing business. Decrease in customer loyalty and increase in customer expectations have challenged businesses to come up with unique methods of enhancing their quality of service. The same is true for airlines industry too. As a result, many airlines have transformed their marketing strategies, especially with regard to service quality, in order to compete efficiently in the global market. The marketing literature has introduced models of service quality, e.g.: SERVQUAL and AIRQUAL to help organisations measure and enhance customer experiences. SERVQUAL has been extensively researched and applied in many industries. Similarly, AIRQUAL, a model for the airline industry, has been developed but applied only in Cyprus. Moreover, the AIRQUAL scale lacks validity, as its development process is incomplete. This research, therefore, adapted 30-items of AIRQUAL and assessed and validated this revised scale. The validated scale was then applied to the airline industry of Saudi Arabia. Further, a comprehensive model is proposed, where the impact of the validated scale of service quality is tested with its impact on customer satisfaction, attitudinal loyalty, word of mouth, repurchase intentions and complaining behaviour. The assessment and validation process is divided into two main stages: first, qualitative; where four focus group interviews were undertaken that generated 46 items for the adapted scale. These items describe the perceptions of airline customers regarding service quality and were classified on the bases of the scheme proposed by Parasuraman et al. (1988). Second, a three-phase two sample, quantitative, research was performed to derive a validated 30-item scale comprising five dimensions: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Further, the improved scale was tested in a new market (Saudi market) in order to assess the service quality of Saudi Airlines. A total of 500 self-administered questionnaires were distributed among airline customers. The returned questionnaires underwent thorough screening and cleaning. The reliability of the scale was tested through Cronbach’s Alpha, followed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA), which emerged with five dimensions. The content, convergent and discriminant validities were established. Further scale confirmation was conducted on a sample of US airline passengers. Finally, the proposed model with nine hypotheses was tested, which resulted in statistically significant results for all the proposed hypotheses.

Service quality has always been a tacit assumption within the delivery of academic library services, but since the 1990s demands for accountability from different stakeholders, including the clients, made service quality a highly debated and researched focus in academic libraries all over the world. The scope of the study covers a wide-ranging analysis of discourses underpinning service quality and its accompanying performance indicators in academic libraries. Using the academic library of the University of South Africa as an illustrative case study, this study examines the possible impact of inventory control on the service quality of the academic library in three areas, namely access to information resources, retrieval of information resources and positive implications for sound financial management. The study's findings all point to a positive enhancement of service quality in regard to the three areas mentioned. / Information Science / M. Inf.

Service quality has always been a tacit assumption within the delivery of academic library services, but since the 1990s demands for accountability from different stakeholders, including the clients, made service quality a highly debated and researched focus in academic libraries all over the world. The scope of the study covers a wide-ranging analysis of discourses underpinning service quality and its accompanying performance indicators in academic libraries. Using the academic library of the University of South Africa as an illustrative case study, this study examines the possible impact of inventory control on the service quality of the academic library in three areas, namely access to information resources, retrieval of information resources and positive implications for sound financial management. The study's findings all point to a positive enhancement of service quality in regard to the three areas mentioned. / Information Science / M. Inf.