Purpose - The purpose of this study is to find out to what extent the business administration students of Kristianstad University feel satisfaction in regard to service quality. Also, we want to find out if the impact of positive news about the university affects the students’ level of satisfaction. Approach/methodology - In order to be able to answer these questions, a quantitative research was conducted. Additionally, we used a 7-point Likert scale to measure the students’ opinions. Findings - The study found that the students were satisfied with the university, despite a negative service quality-gap. Furthermore, service quality only affected customer satisfaction to a small degree. Also, we found a positive relation between the impact of positive news and the level of satisfaction amongst the students. Research limitations/implications - The University may look at this paper’s findings and use them to realize its strengths and weaknesses. Future research may be conducted to find out if other factors have greater impact on customer satisfaction than service quality does. Originality – This study is unique in the sense that it investigates the service quality-gap in a higher education context. Also, the study brings new knowledge of the impact of positive news on customer satisfaction. Social implications - Hopefully, the impact of this study will increase the public’s insight of Kristianstad University. A study similar to this one is useful to any organization in the world, in order to establish the level of satisfaction from time to time.

No description available.

Customer satisfaction is a critical component of a business's competitive strategy. Autolab Csi, a division of the South African Sugar Association, is operating in a deregulated market environment and thus has to ensure that customers are always satisfied with the quality of service received. Poor service can threaten the viability of a business and Autolab Csi need to establish suitable and effective service delivery mechanisms and minimise the threat of competitors entering the sugar industry laboratory systems services market. Customer satisfaction is dependent on the quality of service that a service provider has to offer its customers. Autolab Csi have embarked on a programme to adopt best practice Information Technology (IT) service process as described in the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) model as a means to improve customer satisfaction. The ITIL model consists of twelve service processes that are grouped into four categories namely, Service Delivery, Service Support, Service Desk and Security Management. ITIL is not recognised by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) as an international standard for IT service delivery. The British Standards Institute standard BS 15000 had been released to address the need for a recognised standard and is shortly due to be adopted by the ISO. The study hypothesises there is adoption of all twelve service processes by Autolab Csi but not all processes have been completely and/or successfully implemented. Compliance of the ITIL Service Delivery process to the BS15000 standard is reviewed concomitantly with the ITIL adoption assessment. As part of the process of implementation of the ITIL framework, Autolab Csi had faced challenges to the process yet had also benefited. The study investigates these benefits and challenges from the perspective of understanding how success can be achieved with the implementation of ITIL processes. The study shows that Autolab Csi has made measurable progress in the implementation of all twelve ITIL service processes. The service process areas of Security Management, Service Desk and some processes of Service Delivery show the highest levels of ITIL compliance. Service Support shows the lowest levels of ITIL compliance in particular, the Change and Release Management processes. The presented data allows for the development of targeted strategies to continuously improve Autolab Csi's service delivery mechanisms. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College, 2004.

I den konkurrensutsatta bankmarknaden har det blivit viktigare att utveckla kundrelationerna då det är ett bra sätt att differentiera sig från varandra. Avsikten med studien är att förklara och analysera vilken inverkan demografiska faktorer har på lojalitet. I teorin har det framförts en presentation på relationsmarknadsföring och dennes betydelse i dagens samhälle. Efteråt har vi utifrån tidigare forskning beskrivit oberoende variabler som kundnöjdhet, förtroende, kommunikation, engagemang, kompetens och beroende variabeln kundlojalitet. Därefter har en presentation av demografiska faktorerna kön, ålder, inkomst och kultur framförts. Dessa faktorer har varit basen för utveckling av vår undersökningsmodell. Utifrån teorin har vi uppmärksammat att tidigare forskare har kommit fram till att kommunikation är en viktig variabel för både förtroendet och lojaliteten. Även nöjdheten och engagemang har i deras undersökningar ett signifikant samband med lojaliteten. Studien har använt sig av deduktiv ansats och utifrån en positivistisk synvinkel. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av en kvantitativ undersökning genom enkätfrågor. Dessa frågor har baserats på tidigare forskning och tilldelats 130 studenter på Malmö högskola vid två olika tillfällen. Analysen har framförts genom statistiska tester i SPSS. Inledningsvis analyserades vilken tillförlitlighet studien har och det visade sig att alla faktorer förutom kompetensen hade hög reliabilitet. Därefter kan vi genom korrelationstestet se att förtroende, nöjdhet, engagemang, kommunikation har en positiv korrelation till kundlojalitet. Studiens sista test var regressionsanalys som prövade vilka faktorer som har ett signifikant samband med kundlojaliteten. Det visade sig att alla faktorer förutom kompetens hade ett signifikant samband med kundlojalitet. Faktorerna slogs samman till en gemensam variabel; kundlojalitet. Detta gjordes i syfte att jämföra hur demografiska faktorer påverkar kundlojaliteten hos studenter. Det resultera i att endast kön var den faktor som hade en signifikant skillnad vilket innebär att den påverkar kundlojalitet. Kultur, ålder och inkomst hade ingen signifikant skillnad. Vi kunde även utläsa att skillnaderna i medelvärde var för små mellan de olika grupperna mot variabeln kundlojalitet / In the highly competitive banking market, it has become more important to develop customer relationships where it is a good way to differentiate themselves from each other. The purpose of the study is to explain and analyze the impact demographic factors have on loyalty. In theory there has been a presentation on relationship marketing and its importance in today's society. Afterwards we have based on previous research described independent variables as customer satisfaction, trust, communication, commitment, competence and dependent variable customer loyalty. Since then, a presentation of demographic factors gender, age, income, and culture have been made. These factors have been the basis for the development of our research model. In theory, we have drawn attention to the fact that previous researchers have come to the conclusion that communication is an important variable for both trust and loyalty. Also satisfaction and commitment in their studies have a significant relationship with the loyalty. The study has used the deductive approach and based on a positive point of view. The study has been carried out with the help of a quantitative study by survey. These questions have been based on previous research and assigned to 130 students at the Malmo University at two different times. The analysis has been made by means of statistical tests in SPSS. Initially the study has analyzed the reliability and it appeared that all of the factors except competence had high reliability. Then we can see that by correlation test trust, satisfaction, commitment, communication has a positive correlation to customer loyalty. The last test was regression analysis which tested the factors which have a significant relationship with customer loyalty. It was found that all the factors except competence had a significant relationship with customer loyalty. Factors were combined into a single variable; customer loyalty. This was done in order to compare how demographic factors affect customer loyalty among students. The result was that gender was the only factor that had a significant difference which means that it affects customer loyalty. Culture, age and income had no significant difference. because difference in average was too low to detect an impact on customer loyalty. We could also show that the differences in the mean were small between the different groups with the variable customer loyalty.

Customer retention, loyalty and satisfaction are extremely important elements in any company’s strategy, especially in the highly competitive South African banking industry. Understanding the various factors that could influence these constructs is therefore critical to organizational success. Several studies showed the impact of these measures on profitability and shareholder value, but there has been little effort to access the factors that might lead to higher levels of retention, loyalty and satisfaction, especially in the banking industry. This paper examines the antecedents of customer retention, satisfaction and loyalty. These possible factors include: perceived value, perceived corporate image, perceived competitive advantage, perceived switching barriers, communication, knowledgeable employees, empowerment, personalisation, ethical behaviour, fees, relationship marketing, service quality (core and relational) as well as enabling service features. The results indicated that customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, switching barriers and communication had a significant impact on customer retention; customer loyalty, perceived value, perceived corporate image, retention, empowerment and relationship marketing had a significant impact on customer satisfaction; and customer satisfaction, switching barriers, perceived value, customer retention, fees, competitive advantage and relationship marketing had a significant impact on customer loyalty. It is evident that there is a close relation between satisfaction, retention and loyalty as all three influence each other in some way or another. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Customer retention, loyalty and satisfaction are extremely important elements in any company’s strategy, especially in the highly competitive South African banking industry. Understanding the various factors that could influence these constructs is therefore critical to organizational success. Several studies showed the impact of these measures on profitability and shareholder value, but there has been little effort to access the factors that might lead to higher levels of retention, loyalty and satisfaction, especially in the banking industry. This paper examines the antecedents of customer retention, satisfaction and loyalty. These possible factors include: perceived value, perceived corporate image, perceived competitive advantage, perceived switching barriers, communication, knowledgeable employees, empowerment, personalisation, ethical behaviour, fees, relationship marketing, service quality (core and relational) as well as enabling service features. The results indicated that customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, switching barriers and communication had a significant impact on customer retention; customer loyalty, perceived value, perceived corporate image, retention, empowerment and relationship marketing had a significant impact on customer satisfaction; and customer satisfaction, switching barriers, perceived value, customer retention, fees, competitive advantage and relationship marketing had a significant impact on customer loyalty. It is evident that there is a close relation between satisfaction, retention and loyalty as all three influence each other in some way or another. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The face of the workplace has changed dramatically over the past decade and most organisations have to survive in a fiercely competitive global economy. The impact of the competitive changes, especially in the service environment has become critical and quality service is considered an essential strategy for success and survival in today's competitive environment. Organisations are continuously searching for ways to improve their performance and create a sustainable competitive advantage. Consumers are also continuously being made more aware of their rights and in today's fast paced world, with time constraints and increased stress, tolerance levels have been considerably eroded. In view of this, customer satisfaction has become a focus area, in particular, to investigate ways that it can be enhanced to gain a competitive edge. A better understanding of how organisations can apply resources to achieve these goals will be a useful instrument towards gaining sustainable competitive advantage. One way of doing this is for service firms to manage their capacity to achieve maximum and/or optimum utilisation at all times, if possible. But having trained staff on hand at the right times is no easy task. Overstaffing can lead to budget blow-out, while understating adds to staff stress levels, and can contribute to both customer and staff dissatisfaction. As a possible solution many employers tackle this problem by employing casual staff who are more flexible in their working hours and can be deployed to meet peak demands in service. The objective of this study was to investigate the importance of customer satisfaction and whether the utilisation of temporary staffing solutions could positively contribute in improving service levels. A survey research design was used with a questionnaire as data-gathering instrument. The study population consisted of customers (N=507) that visited Absa branches in the Vaal Triangle and were serviced by either permanent or flexi tellers. Contingency tables were used to record and analyse the relationship between the different variables, and statistical significance tests were used to show that the results are significant. Chi-square and Cramer's phi or V test were used as the basis of the analysis. The research confirmed that customer satisfaction has definite financial benefits for an organisation and that the effective application of temporary staffing solutions could further enhance these benefits. The results of the statistical analysis of the survey further confirmed that there was no significant difference in the perceived level of service received from either permanent or flexi tellers. Limitations in the research are identified and recommendations for future research are made. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

During the last decade much research has been done on consumer perceptions in the so-called pure services with scant attention being devoted to the analysis of retail services associated with the marketing of goods. However, in recent years the service quality debate received much attention and closer examination in retailing. It is, therefore, not surprising that many of m s spend substantial resources to measure service quality and manage customer satisfaction. This research was undertaken primarily to develop a conceptual model of service quality within a supermarket context. The research is supported by a detailed literature study into the marketing of services, service quality, service encounters and established service quality models. Four central questions were formulated and answered by the study. What are the dimensions used by consumers to evaluate supermarket service quality? How reliable is the proposed service quality scale? What relationship can be observed between the proposed service quality dimensions and future store patronage? What relationships can be observed between the proposed service quality dimensions and overall service quality? In order to develop and validate a measurement model for supermarket service quality, exploratory research was conducted using focus group interviews to establish aspects that could be important to consumers regarding service quality. This enabled the researcher to obtain a fairly accurate measure of consumers' perceptions of supermarket service quality. Based on the exploratory research, a forty-item scale was developed for the empirical study. The instrument was then subjected to a scale purification process through exploratory factor analysis. Non-probability sampling (judgment and convenience) was used and structured questionnaires were administered to six hundred and seven consumers from three stores of a national supermarket chain. A thirty-item scale was finally developed, which comprised three dimensions, namely reliability, atmospherics and policy. Continatory factor analysis was further undertaken in order to establish the overall model fit in terms of the three dimensions. Empirical evidence suggests, that the reliability, atmospherics and policy dimensions are all positively associated with consumers' perceptions of overall service quality. Reliability and atmospherics emerged as strong predictors of future store patronage and satisfaction. However, policy did not emerge as a strong predictor of future behavioural intentions. Empirical evidence also suggests that there is a causal ordering of service quality which influences customer satisfaction. The findings suggest that managements of supermarkets should incorporate all three underlying dimensions in order for them to access their customers’ evaluation of their service. Although it is probable that the relative importance of each dimension and variables within each dimension may vary from one retailer to another, it is important for managers to identify these components of the senice which make a contribution to service quality and customer satisfaction. The service offering must, therefore, be designed by managers to reflect these perceptions in order to allow them develop better service quality strategies. The findings in this study also suggest the need for a more extensive study so as to validate the model. However, it provides an avenue for academics and researchers to explore and contribute to the ongoing debate on the measurement of service quality and its relationship with customer satisfaction. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Marketing))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2004.

During the last decade much research has been done on consumer perceptions in the so-called pure services with scant attention being devoted to the analysis of retail services associated with the marketing of goods. However, in recent years the service quality debate received much attention and closer examination in retailing. It is, therefore, not surprising that many of m s spend substantial resources to measure service quality and manage customer satisfaction. This research was undertaken primarily to develop a conceptual model of service quality within a supermarket context. The research is supported by a detailed literature study into the marketing of services, service quality, service encounters and established service quality models. Four central questions were formulated and answered by the study. What are the dimensions used by consumers to evaluate supermarket service quality? How reliable is the proposed service quality scale? What relationship can be observed between the proposed service quality dimensions and future store patronage? What relationships can be observed between the proposed service quality dimensions and overall service quality? In order to develop and validate a measurement model for supermarket service quality, exploratory research was conducted using focus group interviews to establish aspects that could be important to consumers regarding service quality. This enabled the researcher to obtain a fairly accurate measure of consumers' perceptions of supermarket service quality. Based on the exploratory research, a forty-item scale was developed for the empirical study. The instrument was then subjected to a scale purification process through exploratory factor analysis. Non-probability sampling (judgment and convenience) was used and structured questionnaires were administered to six hundred and seven consumers from three stores of a national supermarket chain. A thirty-item scale was finally developed, which comprised three dimensions, namely reliability, atmospherics and policy. Continatory factor analysis was further undertaken in order to establish the overall model fit in terms of the three dimensions. Empirical evidence suggests, that the reliability, atmospherics and policy dimensions are all positively associated with consumers' perceptions of overall service quality. Reliability and atmospherics emerged as strong predictors of future store patronage and satisfaction. However, policy did not emerge as a strong predictor of future behavioural intentions. Empirical evidence also suggests that there is a causal ordering of service quality which influences customer satisfaction. The findings suggest that managements of supermarkets should incorporate all three underlying dimensions in order for them to access their customers’ evaluation of their service. Although it is probable that the relative importance of each dimension and variables within each dimension may vary from one retailer to another, it is important for managers to identify these components of the senice which make a contribution to service quality and customer satisfaction. The service offering must, therefore, be designed by managers to reflect these perceptions in order to allow them develop better service quality strategies. The findings in this study also suggest the need for a more extensive study so as to validate the model. However, it provides an avenue for academics and researchers to explore and contribute to the ongoing debate on the measurement of service quality and its relationship with customer satisfaction. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Marketing))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2004.

It is proposed by scholars of consumer complaining behaviour that dissatisfaction occurs at two levels: (1) the primary level resulting from product or service failure; and (2) the secondary level resulting from an unsuccessful attempt at complaint resolution with the company held responsible. This thesis provides an integrated analysis of the triggers of voiced and non-voiced consumer responses to the level of primary dissatisfaction. A deductively derived two-factor taxonomy of consumer responses to dissatisfaction was developed out of the extant literature, to identify those responses to dissatisfaction analogous with both primary and secondary dissatisfaction. Based on this taxonomy, a deductively derived typology of consumer responses to primary dissatisfaction, together with two truncated alternatives, was also proposed. The proposed typologies facilitated two levels of analysis: (1) the unidimensional level relating to whether or not the dissatisfaction was voiced to the company held responsible; and (2) the multi-dimensional level of response style engaged in. At each level of analysis, the contribution to total explained variance of six trigger sets was assessed: pre-dissatisfaction situation, post-dissatisfaction situation, company/consumer relationship, marketplace/consumer relationship, psychographics and demographics. The validity of both the proposed two-factor taxonomy and the three typologies was examined through a cross-sectional survey of 1000 dissatisfied consumers across eight product and service categories. Findings supported the deductive basis of the taxonomy, where it was found that whilst exit behaviours and private negative word-of-mouth are analogous with the level of primary dissatisfaction, the incidence of public negative word-of-mouth, third party action and grudge holding was significantly greater among consumers experiencing secondary dissatisfaction. These findings also supported the deductive basis of the proposed typologies of responses to primary dissatisfaction, by empirically identifying those responses analogous with this level of dissatisfaction. At the unidimensional level of analysis, the trigger sets explained 54% ofthe variance between a voiced and a non-voiced instance of primary dissatisfaction. At the multidimensional level of the response style, 63% of variance was explained between response styles in the truncated typology with the most practical use for suppliers. On the basis of these findings, recommendations are made to practitioners on how to encourage supplier-friendly consumer response styles following primary dissatisfaction, and to discourage less friendly styles. The empirically supported truncated typology -distinguishing between passive, private responses, telling, and telling + private responses -represents an important strategic tool for suppliers to monitor and benchmark responses to primary dissatisfaction among their customer base.