The concept of involving the public in the development of transportation solutions was built in the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, the legislation that authorized the construction of the Interstate Highway System. Better plans, transparent process, and public support are some of the benefits that road managers can obtain by educating and involving the general public. During the last two decades the volume of research performed related to the topic of customer-driven highway maintenance suggests an increasing level of interest in the field. Most research concentrates on gathering information from road users to assess the performance level of highways. However, public opinion can also be collected for measuring the quality of the service delivered by maintenance units. Assessing product and service delivery performance is important for determining the overall performance of highway maintenance programs. The present study examines the relationship between road users' overall perceptions of the quality of highway maintenance services and the variables that define the highway maintenance service quality domain. The results of the study indicate that two service dimensions, Safety and Reliability, explain about half of the variance in overall perceptions of highway maintenance service quality. The procedures developed for the study provide an initial step for further improvement of the highway maintenance service quality measurement. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this dissertation intends to discover as well as categorize safety concern reports in online reviews by using key terms prevalent in sub-categories of safety concerns. This dissertation extends the literature of semi-automatic text classification methodology in monitoring and classifying product quality and service concerns. We develop various text classification methods for finding key concerns across a diverse set of product and service categories. Additionally, we generalize our results by testing the performance of our methodologies on online reviews collected from two different data sources (Amazon product reviews and Facebook hospital service reviews). Stakeholders such as product designers and safety regulators can use the semi-automatic classification procedure to subcategorize safety concerns by injury type and narrative type (Chapter 1). We enhance the text classification approach by proposing a Risk Assessment Model for quality management (QM) professionals, safety regulators, and product designers to allow them to estimate overall risk level of specific products by analyzing consumer-generated content in online reviews (Chapter 2). Monitoring and prioritizing the hazard risk levels of products will help the stakeholders to make appropriate actions on mitigating the risk of product safety. Lastly, the text classification approach discovers and ranks aspects of services that predict overall user satisfaction (Chapter 3). The key service terms are beneficial for healthcare providers to rapidly trace specific service concerns for improving the hospital services. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation extends past studies by examining safety surveillance of online reviews. We examine online reviews reporting specific categories of safety concerns and contrast them with reviews not reporting these specific safety concerns. Business and regulators are benefited in detecting, categorizing, and prioritizing safety concerns across product categories. We use key terms prevalent in domain-related safety concerns for granular analysis of consumer reviews. Secondly, beyond utilizing the key terms to discover specific hazard incidents, safety regulators and manufacturers may use the extended risk assessment framework to estimate the risk severity, risk likelihood, and overall risk level of a specific product. The model could be useful for product safety practitioners in product risk identification and mitigation. Finally, this dissertation identifies the aspects of service quality concerns present in online hospital reviews. This study uses text analytics method by using key terms to detect these specific service concerns and hence determine primary rationales for patient feedback on hospital services. Managerially, this information helps to prioritize the areas in greatest need of improvement of hospital services. Additionally, generating key terms for a particular service attribute aids health care policy makers and providers in rapidly monitoring specific concerns and adjusting policies or resources to better serve patient

No / The trend towards internationalisation in many service industries has increased the need for both managers and academics to collect cross-cultural/national consumer-perceived service quality data. Failure to establish cross-cultural equivalence and to detect differences in cross-national response bias will, however, affect data comparability, may invalidate the research results and could therefore lead to incorrect inferences about attitudes and behaviours across national groups. By initially focussing on developments in the mono-cultural service quality literature, a framework is presented whereby academics and managers can assess the potential impact of these international measurement issues. Existing cross-cultural service quality literature is reviewed and the extent to which these issues are addressed is highlighted. Methods for detecting and correcting cross-national response biases are discussed.

Yes / Purpose: The chief objective of the study is to understand that how different demographic variables and repeated availing of service from the same doctor or same hospital shapes the overall perception of healthcare service quality and satisfaction among inpatients admitted in private hospitals in an emerging economy. Methodology: A self-administered, cross-sectional survey of inpatients using a questionnaire translated into Hindi and Gujarati. The data was collected from 702 inpatient from 18 private clinics located in three selected cities from Western India. Findings The results indicate that experience with hospital administration, doctors, nursing staff, physical environment, hospital pharmacy and physical environment is significant predictor of inpatient satisfaction. Physical environment was found to be significantly associated with satisfaction only among female inpatient. It was also found that repeat availing of services either from the same hospital or doctor does not increases patient satisfaction. The feasibility, reliability and validity of the instrument that measures major technical and non-technical dimensions of quality of healthcare services were established in the context of a developing country. Originality/Value: The study makes important contribution by empirically investigating the inpatient assessment of healthcare service quality based upon their demographic information and repeated availing of services to understand how repeat visit shapes the service quality perception.

Saudi Arabia is progressing with Vision 2030, an ambitious blueprint for economic variation, global connection, and improved quality of life. The Hajj pilgrimage is addressed by the Doyof Al Rahman Program (DARP), one of the vision's programs aiming to enhance the Hajj experience. The Hajj pilgrimage is one of the world's largest annual massive gatherings and it has already received increased attention from researchers combining elements of pilgrimage and tourism. This dissertation aims to explore Hajj service quality and pilgrims' satisfaction. To attain this objective, a narrative and systematic literature review was conducted to develop a framework with standardized dimensions for Hajj with the consideration of Vision's 2030 PEP program objectives. The conducted literature review considered 157 sources following the PRISMA review protocol in the analysis. A Delphi study distributed among fifteen experts processed the literature review findings to confirm the research instrument dimensions' priority, applicability, and clarity. The proposed dimensions were Hospitality, Guidance, Transportation, Hajj Facilities, Safety and security, and Healthcare. Those dimensions are dedicated to exploring Hajj Service Quality (HSQ) performance and its impact on the Hajj's overall satisfaction and willingness to extend visits to heritage sites. The dissertation connected a confirmatory mixed research method in the Delphi study and data collection phases. The research survey contained 83 items distributed through the Qualtrics platform and yielded 149 valid responses from 17 U.S. states. After the data preparation, a Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) analytical approach was deployed. First, the measurement model inspected the reliability and validity of the model constructs. Second is the structural model that tested the study hypothesis with path analysis a regression-based technique. The findings showed a significant impact from all the applied HSQ dimensions on Hajj overall satisfaction and a significant impact from Hajj facilities on the willingness to extend the visit to heritage sites.

(EN) Title: The process of pilot standardization of the Czech version of the questionnaire SERVQUAL for the sports services indurty. Objectives: This paper focus is to initiate the standardization process of the Czech version of the SERVQUAL questionnaire for fitness and recreational sport and prepare the ground for its future use in practice. Methods: First was SERVQUAL questionnaire translated into Czech language and distributed to two fitness centers during six months period. Then using Generalizability theory and faktor analysis the reliability and internal structure of this instrument was examined. Results: Provides information about use of this instrument in assesing service quality of fitness centers in Czech republic . Proposes recommendations for further modification and use the questionnaire in the Czech environment. Key words: Service quality, Measurement of service quality, Generalizability theory, Factor analysis. This research was supported by the Grant agency of Charles University, project no. 267811 Measuring sport services quality in fitness industry

Efficient functioning of service providing organizations highly depends on quality of their services as it contributes to companies’ competitiveness and customers’ satisfaction (Gill, 2009, p. 533). Thus, quality management should be an integral part of service organizations’ performance. Healthcare industry is a specific representative of the service industry that regards quality as a fundamental value of medical care. To manage quality within the healthcare settings is a challenging task due to its complexity. Hence, the purpose of the current qualitative study was to propose an efficient approach toward quality management within the healthcare industry. In order to be efficient quality management should consider issues that relate to the healthcare organizations’ complexity such as different interests of a wide range of parties involved in healthcare service processes. As mentioned parties are presented by patients, physicians, nurses, receptionists and others, their perceptions of quality could be rather distinctive. So, the first step towards achieving the purpose of the study was to discover an aligned or combined perception of healthcare service quality from patients’ and healthcare service providers’ perspectives. Common perception of quality would give opportunity to focus on improvement of aspects that are essential for the core stakeholders of healthcare organizations. Hence, the second intention that would contribute to efficient quality management was to develop a combined quality management model based on an aligned or combined quality perception. In order to investigate a common perception of quality, we conducted semi-structured individual interviews with patients and healthcare service providers. Having analyzed obtained data we revealed the most vital (sub-) dimensions of service quality for both parties. These aspects relates to the providing information for the patients, emotional support, involving patients into the treatment and having good medical equipment. Also, some important (sub-) dimensions were not stressed by both patients and providers, so we supplemented common (sub-) dimensions with these distinctive aspects. For example, providers mentioned professional skills dimension as the most essential aspect of healthcare service quality. In conclusion, we constructed one common perception of healthcare service quality consisting of common and distinct aspects of healthcare service quality. For the purpose of developing a combined quality management model we selected the most appropriate values, methodologies and tools from such quality management initiatives as TQM, Lean and Six Sigma. The selection was guided by dimensions from the common perception of healthcare service quality. The conducted study contributes to theoretical as well as practical areas. We believe that our research supplemented Quality Management theory by proposing beneficial combinations of TQM, Lean and Six Sigma and Service Quality literature by revealing additional aspects of service quality perception. Practical field will gain from the proposed flexible approach toward assembling quality management model.

Darbo problema: Problemą apibūdinti galima keliant klausimus, ar žirginio sporto atstovai paslaugų kokybei kelia įgyvendinamus reikalavimus ir kaip kokybė atitinka reikalavimus? Darbo objektas: žirginio sporto organizacijų teikiamų paslaugų kokybė. Darbo tikslas: įvertinti žirginio sporto organizacijų teikiamų paslaugų kokybę. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Atskleisti ir apibrėžti žirginio sporto organizacijų teikiamų paslaugų sampratą bei klasifikaciją; 2. Atskleisti paslaugų kokybės sampratą ir esmę; 3. Išanalizuoti paslaugų kokybės vertinimo modelius bei metodus; 4. Ištirti ir įvertinti žirginio sporto organizacijų teikiamų paslaugų kokybę. Darbo metodika: 1. Mokslinės ir publicistinės literatūros bei statistinių duomenų analizė; 2. Atlikta anketinė apklausa, kuri parengta remiantis „Servqual“ metodologija; 3. Tyrime dalyvavusių respondentų nuomonių bei apklausos rezultatų sisteminimas, analizavimas, grafinis atvaizdavimas, interpretavimas. Darbo struktūra. Darbą sudaro įvadas, dvi pagrindinės dalys, išvados. Įvade atskleidžiamas nagrinėjamos temos aktualumas, iškeliamas tikslas ir jam įgyvendinti suformuluojami darbo uždaviniai. Pirmojoje dalyje apžvelgiama literatūra, nagrinėjama tema teoriniu aspektu. Antrojoje darbo dalyje pateikiamas praktinis tyrimas. Darbo pabaigoje pateikiamos išvados, naudotos literatūros šaltinių sąrašas, priedai. Darbe pateiktos 4 lentelės, 39 paveikslai, 2 priedai. Darbo apimtis – 56 (63) puslapiai. Panaudoti 47 literatūros šaltiniai. / Assessment of Service Quality in Equestrian institutions.

Turizmo paslaugų kokybės poveikis jų konkurencingumui. Sunku įvertinti nuostolius, patiriamus dėl blogos kokybės. Tai papildomos išlaidos klaidoms taisyti, darbo laiko dėl blogo procesų organizavimo švaistymas ir, žinoma, galimybių praradimas, įmonės reputacijos blogėjimas, klientų praradimas. Nuostolių dėl blogos kokybės eliminavimas yra galimybė sumažinti paslaugos kūrimo bei teikimo išlaidas ir pasiekti didesnį veiklos efektyvumą. Didėjantis turizmo verslo vaidmuo tiek pasaulio, tiek šalies ekonomikoje verčia naujai pergalvoti šios ekonomikos šakos svarbą ir vaidmenį šalies ekonominiame augime ir pasverti, ar viskas yra daroma iš turizmo organizatorių pusės, kad būtų adekvačiai atsakyta į globaliniu mastu keliamą iššūkį toliau efektyviai plėtoti šį verslą ir maksimaliai išnaudoti jo teikiamas galimybes šalies gerovei kelti. Lietuvoje turizmo informacijos centruose vis dar pasitaiko įvairių nemalonių netikėtumų, dėl kurių turizmo informacijos centrų klientai vis dar nesulaukia jiems norimų – kokybiškų paslaugų. Turizmas yra itin plati sritis, todėl turizmo informacijos centro darbuotojams yra tikras iššūkis ne tik žinoti, bet ir perteikti šalies kultūrą, apgyvendinimo bei transporto galimybes, turizmo išteklius ir jų ypatumus bei daug kitos informacijos, todėl kokybiškos turizmo informacijos teikimas – tai nauja galimybė įgyvendinti klientų lūkesčius bei poreikius ir prisidėti prie Lietuvos turizmo plėtros. Šio darbo tikslas - išanalizuoti ir įvertinti VšĮ „Kelmės turizmo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The influence of tourism service quality to competitiveness. It is difficult to evaluate losses, suffered due to bad quality. This means extra expenses to correct the mistakes, wasting time due to inappropriate processing of work organization and losing opportunities and decreasing the enterprise image and loss of customers. The elimination of losses, caused by bad quality, means lower expenses of making a service and achieving better effectiveness of the work. The increasing importance of the tourism business in the world and country markets, makes us re-think the role of this business and ensure that everything is done to continue its spread effectively and maximize the use of its opportunities in the global world to improve the life quality. Customers of Lithuanian tourism information centers still face the different matters of inappropriate service quality. Tourism is a very wide field, so the employees of these Centers have to have the abilities to convey the country culture, accommodation and transport possibilities, tourism resources and their uniqueness and plenty of other information. So, the good quality services may help to implement the expectations and needs and contribute to the spread of Lithuania tourism. The goal of this works is to analyze and evaluate the Public Institution „Kelme Tourism and Business Information Centre“ services, define the improvement methods and possibilities of increasing its competitiveness. The tasks of this work are: describe the... [to full text]

Syfte: Kundnöjdhet förekommer i olika nivåer när en konsument genomför ett köp av tjänst. Servicekvaliteten är av stor vikt vid uppfyllandet av konsumentens behov och önskemål. Det finns tio olika dimensioner av servicekvalitet, där en av dimensionerna är pålitlighet. Servicekvalitets dimensionen pålitlighet har dock kritiserats vid olika tillfällen och är varierande beroende på bransch. Tidigare studier resulterade i att pålitlighet inte har en stor inverkan i kundnöjdhet, medan andra studier påvisar att det finns en inverkan. Pålitlighet visar sig från tidigare studier ha en varierande stabilitet. I följd av detta har vi utformat syftet:  Syftet med vår studie är att skapa en ökad förståelse över servicekvalitetsdimensionen pålitlighet och dess bidragande faktor till nöjda kundupplevelser inom konsumentservice. Metod: Studien genomförs med ett deduktivt förhållningssätt med en kvantitativ forskningsmetod. Forskningsdesignen följer en tvärsnittsdesign på grund av studien, med utgångspunkt ska kunna utnyttja surveyundersökningar, det vill säga enkäter. Studiens resultat analyseras i SPSS, där det utförts en deskriptiv statistik och korrelationsanalys, samt i Excel där det genomförts olika sammanställningar av enkätsvaren. Detta följs av studiens egen analys, resultat, diskussion och slutsats.  Resultat & Slutsats: Studiens resultat tyder på att servicedimensionen pålitlighet har ett positivt samband och inverkan på kundnöjdhet inom frisörbranschen. Samtidigt har konsumenters behov en betydelsefull inverkan på pålitlighet och kundnöjdhet, såsom upplevelse, pris och trygghet. Om dessa faktorer uppfylls av tjänsteutövaren kommer en positiv nivå av kundnöjdhet uppstå. Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien bidrar med ökad kunskap om servicekvalitets dimensionen pålitlighets påverkan till nöjda kundupplevelser inom frisörbranschen. Jämfört med tidigare studier som fokuserat på servicekvalitet i sin helhet riktat mot kundnöjdhet. I och med tidigare studiers helhetöversikt, kan denna studie ge en mer ingående beskrivning om en servicekvalitets dimension och dessutom nämna vilka parametrar som är av vikt vid uppfyllandet av kundnöjdhet.  Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Studien påvisar avgränsningar genom att enbart rikta sig mot en kvalitetsdimension och frisörbranschen. Förslag till vidare forskning är att undersöka en annan dimension än pålitlighet för att se huruvida de kan bidra till nöjda kundupplevelser. Ett annat förslag kan vara att undersöka samma dimension med en annan bransch, för att se likheter och skillnader branscher sinsemellan. / Aim: Customer satisfaction occurs in different levels when a consumer makes a service purchase. The quality of service is important in the fulfilling of consumers needs and wishes. There are ten different dimensions of service quality, including reliability. However, reliability have been criticized in various occasions and depending on the industry. A previous research results have shown us that reliability doesn’t have a major impact on customer satisfaction, but other research has shown that there is an extensive impact. Reliability has a varying stability and therefore this study intends to investigate the following:  The aim of this study is to create an increased understanding of the service quality dimension reliability and its attributes to customer satisfaction experience within consumer service.  Method: The study is followed by a deductive approach from a quantitative research method. The research design follows by a cross-sectional design due the basis of being able to use surveys. The study’s results are analyzed in SPSS, such as descriptive statistic and correlation analysis. The study also used excel to do some various compilations of the survey responses. This is followed by the study’s own analysis, results, discussion, and conclusion.  Result & Conclusion: The study’s results indicate that reliability has a positive relationship and an impact on customer satisfaction in the barber industry. At the same time, consumer requirement has a significant impact on reliability and customer satisfaction. These requirements are experience, price and comfort. If these factors are fulfilled by the service provider, a positive level of customer satisfaction will show.  Contribution of the thesis: This study contributes an increased knowledge about reliabilities impact on customer satisfaction experience in the barber industry. Compared with previous research who has been focused on the service quality entirety impact for the customer satisfaction. With previous studies overall view, this study can provide a more detailed description on one service quality dimension and also mention which parameters that are important in fulfilling the customer satisfaction.  Suggestions for future research: This study has limitations by focusing only on one quality dimension of the barber industry. Suggestions for further research are to examine another dimension, to see if they can contribute to better customer satisfaction experiences. Another suggestion might be to examine the same dimension in another industries, to see similarities and differences between industries.