It is obvious that customers are important stakeholders in organizations and their satisfaction is a priority to management. Customer satisfaction has been a subject of great interest to organizations and researchers alike. In recent years, organizations are obliged to render more services in addition to their offers. The quality of service has become an aspect of customer satisfaction. It has been proven by some researchers that service quality is related to customer satisfaction. Others used service quality dimensions to evaluate service quality. What about the relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality dimensions; the relationship between service quality and its dimensions?   Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality in service sectors with respect to the service quality dimensions.   Method: Convenience sampling technique was used to collect quantitative data from customers of Umeå University, ICA and Forex to get their satisfaction levels and meaning of service quality which were substituted in the SERVQUAL model. Chi-square test was used to test the hypotheses separately and in a group.   Findings: The study showed distinctive results for the relationship between service quality dimensions and service quality/customer satisfaction.ICA and Forex had significant relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction; butUmeåUniversity had no significant relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. Meanwhile the group result showed that: ´responsiveness`, empathy´ and ´reliability´ were significantly related to service quality; ´reliability` and `empathy`, were significantly related to customer satisfaction but `responsiveness` was not significantly related to customer satisfaction; meanwhile service quality was significantly related to customer satisfaction.   Implication/Contribution: The findings imply that service quality is not the only factors that could lead to customer satisfaction in service sectors; that service quality dimension varies in the different service sectors. The findings suggest that to provide quality service in order to satisfy customers, organizations in this kind of service sectors need to improve on the dimensions of service quality. Also, to provide total satisfaction to customers, the service sectors need to improve on the other factors that were given as reasons for satisfaction. This study contributes to existing theories by confirming or adding value to the relationships that are involved in customer satisfaction, service quality and SERVQUAL dimensions. It provides results that could be useful to managers in business organisations for strategic planning.

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.

The New Zealand hospitality sector has become increasingly competitive in the past decade. The increase in competition has prompted motel management to focus on generating favourable customers’ perceptions of their service as favourable perceptions encourage repeat purchase. Strategically, retaining existing customers and attracting new customers will be critical if motels are going to remain profitable in New Zealand’s competitive accommodation market. There is a conceptual gap in the marketing literature as there has been very limited published research on service quality, value, customer satisfaction or behavioural intentions on the motel industry. This study seeks to fill this conceptual gap in the motel industry by identifying the dimensions of service quality, and empirically examining the interrelationships among the service quality dimensions, service quality, value, customer satisfaction, and behavioural intentions. The findings of this study are based on the analysis of a sample of 349 respondents who stayed at a full service New Zealand motel on Riccarton Road in Christchurch. Of the 600 questionnaires distributed, a total of 349 useable responses were returned resulting in a 58.2% useable response rate. Support was found for use of the primary dimensions: Interaction Quality, Physical Environment Quality, and Outcome Quality as broad dimensions of service quality in a hierarchical factor structure for motels. Ten sub-dimensions of service quality, as perceived by motel customers, were determined using focus group interviews and exploratory factor analysis. These ten sub-dimensions were: (1) Staff Professionalism, (2) Accuracy of Reservation, (3) Tangibles, (4) Cleanliness and Comfort, (5) Noise Level, (5) Parking, (7) Security, (8) Accuracy of Billing, (9) Location, and (10) Pleasant Stay. Support for the hypothesised paths between Service Quality, Value (price), Satisfaction, and Favourable Behavioural Intentions was confirmed. The results of the regression analysis make a contribution to the service marketing theory by providing an empirically based insight into the Service Quality construct in the motel industry. The study also provides a framework for understanding the effects of the three primary dimensions on Service Quality and how Service Quality affects Value (price), Satisfaction, and Favourable Behavioural Intentions. Value (price) was also empirically supported as an important predictor variable that has a moderating effect on the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction.

The issue of behavioural intentions has attracted the attention of hotel marketers and academics because favourable behavioural intentions help hotels to retain customers. The marketing literature has identified that service quality, perceived value, image, customer satisfaction and demographic variables are significant determinants of behavioural intentions. This suggests that behavioural intentions are a multi-dimensional concept. Despite the importance of behavioural intentions, there is limited research on this construct in the hotel industry. The aim of this research was to gain an empirical understanding of behavioural intentions in the Taiwan hotel sector. A multi-level model was used as a framework for the analysis. The dimensions of service quality as perceived by hotel customers were identified through the literature review and focus group discussions. Hypotheses were formulated and tested to examine the interrelationships between behavioural intentions, service quality, customer satisfaction, perceived value and image, and to determine if perceived value plays a moderating role between service quality and customer satisfaction. Finally, customer perceptions of these constructs were compared based on demographic factors such as age, gender and income. The findings of this study were based on the analysis of a sample of 580 customers who had stayed at a five-star hotel in Kaohsiung City of Taiwan. Support was found for the use of a multi-level model and the primary dimensions: Interaction Quality, Physical Environment Quality and Outcome Quality, as broad dimensions of service quality. The 12 sub-dimensions of service quality, as perceived by hotel customers, were identified. These were: Employees’ Conduct, Employees’ Expertise, Employees’ Problem-Solving, Customer-to-Customer Interaction, Décor & Ambience, Room Quality, Availability of Facility, Design, Location, Valence, Waiting Time and Sociability. The results indicated that each of the primary dimensions varied in terms of their importance to overall perceived service quality, as did the sub-dimensions of the primary dimensions. In addition, the statistical results supported a relationship between perceived value and service quality, image and service quality, customer satisfaction, perceived value, image and service quality, and behavioural intentions, image and customer satisfaction. The results also revealed that customer perceptions of the constructs were primarily affected by their purpose of travel and occupation. The results contribute to the services marketing theory by providing an empirically based insight into the service quality, perceived value, image, customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions constructs in the Taiwan hotel industry. This research also provides an analytical framework for understanding the effects of the three primary dimensions on service quality and the effect of service quality on constructs, such as, perceived value, image, customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions. This study will assist the management of the hotel industry to develop and implement a market-oriented service strategy in order to achieve a high quality of service, upgrade customers’ levels of satisfaction, and create favourable future behavioural intentions.

The study identifies how different stakeholders perceive service quality improvement initiatives in public higher education institutions in Ethiopia. For this purpose, a mixed research methodology was employed. Furthermore, secondary data were collected from a variety of literature and primary data were collected from academic staff and final year students at public higher education institutions using the SERVQUAL scale and through focus group interviews. The collected data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The research findings indicated that all dimensions of the service quality improvement initiatives were perceived by academic staff and studentsto be verypoor. The reasons for these poor or low perceptions were: the high expectationsof the stakeholders, the government’s intention to expand, lack of adequate knowledge regarding the implementation of the BPR process, the lack of motivation by service providers, poor management and the lack of good governance by the universities, inexperienced workers, non-empowered and task specific frontline employees, the low quality of the infrastructure, non-value adding hierarchical structures and approval systems, ethical problems with some service providers, the high staff turnoverand the lack of experienced staff. In addition, at all new universities, construction is underway and as a result,there are problems such as the poor state of the dormitories, classes,bathrooms, recreation areas, lounges, TV rooms, sport fields and internet connectivity, while the libraries are not well stocked with books and periodicals either. This study has recommended that the institutions should have standardised instruments that can be used to measure the status of service quality improvement and deliveryperiodically and to identify the areas that have the highest perceived performance gap scores in order to redeploy some of the resources. It also needs to be pointed out that the service providers lack sufficient knowledge and skillsconcerning the implementation of BPR, thus training is recommended in this regard.It is further recommended that for effective implementation of the BPR process, the importance of the provision of different guiding documents, continuous monitoring of activities and top management support should be kept in mind. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Educational Management)

New Zealand's tertiary education sector has experienced political reform, social changes, economic changes and globalisation in the last two decades, and the sector has become more internationally competitive. DeShields, Kara, and Kaynak (2005) recommended that management of higher education should apply a market-oriented approach to sustain a competitive advantage. Therefore, understanding and managing students' satisfaction and their perceptions of service quality is important for university management if they are to design and implement a market-oriented approach. The purpose of this research is to gain an empirical understanding of students' overall satisfaction in a university in New Zealand's higher education sector. A hierarchal model is used as a framework for the analysis. Fifteen hypotheses are formulated and tested to identify the dimensions of service quality as perceived by university students, to examine the relationship between students' overall satisfaction with influential factors such as tuition fees (price) and the university's image, and to determine the impact of students' overall satisfaction on favourable future behavioural intentions. In addition, students' perceptions of these constructs are compared using demographic factors such as gender, age, and ethnicity. The findings of the study are based on the analysis of a sample of 223 students studying at Lincoln University. Support is found for the use of a hierarchical model and the primary dimensions; Interaction Quality, Physical Environment Quality, and Outcome Quality, as broad dimensions of service quality. Ten sub-dimensions of service quality, as perceived by students, are identified. These are: Academic Staff, Administration Staff, Academic Staff Availability, Course Content, Library, Physically Appealing, Social Factors, Personal Development, Academic Development, and Career Opportunities. The results indicate that each of the primary dimensions vary in terms of their importance to overall perceived service quality, as do the sub-dimensions to the primary dimensions. In addition, the statistical results support a relationship between service quality and price; service quality, image, and satisfaction; and satisfaction and favourable future behavioural intentions. However, there is no statistical support for a relationship between price and satisfaction. The results also suggest that students' perceptions of the constructs are primarily influenced by their ethnicity and year of study. The results of the analysis contribute to the service marketing theory by providing an empirically based insight into the satisfaction and service quality constructs in the New Zealand higher education sector. The study also provides an analytical framework for understanding the effects of the three primary dimensions on service quality and the effects of service quality on constructs including price, image, satisfaction, and favourable future behavioural intentions. This study will assist management of higher education to develop and implement a market-oriented service strategy in order to achieve a high quality of service, enhance students' level of satisfaction and create favourable future behavioural intentions.

Qualidade em serviços tem sido assunto frequentemente estudado na literatura de marketing de serviços, uma vez que conhecer os fatores que fazem com que os clientes permaneçam adquirindo produtos ou consumindo serviços, permite à empresa direcionar os esforços de marketing, a fim de atingir suas expectativas, maximizando os resultados e promovendo a retenção. Assim sendo, o propósito central deste estudo foi identificar as dimensões e os atributos relacionados à qualidade percebida dos serviços prestados por uma escola de idiomas franqueada, a Wizard, em relação à satisfação dos seus clientes (alunos). Para tanto, após a revisão bibliográfica sobre o tema em estudo, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa, com caráter exploratório, utilizando-se entrevistas pessoais em profundidade com abordagem semi-estruturada. Em seguida, foi conduzida uma pesquisa quantitativa, com caráter conclusivo, por meio de um survey, utilizando-se as técnicas estatísticas como a análise fatorial, a regressão linear múltipla e a ANOVA. Através da análise fatorial foi possível obter 7 dimensões da qualidade de serviços: (i) professor; (ii) estrutura para ensino; (iii) atendimento; (iv) imagem; (v) material didático; (vi) relação custo versus benefício; e (vii) aparência do ambiente / equipamentos. Além disso, por meio da regressão linear múltipla foi possível explicar 56,9% da satisfação geral em função de apenas seis atributos. Os resultados encontrados possibilitaram a identificação das dimensões da qualidade percebida, assim como, o grau de satisfação dos clientes (alunos). / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-06-04T17:44:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Graciane Donadello.pdf: 2076808 bytes, checksum: 38874265643afad9d66288bff725e0de (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-04T17:44:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Graciane Donadello.pdf: 2076808 bytes, checksum: 38874265643afad9d66288bff725e0de (MD5) / Service quality has been a subject frequently studied in the service marketing literature, since knowing the factors that make customers remain purchasing products or consuming services. It allows companies to target marketing efforts to achieve their expectations, maximizing results and promoting customer retention. The purpose of this study was to identify the dimensions and attributes related to perceived service quality provided by a franchised language school, Wizard, in relation to their customer satisfaction (the students). Therefore, after the literature review on the subject, an exploratory qualitative survey was conducted, through in-depth personal interviews with semi-structured approach. Next, a conclusive quantitative research was handled through a survey, using statistical techniques like factor analysis, multiple linear regression and ANOVA. Through the factor analysis it was possible to obtain 7 service quality dimensions: (i) teacher, (ii) learning framework, (iii) service, (iv) image, (v) didactic material, (vi) cost versus benefit relationship and; (vii) appearance of the environment / equipments. Furthermore, by the multiple linear regression, it was possible to explain 56.9% of the overall satisfaction on the basis of six attributes. Therefore, the obtained results allowed the identification of the perceived quality dimensions, as well as the students´ satisfaction degree.

Qualidade em serviços tem sido assunto frequentemente estudado na literatura de marketing de serviços, uma vez que conhecer os fatores que fazem com que os clientes permaneçam adquirindo produtos ou consumindo serviços, permite à empresa direcionar os esforços de marketing, a fim de atingir suas expectativas, maximizando os resultados e promovendo a retenção. Assim sendo, o propósito central deste estudo foi identificar as dimensões e os atributos relacionados à qualidade percebida dos serviços prestados por uma escola de idiomas franqueada, a Wizard, em relação à satisfação dos seus clientes (alunos). Para tanto, após a revisão bibliográfica sobre o tema em estudo, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa, com caráter exploratório, utilizando-se entrevistas pessoais em profundidade com abordagem semi-estruturada. Em seguida, foi conduzida uma pesquisa quantitativa, com caráter conclusivo, por meio de um survey, utilizando-se as técnicas estatísticas como a análise fatorial, a regressão linear múltipla e a ANOVA. Através da análise fatorial foi possível obter 7 dimensões da qualidade de serviços: (i) professor; (ii) estrutura para ensino; (iii) atendimento; (iv) imagem; (v) material didático; (vi) relação custo versus benefício; e (vii) aparência do ambiente / equipamentos. Além disso, por meio da regressão linear múltipla foi possível explicar 56,9% da satisfação geral em função de apenas seis atributos. Os resultados encontrados possibilitaram a identificação das dimensões da qualidade percebida, assim como, o grau de satisfação dos clientes (alunos). / Service quality has been a subject frequently studied in the service marketing literature, since knowing the factors that make customers remain purchasing products or consuming services. It allows companies to target marketing efforts to achieve their expectations, maximizing results and promoting customer retention. The purpose of this study was to identify the dimensions and attributes related to perceived service quality provided by a franchised language school, Wizard, in relation to their customer satisfaction (the students). Therefore, after the literature review on the subject, an exploratory qualitative survey was conducted, through in-depth personal interviews with semi-structured approach. Next, a conclusive quantitative research was handled through a survey, using statistical techniques like factor analysis, multiple linear regression and ANOVA. Through the factor analysis it was possible to obtain 7 service quality dimensions: (i) teacher, (ii) learning framework, (iii) service, (iv) image, (v) didactic material, (vi) cost versus benefit relationship and; (vii) appearance of the environment / equipments. Furthermore, by the multiple linear regression, it was possible to explain 56.9% of the overall satisfaction on the basis of six attributes. Therefore, the obtained results allowed the identification of the perceived quality dimensions, as well as the students´ satisfaction degree.

The study identifies how different stakeholders perceive service quality improvement initiatives in public higher education institutions in Ethiopia. For this purpose, a mixed research methodology was employed. Furthermore, secondary data were collected from a variety of literature and primary data were collected from academic staff and final year students at public higher education institutions using the SERVQUAL scale and through focus group interviews. The collected data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The research findings indicated that all dimensions of the service quality improvement initiatives were perceived by academic staff and studentsto be verypoor. The reasons for these poor or low perceptions were: the high expectationsof the stakeholders, the government’s intention to expand, lack of adequate knowledge regarding the implementation of the BPR process, the lack of motivation by service providers, poor management and the lack of good governance by the universities, inexperienced workers, non-empowered and task specific frontline employees, the low quality of the infrastructure, non-value adding hierarchical structures and approval systems, ethical problems with some service providers, the high staff turnoverand the lack of experienced staff. In addition, at all new universities, construction is underway and as a result,there are problems such as the poor state of the dormitories, classes,bathrooms, recreation areas, lounges, TV rooms, sport fields and internet connectivity, while the libraries are not well stocked with books and periodicals either. This study has recommended that the institutions should have standardised instruments that can be used to measure the status of service quality improvement and deliveryperiodically and to identify the areas that have the highest perceived performance gap scores in order to redeploy some of the resources. It also needs to be pointed out that the service providers lack sufficient knowledge and skillsconcerning the implementation of BPR, thus training is recommended in this regard.It is further recommended that for effective implementation of the BPR process, the importance of the provision of different guiding documents, continuous monitoring of activities and top management support should be kept in mind. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Educational Management)