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.

Fenomenet med auktioner är inget nytt begrepp, utan man har i flera decennier använt sig av liknande tjänster och nätauktioner har haft en positiv utveckling i takt meddigitaliseringen. I en tid där fokus ligger på hållbarhet blir nätauktioner allt viktigare genom deras arbete med cirkulär ekonomi. Därför är det viktigt att nätauktioner fortsätter att utvecklas för att minska klimatavtrycket. Studiens syfte är att få djupare förståelse om hur e-service quality påverkar konsumenternas köpbeteenden på nätauktioner. Med denna studie är syftet att identifiera faktorer som påverkar konsumenterna i nyansen av e-service quality. För att mäta tjänstens kvalité har studien använt sig av modellen e-service quality framtagen av Parasuraman, Zeithaml och Berry (1988). Tillsammans med e-service quality använde sig studien av köpprocessen (Solomon, 2018) för att hitta ett samband mellan upplevd tjänstekvalité och konsumentens köpbeteende. Studiens frågeställning besvaras med en kvalitativ metod samt en abduktiv ansats. Studien har erhållit empirisk data genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Intervjufrågorna formulerades utifrån sex dimensioner av e-service quality identifierade av Zeithaml, Parasuraman och Malhotra (2002). Slutligen analyserades empirisk data tillsammans med köpprocessens olika steg. Studien tyder på att det inte finns några större skillnader på svaren från de olika intervjupersonerna. Med hjälp av studien kan vi se klara mönster och säkerställa vilka dimensioner inom e-service quality som har störst påverkan på konsumentens köpbeteende. I och med digitaliseringens är detta område intressant för vidare studier för att effektivisera cirkulär konsumtion och därmed minska klimatavtrycket. / Auctions are not a new concept and similar services have been used for decades and online auctions have had a positive development through digitalization. In a time when focus lies on sustainability, online auctions are becoming increasingly important through their work with circular consumption. Therefore, it is important that online auctions continue to evolve to reduce the climate footprint. The purpose of the study is to gain a deeper understanding of how e-service quality affects consumers' purchasing behavior at online auctions. This study aims to identify factors that affect consumers in the nuance of e-service quality. To measure the quality of service, the study has used the model e-service quality developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1988). Along with e-service quality, the study of the buying process (Solomon, 2018) has been used to find connections between perceived service quality and the consumer's buying behavior. The study's question is answered with a qualitative method and an abductive approach. The study has obtained empirical data through semi-structured interviews. The interview questions were formulated based on the six dimensions of e-service quality identified by Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Malhotra (2002).Finally, empirical data were analyzed together with the different steps of the buying process. The study indicates that there are no major differences in the responses of the different interviewees. With the help of the study, we can see clear patterns and ensure which dimensions in e-service quality have the greatest impact on the consumer's buying behavior. With the advancement of digitalization, this area is interesting for further studies to streamline circular consumption and thereby reduce the climate footprint.

本研究採用問卷調查法了解完全中學學生使用圖書館之期望與實際感受之服務品質，藉以瞭解學生對圖書館的滿意度，作為圖書館改善服務之參考。研究首先透過文獻分析，參考圖書館的服務品質評量工具LibQUAL+，並研究國內針對高中職圖書館之相關理論，修改發展出適合高中生與國中生之圖書館服務品質評量指標，並經與學校圖書館人員及使用者進行共三場焦點團體訪談後修正指標並進一步發展為問卷。本問卷以抽樣之台中市四所完全中學學生為實證研究對象，共發出1,142份問卷，回收1,138份，回收率高達99.64％，其中有效問卷1,133份。本服務品質評量問卷共分為「空間環境」、「館藏資源與利用」、「圖書館服務」及「圖書館教育與推廣」等四大構面，共有29項指標，並採用期望服務品質及感受服務品質兩種滿意度評分差距。 本論文研究結果顯示：（一）完全中學學生期待圖書館有更豐富的館藏及提供電子資源。(二)學生到館頻率每週少於一次的高達57.8％，顯示完全中學圖書館的利用率偏低。（三）學生對圖書館感受之服務品質平均值大都在3.5以上，顯示學生對圖書館的服務大致可接受，但均未達優質服務。國中生及高中生均對「圖書館所在便利性」最不滿意。（四）不同性別對圖書館感受服務品質差異性較小，國中生及高中生對圖書館感受服務品質差異性大；國中生感受的服務品質大都高於高中生。（五）完全中學圖書館需針對國中生及高中生提出不同的服務策略。 根據上述研究結果，本論文提出以下建議：(一)運用圖書館服務品質評量加強圖書館評鑑，做為圖書館經營管理之參考。（二）加強推展圖書館利用教育，發揮圖書館功能。（三）擴充圖書館編制提升專業形象，並擴大服務範圍。（四）提昇圖書館軟硬體設備，發揮圖書館資訊服務的功能。 / This study uses the method of Questionnaire to measure the expectations and degrees of satisfaction of comprehensive high school students toward libraries. Using the method of literature review, also taking reference from Library Service Quality Assessment LibQUAL+ and relevant theories concerning high school or professional high school libraries, this study comes up with a revised index of service quality assessment suitable for junior and senior school students. After conducting three focus group interviews with school librarians and users, the researcher then revises the above-mentioned index and transformed it into a Questionnaire. This study, using students from four comprehensive high schools in Taichung City as subjects of empirical studies, issued 1,142 questionnaires, among which 1,138 were returned (the return rate was as high as 99.64%), and effective ones amounted to 1,132.The questionnaire consists of four aspects: space and environment, library resources and usages, library services, and librarian education and promotion. It includes 29 indicators, and is rated by the expected and perceived service qualities. The study shows the following results: 1.Comprehensive high school students look forward to more comprehensive library resources as well as resources in electronic forms. 2.The percentage of students visiting libraries less than once in a week is as high as 57.8%, meaning the usage rate for comprehensive high school libraries is low. 3.The perceived quality for library service, on average, is generally above 3.5 points in a score ranging from 1-5, but not reaching the expected service qualities. Such result manifests that students find the library service mostly acceptable, but not preferable. Both junior and senior high students find ‘the accessibility of libraries’ most unacceptable. 4.Gender has relatively little effect on the difference of perceived quality of service, whereas there’s a big gap between junior and senior high school students. Junior high students tend to score higher than senior high students on perceived service quality. 5.It is imperative for comprehensive high school libraries to provide different service strategies for junior and senior high school students. Based on the result of the above study, the thesis suggests the following: 1.Libraries should use service quality assessment as a way to enhance their evaluation, whose result should be taken as managerial reference. 2.It is imperative to strengthen the promotion of the usage of libraries. 3.It is imperative to enlarge the organization scale of libraries so as to promote professional image and to enlarge service range. 4.It is imperative to upgrade soft, as well as hardware equipment of libraries to enhance information service of libraries.

The study investigated the service quality of the Aga Khan University (AKU) library as an example of an academic library in Kenya using SERVQUAL, a user based assessment tool. Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy formed the basis of the study; a philosophy that is customer oriented and lays great emphasis on enhancing customer satisfaction. The study adopted a survey design and data was collected using a structured selfadministered questionnaire by the name of SERVQUAL. The study sample consisted of nursing and medical faculty; nursing and medical students. A total of 78 (63%) respondents responded to the questionnaire. The data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 17.0. Descriptive statistics was provided and univariate analysis was applied to examine the characteristics of the 2 main variables; perceptions and expectations. The findings of the study established that the expectations of AKU library users are higher than their perceptions. It is also evident from the findings that there are service quality gaps in a number of library services offered by AKU library. This is demonstrated through the gap analysis between the AKU library users‟ perceptions and the users‟ expectations of AKU library. The study recommends that AKU library as well as other academic libraries in Kenya adopt user based assessment tools such as SERVQUAL in the evaluation of library service quality. The study further recommends that AKU library needs to address gaps between the library users‟ perception and the users‟ expectation in order to enhance customer satisfaction through the provision of quality services. The study also recommends that AKU library needs to address the gaps in service attributes such as those relating to AKU library staff, reliability and efficiency of AKU library service delivery. In line with the findings the study further recommends more training for AKU library staff in areas such as customer service skills as well as the need for AKU library to invest more in its physical facility and equipment. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

Thesis (M.Tech - Marketing, Faculty of Management Sciences)--Vaal University of Technology, 2010 / This study provides a framework for customer-supplier relationships and service quality measurement in a precast concrete manufacturing firm with the use of the universally accepted SERVQUAL model. Within an increasingly competitive precast concrete market, customer satisfaction is a critical goal for manufacturers of all types. Customer-supplier relationships and service quality were therefore investigated in this study. A quantitative research approach was used in the study to analyse the data. This approach enabled the researcher to obtain an accurate measure of all constructs that relate to service quality improvement for the particular concrete manufacturing firm amongst contractors, civil consultants, government institutions and end users. A sample size of 246 respondents from Gauteng Province was used. Descriptive statistics were used to explain the characteristics of sample data. In addition, factor analysis was used to condense the variables into five factors in order to capture the essence of service quality within a cementitious products organisation. Five dimensions, responsiveness, problem- solving, physical aspects, service personnel and physical appearance were extracted to measure service quality. Results showed that satisfied customers tend to re-patronise suppliers who enhance their service outputs provided to the customers. Thus it is imperative to enhance customer satisfaction and ultimately customer loyalty. These results suggest that improved service qualities can be useful for building customer loyalty and long- lasting relationships. The reliability analysis produced a Cronbach alpha which ranged from 0.700 to 0.815 which were deemed acceptable. The Pearson correlation analysis showed that service quality is associated with customers' future buying behaviour in terms of their decisions to purchase and recommend the supplier to others. Customers felt that service personnel were friendly, courteous and possessed the knowledge to answer customer questions. They exhibited a favourable image of the company and its services. This service dimension was ranked first in terms of importance by the customers therefore, the precast concrete manufacturer ought not be complacent but rather seek innovative ways in maintaining the service personnel dimension of service quality. The overall mean score of expectation of service quality by customers was 4.71. This indicates that the service provided by this company is satisfactory. It therefore suggests that, it is necessary for managerial intervention to prioritise in all these areas to develop a strategy of service quality improvement. Training of personnel is an essential component of service quality enhancement especially with complaints and the complaints-handling procedures. The management team of the organisation needs to play an active role in ensuring that all personnel are adequately trained and highly motivated to understand the user‟s specific problems and in the process to provide competent solutions to problems. Based on literature and results emanating from the empirical survey, these findings may assist the organisation in the enhancement of its service-quality levels. Hence, service-quality levels should be monitored carefully on a continuous basis.

Introduction: E-commerce has shown a large increase in the last years and constitutes a great portion of the market. This has led to a digital shift and more people choose to e-shop. This has affected the retail business, since there are new, more comfortable ways to buy your groceries. Furthermore, the food e-commerce differentiates from the general e-commence, since customers feel comfortable being able to smell, touch and see the groceries they are buying. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to achieve a higher and deeper knowledge of how the e-service quality affects the customers purchasing behavior in a digital food commence. Furthermore, the purpose is to identify notable factors within e-service quality which affects the customers purchasing behavior. Method: This is a qualitative study which has had an abductive approach. It is a combination between an inductive and a deductive attempt. The empirical material has been collected through six semi-structured interviews with Zeithaml, Parasuraman & Malhotra (2002) e-service quality dimensions for basis. Thereafter the empirical results were analyzed with the different steps of the buying process. Conclusion: Through this study, we noticed no significant difference between the interviewees which probably is a result of a high "internet habit". Thanks to the study, we were able to conclude that there are a number of distinct factors within the e-service quality dimensions that affects the customers purchasing behavior. Seeing that this is a subject going through constant development in contemporary with the digital evolution we find it useful to study, because the old barriers are replaced with new ones. / Bakgrund: E-handel växer drastiskt och utgör idag en större del av marknaden. Detta har lett till ett digitalt skifte och fler väljer att e-handla. Det har sin påverkan på dagligvaruhandeln eftersom det finns nya och bekväma sätt att e-handla mat på. Vidare skiljer sig e-handel av livsmedel från den generella e-handeln, vilket kan förklaras genom att livsmedel blir problematiskt att uppfatta i onlinemiljö eftersom beröring, syn och lukt ofta krävs. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att få en ökad och djupare förståelse hur e-service quality påverkar kundernas köpbeteende inom digital mathandel. Vidare är syftet att identifiera märkbara faktorer inom e-service quality som påverkar kundens köpbeteende. Metod: Detta är en kvalitativ studie som har haft ett abduktivt angreppsätt, vilket är en kombination av en induktiv och deduktiv ansats. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom sex semi-strukturerade intervjuer med Zeithaml, Parasuraman & Malhotra (2002) e-service quality dimensioner som grund. Därefter analyserades det empiriska resultatet med köpprocessens olika steg. Slutsats: Genom studien kan vi se att det inte fanns några markanta skillnader bland de intervjuade personerna vilket vi tror kan bero på hög internetvana. Tack vare studien så kan vise att det finns ett flertal tydliga faktorer inom e-service quality dimensionerna som påverkar kundens köpprocess. Eftersom detta är ett ämne som ständigt uppdateras i samtid med den digitaliserade utvecklingen så är det nyttigt att studera just för att de gamla barriärerna ersätts av nya.

The primary aim of this thesis was to explore the role culture plays in service delivery, more specifically on consumers' perceptions of service quality and its potential impact on complaint behaviour. A key premise of the thesis was that prominent models of service quality are conceptualized largely in western contexts without considering conceptual meaning in various contexts or nuances of meaning. Furthermore, there may indeed be unique aspects of culture in each context not yet identified in the extant literature. With this in mind, a qualitative approach was employed in order to gain an in-depth understanding of consumers' perceptions. The thesis was conducted in three stages culminating in three separate papers. Stage 1 involved a student sample of Trinidad and Tobago nationals currently enrolled at university in the North West region of the UK. Generally this stage served as a pilot for the larger cross-national study. Interview data and subsequent thematic analyses culminated in a holistic, multi-dimensional hierarchical framework labelled Conceptualization of Service Quality in Cultural Context (CSQCC). Within this framework two key cultural triggers called Culture of Closeness and Culture of Servitude where found to have an overarching influence on all variables in the model. As well as uniquely including culture, the CSQCC also encompasses human resources and operational variables not included in traditional service quality models namely Employee Work Ethic/Attitudes, Organizational Responsibility and Customer Responsibility. Stage 2 which included samples of British and Trinidad and Tobago nationals, all currently living in their country of birth were part of the larger study sample. Findings from both country contexts indicate that the general structure of the CSQCC identified in Stage 1 is upheld demonstrating universality in terms of the range of factors consumers utilize in their evaluations of service quality, at least in Britain and the UK. Notwithstanding the similarities, the importance weightings for the universal aspects of the CSQCC framework appear to vary. Furthermore, cultural triggers again were found to have an overarching influence consumers' perceptions, two such triggers were identified for British nationals-British Reserve and Culture of Cordiality, and for Trinbagonian nationals two additional triggers-Festive Culture and Culture of Entitlement. Data for Stage 3 was collected at the same time at Stage 2 and involved a cross-national analysis of consumer complaint behaviour. Based on the empirical data a Cultural Framework of Consumer Complaint Behaviour (CFCCB) was proposed inclusive of consumers' behavioural processes and post-interaction behavioural outcomes. There are four key processes-cognitive, motivational, environmental and emotive-with emotions playing a central role. The unique cultural triggers identified in Stages 1 and 2 were also found to influence these behavioural processes which in turn impact behavioural outcomes. To the best of the researcher's knowledge such a holistic model as the CFCCB has not been previously conceptualized. There is no such thing as "culture-free" behaviour; culture and human behaviour are deeply intertwined, and thus multinationals and global firms need to be environmentally sensitive, identify the cultural triggers in potential markets, and assess their likely impact on service quality delivery.

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 adoption of information technology (IT) is an intensive and ongoing process in society. All types of firms, but especially service firms, tend to adopt IT. Professional services, a sub-section of the service sector, are heavy users of IT. These firms are special because their business builds on the knowledge of the people in the firm. Therefore, tt is of special interest to study the impact of IT in these firms. The impact of IT in professional service firms is identified in four ways: service quality, competitive advantage, bottomline (management visions), and industry structure. The empirical focus is on the Swedish architectural industry and the adoption of CAD in this industry. Two extensive surveys each consisting of several in-depth interviews and a mailed questionnaire provide the empirical data. The research design is longitudinal and changes in the industry were observed. In special focus were the differences between the firms that had CAD—adopter firms—and firms that did not have CAD—non-adopters. Both the architects and their clients rated services performed with CAD to have better quality; e.g., the cooperation was eased by the use of this technology. The findings also suggest that CAD may be used as a competitive tool in the industry. The adopters increased their productivity significantly more than the non-adopters did between the two surveys and the adopters had significantly more loyal clients. CAD seems to be a tool that accentuates the differences between the adopter and the non-adopter firms. The results suggest that adopters and non-adopters develop into two different types of firms. The characteristics of these firms indicate that a division of the industry appeared. For example, the adopters were significantly larger than the non-adopters and plans to expand their business. One explanation to the disparity between these two types of firms may be the differences in management vision. The adopters may be characterized as progressive firms and the nonadopters as traditional firms. / <p>Diss. Umeå : Univ., 2001</p> / digitalisering@umu