The objectives of this research are to explore the relationships among service chains of electronic government services. This research proposes models (1) to explore the linkages among internal marketing, internal service quality, and internal customer satisfaction in electronic government services, i.e. the internal service chain; (2) to explore the linkage between external service quality and external customer satisfaction, i.e. the external service chain; and (3) to employ the concept of the service profit chain model and the public sector service value chain model to explore the linkage between internal and external service chains. Two kinds of surveys, employee and citizen surveys, were conducted to collect data for this research on two cases including the Kaohsiung Citizen Electronic Complaint System and the National Science and Technology Museum Collection Management System. Internal and external customer data was matched through individual-level instead of group-level used in most studies. Structural equation modeling and Ordinary Least Squares regression analysis were used to test proposed models. The research results support the proposed hypotheses, including (1) internal marketing positively influences internal service quality; (2) internal marketing positively influences internal customer satisfaction; (3) internal service quality has positive influence on internal customer satisfaction; (4) external customer satisfaction is influenced by external service quality; with the exception of (5) the relationship between internal customer satisfaction and external service quality receiving no significant support. Managerial implications are presented for public managers to better serve internal and external customers. Further studies are encouraged to include service-specific variables and technology-specific variables to examine the internal-external link of customer perceptions.

This study serves two major purposes. First, it explores and validates attributes, dimensions and constructs that can be used to measure service quality in Ethiopian public higher education (EPHE) context. Second, it examines the interplay among the major service quality constructs and student related variables in search of a comprehensive theoretical framework for HE service quality. The study started its investigation by formulating a set of research questions that explore attributes, dimensions and constructs essential to measure service quality (RQ1), test for the measurement model fit (RQ2), examine the relationships or associations among the four service constructs and characteristics of students (RQ3), test for the structural model fit (RQ4), determine the causal relations among the variables in the structural model (RQs4.1 - 4.7), and assess service quality performances of EPHE institutions (RQ5). A mixed methods study with the qual-QUAN exploratory sequential design was employed to empirically answer the research questions. Fifteen interviewees took part in the qualitative phase. The interviews were analysed employing thematic analysis and narration of verbatim accounts. Three levels of themes that represent attributes, dimensions and constructs of service quality were identified and used to develop a questionnaire designed to measure service quality more objectively. The questionnaire was piloted at a pilot site involving 460 undergraduate students and its psychometric properties were determined. The main study was carried out in three universities selected from a target population of seven first generation public universities employing lottery sampling method. Concurrently, four programmes were chosen from a target population of 27 commonly offered programmes in the three sample universities employing systematic random sampling. Considering different batches and the four programmes as strata, 1412 undergraduate students were included in the main study using proportionate stratified random sampling technique. Descriptive and inferential statistics including factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) were employed to address the research questions. The results from the qualitative and quantitative phases show that service quality can be measured by four constructs, of which three are multi-dimensional and one is a single dimensional construct. The four factor measurement model fit analysis resulted in an acceptable fit indices (i.e., CMIN/DF = 4.398, GFI = .915, CFI = .951, RMSEA = .049 and PCLOSE =.743) after some re-specifications and confirmed the structural validity of the instrument. Mixed results were obtained with regard to the correlations/associations between student characteristics and service quality constructs. After some re-specification, a structural model for the four service quality constructs and nine student related variables were identified with an acceptable fit indices (CMIN/DF=3.856, GFI=.901, CFI =.934 and RMSEA=.045, p=1.000). The path analyses also revealed that loyalty is a latent construct with 62% of its varaince predicted by the joint effects of percieved service quality, satisfaction and perceived gain. Each of these predicator latent constructs are also explained by some other control varaibles and latent constructs that have a predictive power ranging from 12% to 60%. Students perceived the current status of service quality in EPHE institutions as daunting in all constructs of service quality except perceived gain. Finally, conclusions pertinent to the measurement instrument and understanding of HE service queality are drawn, and recommendations that have theoretical and practical implications are forwarded. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

The service sector of the global economy is undoubtedly growing and increasingly highlighting the criticality of service quality to enhanced profitability in most service organisations. The demand for accountability from different stakeholders, including clients, has also made service quality a highly debated, researched and most powerful competitive trend shaping marketing and business strategy. Developing reliable measurement instruments of service quality and strategies for the improvement of service quality invariably become the most important responsibilities for managers in many organisations. In the absence of conceptual clarity on service quality, divergent views on the dimensionality of service quality and the lack of a psychometrically valid service quality measure in archival institutions, this study set out to develop and subsequently validate a measurement instrument to assess service quality in an archival institutional setting. The two research questions investigated in this study were: (1) what are the dimensions for measuring service quality in archival institutions, and (2) how can the dimensions of service quality in archival institutions be measured effectively. The methodology for this study involved a two-phased qualitative and quantitative analysis addressing these two research questions. The study followed the standard psychometric procedure for developing constructs. This research has resulted in the important findings and relevant conclusions for both academics and practitioners interested in service quality in the archival environment. The service quality measurement instrument formulated is called ARCHIVqual and has three dimensions, namely (1) security of information (with 4 items), (2) integrity of information (with 3 items) and (3) usability of information (with 2 items). Besides measuring service quality in the archival environment, ARCHIVqual will also serve as a tool for conducting periodic surveys thereby identifying specific problematic areas in archival institutions. / Graduate School for Business Leadership / DBL

Delivering education through open and distance learning (ODL) mode imposes upon ODL institutions a responsibility to provide support services deemed adequate to address students’ expectations and learning needs. Student support services are a vital part of academic success in distance learning environments because of the nature of distance education. Therefore, it is critical to provide student support services whose quality levels are acceptable to those who use them. Quality and its measurements are a contentious issue in higher education and distance education. Efforts to help service quality researchers in distance education understand service quality and its evaluation have come from marketing researchers. Among different approaches of service quality assessment is the SERVQUAL model. This study explored and examined the quality of students’ support services in distance learning environments from students’ perspective, using a modified SERVQUAL model. The objectives of the study were to examine students’ expectations and perceptions of the quality of support services; analyse the gaps between expectations and perceptions; develop and validate a service quality model and a scale to evaluate the quality of distance education students’ support services. A sequential mixed methods design was used to collect and analyse the data. Data were collected in two phases. The first phase involved collecting data qualitatively. The qualitative data were used to develop a context specific service quality model and a scale. The model and the scale were validated in the second (quantitative) phase of the study. The results of the study showed that the students’ expectations exceeded the perceived performance levels of the student support services. The largest gaps related to feedback, study material delivery and spaces for quiet learning. The study also found that distance education student support services can be measured by four service quality dimensions, namely: tangibles, reliability, delivery and assurance. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

This thesis is focused on evaluation of the service quality in selected retail outlets or shops. The main goal of this thesis was to evaluate the level of customer service while engaged in the transaction of selling pre-selected goods in selected retail outlets. Based on the results of this evaluation, a sub-goal of this thesis was to either validate or to disprove the given hypotheses. As an introduction I define basic terms of service quality, customer satisfaction with a service, marketing Research and mystery shopping. . After depicting the basic theoretical principles of mystery shopping, I moved on to the practical (hands-on) portion of my thesis where I evaluate retail outlets for pre-selected company. Evaluation is carried out by using mystery shopping. After conclusion of mystery shopping, the data was analyzed and synthesized, which allowed me to evaluate the results and draw appropriate conclusions, proposal and recommendation to the pre-selected company.

As expectativas e percepções dos compradores de imóveis habitacionais de alto padrão na cidade de Caxias do Sul-RS frente aos serviços recebidos é o tema pesquisado neste trabalho, que objetiva desenvolver uma compreensão teórica e prática de como os clientes percebem a qualidade do serviço na construção habitacional. Utilizando como referência a escala SERVQUAL (PARASURAMAN; ZEITHAML; BERRY, 1988), foi implementada uma pesquisa de caráter quantitativo e descritivo. Inicialmente foi realizada a sua adequação e a validação do instrumento de coleta de dados, um questionário estruturado, ao contexto proposto para estudo. A pesquisa foi operacionalizada em 9 empresas da região, onde 33 empreendimentos forma avaliados, resultando em 130 casos válidos, 20,70% do total da amostra. Tendo como base a SERVQUAL, por meio de análise fatorial se buscou avaliar os atributos e dimensões que compõe a qualidade do serviço neste setor. Como resultado, verificou-se que 22 atributos agrupados em 3 dimensões (Competência, Confiabilidade e Responsividade) resultam em 71,68% da variância explicada da amostra, configurando estas dimensões como uma escala SERVQUAL modificada. A partir desta escala, pôde-se identificar e avaliar as discrepâncias existentes na qualidade dos serviços no sentido de direcionar as empresas a maximizar a qualidade nos serviços e a satisfação dos seus clientes. Os resultados dos Gaps apontaram para valores negativos em todos os atributos e dimensões da qualidade dos serviços. Por fim, foram propostos direcionamentos para possibilitar a melhoria da qualidade percebida pelos clientes deste mercado. De forma prática, o objetivo é orientar e formar uma base de dados para o processo de tomada de decisão no processo de melhoria dos serviços prestados no setor da construção civil, contribuindo com diretrizes que possibilitem o incremento na qualidade dos serviços prestados no setor em análise. / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-06-04T16:35:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Marcelo Benetti Correa da Silva.pdf: 3888077 bytes, checksum: 4eb19ace5d6566688cb4e07b4ef70959 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-04T16:35:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Marcelo Benetti Correa da Silva.pdf: 3888077 bytes, checksum: 4eb19ace5d6566688cb4e07b4ef70959 (MD5) / The expectations and perceptions of high standard residential buyers in the city of Caxias do Sul-RS front of the services received is this research work subject, which aims to develop a theoretical and practical understanding of how customers perceive service quality in construction housing. Using as reference the SERVQUAL (PARASURAMAN; ZEITHAML; BERRY, 1988), it has been implemented as a quantitative and descriptive research. First, it reported the suitability and validation of the data collection, a structured questionnaire, the proposed study framework. The survey was implemented in 33 projects of nine companies, resulting in 130 valid cases, 20,70% of the sample. Based on the SERVQUAL, the factor analysis has been used to evaluate the attributes and dimensions that comprise service quality in this sector. As a result, it was found that 22 attributes grouped into three dimensions (competence, reliability and responsiveness) result in 71.68% of the explained variance of the sample, setting these dimensions as a modified SERVQUAL. From this scale, we could identify and evaluate the existing discrepancies in the quality of service in directing businesses to maximize service quality and customer satisfaction. The results of the Gaps pointed to negative values in all attributes and dimensions of service quality. Finally, we proposed possible directions for improving the perceived quality of this market. Practically, the goal is to guide and form a database for the decision making process in order to improve service in the construction industry, contributing to guidelines that allow for the increase in quality of service in the industry under review.

As expectativas e percepções dos compradores de imóveis habitacionais de alto padrão na cidade de Caxias do Sul-RS frente aos serviços recebidos é o tema pesquisado neste trabalho, que objetiva desenvolver uma compreensão teórica e prática de como os clientes percebem a qualidade do serviço na construção habitacional. Utilizando como referência a escala SERVQUAL (PARASURAMAN; ZEITHAML; BERRY, 1988), foi implementada uma pesquisa de caráter quantitativo e descritivo. Inicialmente foi realizada a sua adequação e a validação do instrumento de coleta de dados, um questionário estruturado, ao contexto proposto para estudo. A pesquisa foi operacionalizada em 9 empresas da região, onde 33 empreendimentos forma avaliados, resultando em 130 casos válidos, 20,70% do total da amostra. Tendo como base a SERVQUAL, por meio de análise fatorial se buscou avaliar os atributos e dimensões que compõe a qualidade do serviço neste setor. Como resultado, verificou-se que 22 atributos agrupados em 3 dimensões (Competência, Confiabilidade e Responsividade) resultam em 71,68% da variância explicada da amostra, configurando estas dimensões como uma escala SERVQUAL modificada. A partir desta escala, pôde-se identificar e avaliar as discrepâncias existentes na qualidade dos serviços no sentido de direcionar as empresas a maximizar a qualidade nos serviços e a satisfação dos seus clientes. Os resultados dos Gaps apontaram para valores negativos em todos os atributos e dimensões da qualidade dos serviços. Por fim, foram propostos direcionamentos para possibilitar a melhoria da qualidade percebida pelos clientes deste mercado. De forma prática, o objetivo é orientar e formar uma base de dados para o processo de tomada de decisão no processo de melhoria dos serviços prestados no setor da construção civil, contribuindo com diretrizes que possibilitem o incremento na qualidade dos serviços prestados no setor em análise. / The expectations and perceptions of high standard residential buyers in the city of Caxias do Sul-RS front of the services received is this research work subject, which aims to develop a theoretical and practical understanding of how customers perceive service quality in construction housing. Using as reference the SERVQUAL (PARASURAMAN; ZEITHAML; BERRY, 1988), it has been implemented as a quantitative and descriptive research. First, it reported the suitability and validation of the data collection, a structured questionnaire, the proposed study framework. The survey was implemented in 33 projects of nine companies, resulting in 130 valid cases, 20,70% of the sample. Based on the SERVQUAL, the factor analysis has been used to evaluate the attributes and dimensions that comprise service quality in this sector. As a result, it was found that 22 attributes grouped into three dimensions (competence, reliability and responsiveness) result in 71.68% of the explained variance of the sample, setting these dimensions as a modified SERVQUAL. From this scale, we could identify and evaluate the existing discrepancies in the quality of service in directing businesses to maximize service quality and customer satisfaction. The results of the Gaps pointed to negative values in all attributes and dimensions of service quality. Finally, we proposed possible directions for improving the perceived quality of this market. Practically, the goal is to guide and form a database for the decision making process in order to improve service in the construction industry, contributing to guidelines that allow for the increase in quality of service in the industry under review.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master in Philosophy Public Management, Durban, University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / This research investigated internal service quality perceptions held by DUT Writing Centre tutors. This research is important because literature is indicative of the fact that internal service quality is a precursor to external service quality. The study employs a mixed method approach. An adapted SERVQUAL Battery termed by Frost and Kumar (2000) as INTSERVQUAL was used to gather the quantitative data. The qualitative data was from a secondary source which was focus group discussions and was analysed using thematic analysis. This study utilised the survey method and a census was conducted to investigate the service quality dimensions. The quantitative results were analysed by use of descriptive and inferential statistics by SPSS 24 program. Five dimensions being reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles were measured by the instrument and a GAP analysis of the expectation and perception scores was done. It was found that the highest gap was in the tangibles dimension and the lowest gap in the reliability dimension. The research objectives were as follows: • To determine Writing Centre tutors’ expectations of internal service quality at DUT writing centres; • To evaluate Writing Centre tutors’ perceptions of internal service quality at DUT writing centres; • To identify gaps between expectations and perceptions of internal service quality at DUT writing centres; and • To identify customer service expectations and perceptual differences in relation to biographical variables in the population. / M

Introduction: Sports consumption is a unique human experience in which consumers invest both money and emotions where the game becomes the main focus of the event and constitutes what is known to be a sporting event. Sports organizations are required to track how their service quality is perceived during these events in order to understand the values of their spectators and to evaluate levels of satisfaction. As prior seasons in the SHL has shown an average decreasing number of attendances at the arenas, a possible issue may exist, suggesting that further understanding about how the service is perceived becomes useful.  Purpose: The purpose of this master thesis is to examine how sporadic spectators experience the service quality offered by HV71 at Kinnarps Arena. Moreover, five dimensions within service quality are implemented to distinguish the perceived service quality among sporadic spectators in various areas, and how it relates to the intention to attend more games. Based on that, two research questions and six hypotheses were formulated for this thesis. Method: To fulfill the purpose of the study, a quantitative method was conducted. The data was collected through a survey distributed by HV71 to spectators attending at Kinnarps Arena during the 2019/2020 SHL season. Due to the quantitative method, a deductive approach became useful as hypotheses with a modified framework were developed based on an existing theory. The theoretical anchoring includes prior research in the field of service quality and how it is associated with sporting events, which has been incorporated when analyzing the empirical findings.  Conclusion: The empirical findings in this study presents how the sporadic spectator perceives the service offered at Kinnarps Arena, whereas some differences between the dimensions exist. Moreover, the findings showed that each dimension are positively related with the perceived service quality, while identifying that there is not a strong relationship between the perceived service quality and intention to attend more games. Some findings suggested that other factors contribute to the intention to attend more, and not solely the perceived service quality.

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)