Reza Dabestani, Arash Shahin and Mohammad Saljoughian
The purpose of this paper is to identify customers’ critical demands through evaluating and prioritizing service quality dimensions (SQDs) based on service quality (SQ) gaps.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify customers’ critical demands through evaluating and prioritizing service quality dimensions (SQDs) based on service quality (SQ) gaps.
Design/methodology/approach
The customers of four-star hotels were asked to report on their expectations and perceptions about the service they were receiving. Afterwards, the gap between the customers’ expectations and perceptions was calculated. Eventually, the three sets of data were exploited to prioritize SQDs through analytic network process (ANP).
Findings
Findings suggest that security and confidentiality, price, and tangibles are the most crucial factors.
Practical implications
The results can provide hotel managers with insightful hints about those aspects of service that form their customers’ perception of SQ in order to assign their invaluable, but restricted, resources appropriately to offer a more competitive service to the customers through paying attention to those dimensions.
Originality/value
The innovativeness of the methodology was in that the authors proposed a noble method in filling out the difficult-to-complete ANP matrix. The authors also managed to consider the mutual relationship between SQD criteria, which is difficult to do in ordinary methods.
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Sina Aghaie, Omid Kamran-Disfani, Milad Darani and Mohammad Mike Saljoughian
The purpose of this study is to investigate how incumbent firms’ marketing deterrence strategies, price-cuts and quality improvement, influence potential entrants’ (PEs) entry…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate how incumbent firms’ marketing deterrence strategies, price-cuts and quality improvement, influence potential entrants’ (PEs) entry timing into incumbents’ markets and examine the moderating role of incumbents’ market-level resources and capabilities (R&Cs).
Design/methodology/approach
To test the hypotheses, an accelerated failure time model is applied to a rich data set of entry threats between 1997 and 2019 in the US airline industry.
Findings
The findings show that while quality improvements delay PEs’ entry, price-cuts expedite it. Furthermore, PEs are more likely to be deterred by price-cuts when incumbents possess high market-level R&Cs. However, such R&Cs do not moderate the link between incumbents’ quality improvement and PEs’ entry timing.
Research limitations/implications
Market entry in this research is conceptualized and defined as a large resource deployment into a market and operationalized as a binary variable. However, PEs might rather choose a minor resource deployment instead to establish a foothold in new markets. It would be fruitful for future research to examine various levels of participation in a new market and examine how the incumbents’ marketing deterrence strategies affect PEs’ entry timing. Doing so would provide us with a deeper understanding of the difference between actual/full market entry and micro/minor market entry.
Practical implications
This research examines the impact of incumbents’ marketing deterrence strategies in a contingency framework and highlights the crucial role of R&Cs in implementing such deterrence strategies. Doing so provides actionable insights to managers who craft strategies to protect their markets against PEs.
Originality/value
Previous research illustrates that incumbent firms commonly respond to competitors’ entry threats by cutting prices and improving quality. While antecedents of these deterrence strategies have been extensively investigated, the consequences have yet to be empirically examined.
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Reza Dabestani, Nasim Nahavandi and Mohammad Saljoughian
The purpose of this study is an attempt to identify the most crucial factors and their influence on one another, which can result in predicting the country’s next phase of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is an attempt to identify the most crucial factors and their influence on one another, which can result in predicting the country’s next phase of progress based on these factors’ variation patterns.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors proposed a model based on the existing literature and then ran a system dynamics analysis on the data obtained from the World Bank official Web site. The factors including “Research and development expenditure (% of GDP)”, “Scientific and technical journal articles”, “Patent applications”, “Trademark applications”, “Industry value added”, “Researchers in R & D (per million people)” and “High technology export” were considered as the related factors with science and technology.
Findings
The findings can also reveal what aspects require more attention and investment if the government demands to facilitate and accelerate the development process. The results show that the most intense increase refers to the number of patent applications and trademark applications, and the lowest increase is related to research and development expenditure and researchers in R & D.
Practical implications
The authors hope that tracking the changes of those factors leads practitioners and scholars to have a better understanding of the trends of science and technology development in a country, which in turn leads them to foresee the country’s upcoming opportunities as well as challenges.
Originality/value
Proposing a system dynamic model for predicting science and technology trend in a country is relatively novel.
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Reza Dabestani, Arash Shahin, Mohammad Saljoughian and Hadi Shirouyehzad
The purpose of this paper is to prioritize service quality dimensions (SQDs) using importance-performance analysis (IPA) and to compare the results for the customer groups…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to prioritize service quality dimensions (SQDs) using importance-performance analysis (IPA) and to compare the results for the customer groups segmented by data envelopment analysis (DEA).
Design/methodology/approach
Customers of three four-star hotels located in Isfahan have been asked to report on their expectation of service prior to receiving it as well as their perception of the service after receiving it. Afterwards, DEA has been used to assign the customers into two groups of fastidious (with relatively high expectations but low perceptions) and ordinary (with relatively low expectations but high perceptions). Next, IPA has been exploited for prioritizing SQDs in each group. Eventually, the prioritized SQDs in each group have been compared and insightful information has been extracted for further research and practical purposes.
Findings
Findings imply that despite occasional similarities, there is a significant difference in the way the two groups value SQDs. Also, the segmented groups have different priorities of SQDs.
Research limitations/implications
Findings revealed that in order to decrease the ambiguity of customer voice in prioritizing SQDs, it might be helpful to first segregate the participants based on their attitudes towards the quality of service to have a more congruent sample and then, to analyze the data.
Practical implications
In this study, a smarter approach for prioritizing SQDs based on the data of two major groups of customers has been proposed, which can help hoteliers in devoting their resources more efficiently.
Originality/value
The combination of DEA and IPA in homogenizing the sample and prioritizing SQDs for each homogenized group within the sample seems relatively novel.
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Mohammad Mehdi Tavakoli, Hadi Shirouyehzad and Reza Dabestani
The purpose of this study is to present a hybrid analytic network process (ANP) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) method for ranking organizational units as well as prioritizing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to present a hybrid analytic network process (ANP) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) method for ranking organizational units as well as prioritizing organization’s human capital management criteria.
Design/methodology/approach
In the proposed DEA model, human capital management criteria are considered as the inputs and organizational commitment considered as the output of DEA model. Afterward, the organizational unit’s efficiency and the weight of human capital management criteria are evaluated through DEA and the data are considered as the basis of ANP model.
Findings
The results of prioritizing the drivers of human capital management were showed that leadership practices, human capital management and learning capacity are the most important ones. Also, the findings proved that the proposed integrated DEA/ANP can be helpful in managerial issues.
Research limitations/implications
Filling the super-matrix and designing the questionnaire of ANP have always been the challenge of scholars because of the large number of data it requires. One of the main advantages of the proposed hybrid method in this research is that it resolves the above-mentioned problem of ANP.
Practical implications
The results of the proposed method may provide managers this opportunity to better analyze the condition of organizational units from human capital management perspective and focus on the most important activities in this context. Moreover, the proposed hybrid method can help scholars to better use both DEA and ANP techniques and obtain more reliable findings.
Originality/value
In this study, DEA efficiency measures of units, and the weights of inputs and outputs of DEA model are used to fill the super-matrix of ANP. In addition to having a logical approach, this method provides more reliable results and enjoys the advantages of both ANP and DEA techniques.
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Service quality is an evaluation of how well a delivered service meets customers’ expectations. The purpose of this paper is to provide a reliable scale of measurement for service…
Abstract
Purpose
Service quality is an evaluation of how well a delivered service meets customers’ expectations. The purpose of this paper is to provide a reliable scale of measurement for service quality in banks.
Design/methodology/approach
The SERVQUAL model was adopted based on a Banking Service Quality (BSQ) model and a two-phase multiobjective optimization model was designed. A structured questionnaire with five-point Likert scale was administered with a 93 percent response rate of 270 sample size. A total of 22 variables were considered based on the BSQ model and the significance of these variables to customers’ satisfaction were investigated. Factor analysis was used to extract the most influential factors on the measure of service quality and four factors were selected namely: they deliver when promised, precision on account statements, queues that move rapidly and sufficient number of ATMs per branch. In order to determine the reliability of the multiple Likert questions in the survey, Cronbach’s α was used indicating a scale reliability of 0.743. Moreover, multiple regression analysis was carried out on the selected factors to design an objective function for the design and evaluation of service quality model. The model design used for benchmarking was done using multiobjective genetic algorithm in MATLAB. Similarly, the model evaluation was done in a java interface using multiobjective particle swamp optimization.
Findings
The evaluation results validated the designed model and showed that the factors they deliver when promised and queues that move rapidly are a more reliable scale of measurement for customer’s satisfaction than the factors precision on account statements and sufficient number of ATMs per branch.
Research limitations/implications
The implication of the results is that effectiveness and assurance combined with access is a more significant factor for measuring customers’ satisfaction than tangibles based on the BSQ model.
Originality/value
The introduction of a two-phase optimization model for model benchmarking and evaluation as compared to ordinary factor analysis of the dimension constructs.
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Andre Albuquerque, Claudia Becerra, Fagner José Coutinho de Melo and Denise Dumke de Medeiros
The aim of this research is to propose a quantitative approach to evaluating the quality of services provided, helping organizations to make strategic decisions by better…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this research is to propose a quantitative approach to evaluating the quality of services provided, helping organizations to make strategic decisions by better understanding the characteristics that satisfy consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach was based on the integration of the Kano model with SERVQUAL, adapted by the satisfaction equations of Albuquerque et al. (2022) and fuzzy systems theory. Through this, it was possible to infer which attributes influence customer satisfaction, identifying the ranges of satisfaction and, with the help of fuzzy, reducing the imprecision of customer perceptions.
Findings
A total of 42% of the attributes were classified as unidimensional, with attribute 11 (Reliability) and attribute 9 (Courtesy) having the highest satisfaction values. Attractive attributes accounted for 38% of the sample, with attribute 29 (Variety of products) and attribute 7 (Location) having the greatest impact on satisfaction. On the other hand, attribute 30 (Order Delay) and attribute 31 (Waiting for payment) caused more dissatisfaction among consumers (ranges −0.6, −0.71, respectively). In addition, Variety of products was the most satisfactory, while Order Delay generated the most dissatisfaction among users.
Originality/value
The originality of this research lies in its contribution to organizations in relation to the services offered by investigating a gap in the studies that use the Kano model, integrated with SERVQUAL, which do not include reverse attributes in their equations and analyses. With the help of fuzzy sets, the subjectivity of the individual can be translated into data for greater clarity of information.
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Maryam Ebrahimi, Amir Daneshvar and Changiz Valmohammadi
To gain and differentiate competitive advantage, the sustainable service quality is a determining factor that railway companies can use. The purpose of this study is to identify…
Abstract
Purpose
To gain and differentiate competitive advantage, the sustainable service quality is a determining factor that railway companies can use. The purpose of this study is to identify both the importance and performance of rail transportation service quality factors in a case study as well as determine the most influential quality features.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive approach namely importance–performance analysis (IPA) technique and decision-making trail and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), and interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and Matriced’ Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée á un Classement (MICMAC) techniques was utilized.
Findings
The relative position of each attribute is specified on the IPA matrix proposing four strategies of concentrate here, keep up the good work, low priority and possible overkill. This study reveals that attributes of “the company cares about having a good society” are the most influential factor, and “having good business relations with shareholders” is the most permeable factor. Actually, consumers pay attention to how companies act toward society and maintain communication with shareholders. Through ISM technique and by summing the row and column of the consistency matrix, the attributes were partitioned into four levels. Also, MICMAC analysis identified the four clusters of linkage, independent, autonomous and dependent status of the attributes in terms of the driving power and dependence power.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the nature of single case study methodology, caution should be taken into consideration regarding the generazability of the obtained results.
Originality/value
The hybrid DEMATEL-ISM technique is used to analyze service quality factors in Iran’s transportation industry, which can be utilized in other industries as well as other countries.