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This research aims to examine the applicability of the Retail Service Quality Scale (RSQS) in retail stores in Kazakhstan, a country of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) that is in the transition stage from a controlled economy to a market economy. This research also attempts to identify the dimensions and sub‐dimensions that contribute to increasing the customer base.

A sample of 220 shoppers from department stores, discount stores, and supermarkets in Almaty city, Kazakhstan, was surveyed to examine the validity and reliability of the five dimensions (physical aspects, reliability, personal interaction, problem solving, and policy) and six sub‐dimensions (appearance, convenience, promises, doing‐it‐right, inspiring confidence and courteousness/helpfulness) of RSQS. The findings are cross‐validated hierarchically using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Step‐wise regression methods are used to identify the dimensions and sub‐dimensions contributing to increasing the customer base.

The research finds that the RSQS structure is a good fit in the Kazakhstan retail setting. The five dimensions and six sub‐dimensions together provide significant usefulness in measuring the quality of retail services. The research also finds that while all the dimensions and sub‐dimensions have a positive relationship, two dimensions (personal interaction, physical aspects) and one sub‐dimension (inspiring confidence) are strongly related to increasing the customer base through return customers and word of mouth from satisfied customers.

The present study does not distinguish applicability of the RSQS in the different formats of the retail store. Future research should examine the impact of the different retail formats in using the scale for measuring retail service quality.

Prospective and existing retail service providers who place a high priority on quality can use this instrument to track the high growth potential of the retail sector in CIS countries. It will help to measure their services and increase their customer base by targeting the appropriate dimensions and sub‐dimensions.

The authors believe that this research reveals new insights about the retail sector in the context of CIS countries. This research also has managerial and research implications for designing and formulating operations strategy in providing retail services for new markets.

The purpose of this paper is to extract and validate the dimensions of service quality in retail banking services in India by adopting an integrated and hierarchical perspective of service quality determinants.

The paper empirically validates a parsimonious (multi-dimensional and multi-level) model of service quality in retail banking services in India. The analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling. A hypothesized second-order model was tested and compared with a first-order model of service quality. The dimensions were extracted through exploratory factor analysis and validated through confirmatory factor analysis.

The second-order service quality model was accepted based on parsimony as it consisted of five primary dimensions: Service delivery (describing the efficiency with which the service is provided), tangibles (the quality of physical service environment), reliability (the promise of right service being provided), core service (the attributes and features of the service product) and competence (the capability of employees and systems for providing the service). The second-order model enhances the understanding of the structure of service quality for retail banking services in India. The most important dimension was tangibles, especially the physical environment which facilitates efficient delivery of service.

The research provides support for a multi-dimensional second-order model of service quality in retail banking service in India. The results show that customers form perceptions of overall service quality which are reflected by five primary dimensions. The primary dimension of tangibles is the most influential.

Organizations need to measure and manage overall service quality perceptions to build trust and reinforce loyalty intentions among their customers. Banks need to adopt a multi-level approach to managing service quality perceptions, i.e. both at the dimensional level and organizational level.

This study would contribute to the enhancement of service quality outcomes in retail banking services in India which has a crucial role in the economic development.

The study proposes and validates a parsimonious and hierarchical model of service quality in the context of retail banking in Indian cultural context. Thus this research provides support to existing knowledge of service quality measurement and management and extends the understanding of its structure by validating the multi-level model in an emerging market context.

The purpose of the article is to investigate relationship quality in retail relationships as influenced by its antecedents (loyalty programme quality and personal interaction quality) and resulting in customer loyalty to the retailer. The focus is on loyalty programme members' perceptions and differences between segments of consumers with different levels of involvement in the product category.

The method used was a consumer survey. Two waves of cross‐sectional telephone interviewing with 116 and 410 members of a retail loyalty club were conducted. Structural equation modelling served for the estimation of relationships in an integrated conceptual framework among constructs of loyalty programme quality, personal interaction quality, relationship quality and loyalty, relevant to the development of retail relationships.

The findings suggest that loyalty programme quality is important for relationship quality; however, efforts to assure personal interaction quality with customers are needed to improve relationship quality as well as customer loyalty. The study deepens knowledge of relationship quality's antecedents and consequences in the retail environment with regard to segments of customers with different levels of product category involvement.

The research is limited to members of a selected DIY retailer's loyalty programme, not accounting specifically for membership in multiple loyalty programmes. Future research could use different methodologies such as longitudinal studies to examine dynamic relationships among the constructs in the study.

In the retail context, practical implications of the impact of loyalty programme quality and of personal interaction quality on relationship quality and customer loyalty are considered.

The paper contributes to the understanding of members' perceptions and responses to relationship quality as well as to some mechanisms underlying customer loyalty in loyalty programmes.

The purpose of this paper is to check the reliability and validity of a well-acknowledged scale developed by Pratibha A. Dabholkar (1996) in the context of Indian organized grocery retail and also to identify new aspects of service quality with respect to grocery retail from literature that have not been taken into account in earlier studies and to finally develop a new scale to measure service quality of organized retail grocery stores with consultation from several experts.

In order to achieve the objectives of the research, both descriptive and exploratory research designs have been employed such that a survey of 800 respondents was undertaken as part of descriptive research whereas exploratory research was conducted to add new dimensions to the existing service quality measurement model so as to develop a new comprehensive scale.

The results of the study suggest that all the five dimensions of Dabholkar’s model are not suitable to measure service quality in Indian organized grocery retail stores. Therefore, a new instrument with total four dimensions has been developed.

The study is of great importance for the retailers as it offers a more comprehensive and specific scale to measure service quality of organized grocery retail stores.

This research supports and makes contribution to the previous research on development of service quality measurement scales in Indian context.

The purpose of this study is to validate the Retail Service Quality Scale (RSQS) developed by Dabholkar et al. in the Malaysian business setting, specifically in the context of apparel specialty stores.

Two well‐known retail clothing store chains were selected for this study. Purposive sampling method was used, with a total of 211 responses collected from customers of all X and Y's chain stores in the northern region of Malaysia.

The paper finds that all the five dimensions: physical aspects, reliability, personal interaction, problem solving, and policy, are highly suited for measuring retail service quality in clothing stores, also proving that the instrument is applicable in the Malaysian setting. Retail service quality is furthermore associated with future consumption behaviour in terms of the customers' intention to visit, purchase and recommend the stores to others.

The instrument is proven to be valid, reliable and appropriate for studying retail businesses that offer a mix of services and merchandise. The instrument is also applicable in another culture other than the USA, namely Malaysia.

Retailers can utilize the instrument for benchmarking current levels of retail service quality, carrying out periodic inspections to measure service performance and improvement, as well as to detect problematic areas of service quality within the stores that are in need of attention.

This research contributes to the somewhat limited studies carried out on instrument validation in Malaysia. Furthermore, the RSQS is tested in Malaysia – a country with a vibrant, dynamic retail environment and heightened consumer awareness for fashion and retail.

Retail shopping behaviour is one of the major tenets of the retail marketing literature. The purpose of this research is to presents the empirical findings of two quantitative studies of Estonian and Canadian university students' interpretation and perceptions of retail shopping behaviour.

Paper and pencil questionnaires administered in Estonia and Canada. The data was analysed from two perspectives. The first was to determine if the retail service quality construct differed between the two samples, and secondly to use using confirmatory factor analysis, and regression analysis to test a model of shopping behaviour and to make comparisons between the shopping behaviour of university students in the two countries.

The results indicate a level of commonality in retail shopping perceptions, as well as non‐trivial differences in how shopping practice in terms of the construct structure, and individual service drivers, should be theorized. The Canadian sample indicated a greater focus on retail service quality perception at the sub‐dimension level while the Estonian sample indicated a greater focus on retail service quality at an overall or integrated level.

The findings are limited as to the consumer type (university students) selected. This limitation is lessened as the university age sector represents one of the most dynamic and growing segments of the Estonian retail market.

Retail sales per capita within Estonia, and the other Baltic states, represents the fastest growing region in the European Union. Thus, there is a need for empirical and academic research that attempts to highlight the transferable (i.e. western) and the solely domestic consumer knowledge that will allow this growth to continue. Caution needs to be taken when simply implementing best retail practices from the West as erroneous conclusions may be drawn. It may not be the practices from the West that are fuelling the retail success, and thus research such as this helps to draw attention to the need to understand the more sustainable localized nature of retail shopping behaviour.

This paper represents an initial focus on an unknown area of retailing research.

The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of customer share of wallet (SoW) based on research in customer characteristics and the retail service quality model. Specifically, this study adopts an asymmetrical modelling approach to provide insights into the necessary and sufficient conditions leading to increased customer SoW in the context of neighbourhood shops in Southern Africa.

This study uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to analyse survey data collected from 523 current customers of the shops.

This study reveals that large household size and low income are necessary conditions for increased SoW. It also reveals five unique customer profiles, or casual recipes, associated with increased customer SoW. More generally, this study demonstrates that service quality constituents (personal interaction, reliability, policy and physical aspects of the shop) and customer characteristics, namely, relationship duration, household size, gender and income-level act in combination to lead to customer SoW.

This study illustrates how service quality constituents and customer characteristics compete and/or complement each other in relation to increased customer SoW. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to provide evidence on the necessary conditions for increased SoW, especially in the neighbourhood shop context of a developing economy. Value-wise, this paper provides a more nuanced perspective to understanding how unique customer profiles are associated with increased SoW.

The purpose of this paper is to seek the determinants of service quality and evaluate the impact of service quality and consumers’ characteristics on channel selection in the context of beverage industry in Bangladesh.

Data were collected using convenience sampling method. Initially exploratory factor analysis was performed to extract the key dimensions of service quality and then structural equation modeling was employed to verify the causal relationships between the dimensions of service quality and service quality itself. χ2 test was used to determine whether any association exists between service quality or demographic variables and choice of channel types. Cramer’s V was performed to measure the strength of association. One-way ANOVA was carried out to identify significant impact of demographic variables on perception of service quality.

The research findings indicated that personal interaction, appearance, reliability, policy, and problem solving are the key determinants of service quality in terms of beverage industry in Bangladesh. It is observed that customers preferring factors like personal interaction and problem solving intend to purchase beverage items from super shop. Customers who are deemed socioeconomically high taking profession and monthly income into account prefer shopping at super shop. Customers who are female or married with no kid or service holders showed better satisfaction with service quality.

Due to money and time constraints the study could not cover up the whole country. Conclusions and predictions to be applied to consumers in general may not be appropriate entirely since specific age group was deemed, given that the subject was beverage products.

The model proposed in this study will help managers and suppliers understand how consumers assess the quality of services. In order to strengthen brand and create brand loyalty, marketing planners, managers, and suppliers must be aware of the dimensions of service quality, and consumers’ characteristics. Selecting an optimal sales channel is imperative for suppliers in order to make their products reach to target consumers.

Service quality plays crucial role in ameliorating customer satisfaction and creating competitive advantage whereas sales channels have impact on sustaining the long-term profitability of the company. This paper has contributed significantly to these issues and sought consumers’ characteristics and preference as well.

Social commerce (s-commerce) is an online business model combining commercial and social features. Vendors may engage in a business-oriented relationship with customers and/or establish a personal relationship with customers. The role performed by the vendors may not match customer expectations and needs, resulting in low repurchase intention. Drawing on role theory in the context of customer orientation, this study integrates functional customer orientation (FCO) and relational customer orientation (RCO) with the expectation–confirmation model (ECM) to propose a theoretical framework for explaining customers' post-consumption behaviors. This study also examines how product-specific attributes moderate the effect of FCO and RCO on customer satisfaction.

This study analyzed 273 survey responses from WeChat users by using PLS-SEM.

The results confirmed that the confirmation of customer expectations positively affected FCO and RCO. Additionally, FCO and RCO had different effects on customer satisfaction, depending on product type and brand awareness, and their effects on customers' post-consumption behaviors also varied.

The findings suggest that both business and social roles are important to customers in C2C s-commerce. This study also demonstrates product characteristics moderating the effectiveness of customer orientation on customer satisfaction.

This study provides empirical support for vendors and platform developers to implement appropriate selling strategies and manage customer expectations in C2C s-commerce.

This study is the first to incorporate FCO and RCO into the ECM theoretical framework to obtain new insights into vendors' selling approaches in C2C s-commerce, thus contributing to the marketing literature.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.