Albert Caruana

SERVICE LOYALTY: THE EFFECTS OF SERVICE QUALITY AND THE MEDIATING ROLE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Service loyalty, with its final effect on repurchasing by customers, appears to have received relatively little attention. This study starts by first delineating the concept of service loyalty and proceeds to distinguish between service quality and customer satisfaction. A mediational model that links service quality to service loyalty via customer satisfaction is proposed. Appropriate measures are identified and a postal survey is undertaken among 1,000 retail banking customers. A response rate of 20.5 per cent is obtained. Results indicate that customer satisfaction does play a mediating role in the effect of service quality on service loyalty. The effects of a number of demographic indicators on service loyalty are also reported. Implications are discussed, limitations of the study are noted and possible areas for further research are indicated.

Service quality and satisfaction – the moderating role of value

The constructs of service quality, satisfaction and value are discussed. Instruments are identified and exploratory research is undertaken among customers of an audit firm to determine whether value plays a moderating role between service quality and satisfaction. Results from a moderated regression confirming such a role for value are reported. Implications are drawn and opportunities for further research are highlighted.

Market orientation and business performance: some European evidence

While market orientation has almost been taken for granted by both academics and some practitioners, attempts to define and operationalize the construct have been very limited. Moreover, efforts to link market orientation to business performance have been few and far between. Recent work in the USA has led to the development of a scale to measure market orientation in organizations, and this measure has also been positively linked to performance. Describes efforts to measure the level of market orientation in samples of British and Maltese firms. Confirms the reliability of the measure, and tests some aspects of its validity. While the link between market orientation and firm performance is not a strong one, it is indeed significant. Discusses implications of the studies, and identifies some avenues for further research.

Corporate reputation: concept and measurement

Corporate reputation is formed by the firm’s various publics on the basis of information and experience. Different publics consider different informational cues. Focusses on the cues considered by customers of a beverage firm. Uses focus groups and a survey among consumers to develop an instrument to measure corporate reputation. The instrument can be used to track the evolution of the corporate reputation of a firm over time. Discusses other implications in terms of the role of the “halo” effect on corporate reputation and indicates directions for future research.

The effect of internal marketing on organisational commitment among retail bank managers

This paper examines internal processes associated with delivering customer satisfaction focusing particularly on the relationship between the nature and extent of internal marketing and its outcome in terms of the level of organisational commitment on the part of employees. The concepts of internal marketing and organisational commitment are discussed, suitable measures are identified and research is conducted among managers of a retail bank. The findings confirm a significant relationship between internal marketing and organisational commitment. The relationship of internal marketing is most significant with the affective dimension of organisational commitment. Limitations of the research are noted and directions for future research are indicated.

Children’s perception of their influence over purchases: the role of parental communication patterns

Socialisation by children is seen as taking place within a socio‐cultural environment where family patterns of communication play a pivotal role. The socio‐ and concept‐orientation are two predominant parental communication styles that are likely to affect the perceived influence that children believe they hold. This study focuses on the perceived influence of children resulting from the communication pattern adopted by parents. Research is conducted among a dyad consisting of parent and child that visit a recreational site. Results are reported, conclusions are drawn and recommendations for future research are made.

Assessment of the Three-Column Format SERVQUAL: An Experimental Approach

Abstract Over the past decade, SERVQUAL has emerged as perhaps the most popular standardized questionnaire to measure service quality. This study investigates the usefulness of the three-column format SERVQUAL proposed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry, (Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L.: Reassessment of expectations as a comparison standard in measuring service quality: Implications for further research, Journal of Marketing 58 (January 1994): 111–124. Using a six-group experimental design, group 1 respondents are administered the revised SERVQUAL instrument containing minimum expectations, desired expectations, and performance items. The remaining five groups are given different combinations of the one and/or two column questionnaire. The findings indicate that the perception battery is the salient component, raising new concerns regarding the usefulness of the revised expectations scale in service quality measurement. Management implications and future research issues are discussed.

Do universities that are more market orientated perform better

Amid rapid changes in the tertiary education sector witnessed in recent years, issues such as performance and accountability are becoming increasingly important. Among other things, market orientation has often been linked to performance. Investigates the degree of market orientation and its effect on performance at Australian and New Zealand universities. Results confirm a positive relationship between market orientation and overall performance: providing support for the relevance of market orientation to universities. Confirms the importance of the responsiveness dimension. Another interesting finding is that there is no significant difference in the level of market orientation between business and non‐business schools or departments in universities in Australia and New Zealand. Implications, limitations and directions for further research are also discussed.

An internal marketing approach to public sector management: the marketing and human resources interface

Internal marketing (IM) focuses on acquiring and retaining customer‐oriented employees. Critics of internal marketing claim that the term is simply a synonym for good human resources management. The concepts of internal marketing and human resource effectiveness (HRE), at both a strategic and technical level, are considered and suitable measures identified. Data are collected from the Australian public sector and a moderated regression analysis is used to investigate the hypothesized relationships. The study provides empirical support that there is a valid and distinct demarcation between IM and HRE, and that IM is an important antecedent to HRE.

The effect of anomie on academic dishonesty among university students

Anomie describes the individual’s lack of integration in social life. The construct has been linked to various types of activities and concepts but no research appears to have been undertaken linking it to academic dishonesty. The literatures on anomie and academic dishonesty are examined, measurement instruments are identified and a survey is carried out among undergraduate students of a business school. The psychometric properties of the instruments are confirmed and correlates are investigated. The point is made that besides seeking ways to curb academic dishonesty, universities need to foster the development of an internalized code of ethics among students. Limitations are noted and directions for future research are indicated.