Janet Carruthers

An examination of the relationship between service quality dimensions, overall internet banking service quality and customer satisfaction

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships among three dimensions of service quality that influence overall internet banking service quality and its subsequent effect on customer satisfaction in a New Zealand banking context.Design/methodology/approach – Internet banking service customers of a national bank in New Zealand completed a self‐administered questionnaire. Data obtained from the customers were analysed using the SEM‐based partial least squares (PLS) methodology.Findings – The results show significant relationships among online customer service quality, online information system quality, banking service product quality, overall internet banking service quality and customer satisfaction.Originality/value – Little attention has been given in the literature to understanding the service quality dimensions that influence overall internet banking service quality and the specific outcome of customer satisfaction. By expanding previous research in internet banking service quality...

The Effect of Management Commitment to Service Quality on Frontline Employees' Job Attitudes, Turnover Intentions and Service Recovery Performance in a New Public Management Context

We present and test a model of behavioural job outcomes grounded in Bagozzis (1992) reformulation of attitude theory in the important and novel context of a former public sector government department that has undergone corporatisation. Frontline employees (FLEs) completed a self‐administered questionnaire on how factors characterising management commitment to service quality (MCSQ) affect their job satisfaction and organisational commitment, and how these job attitudes impact service recovery performance and turnover intentions. Data obtained from the FLEs were analysed using the SEM‐based Partial Least Squares (PLS) methodology. Results suggest there is a significant influence of MCSQ on job attitudes, which in turn influence service recovery performance and turnover intentions. Implications of the results and further research directions are discussed.

Antecedents and outcomes of service recovery performance in a public health‐care environment

Purpose – This paper proposes investigating a model of service recovery performance in a public health‐care setting.Design/methodology/approach – Frontline hospital staff (administrative and nursing staff) representing a range of out‐patient departments/clinics in a New Zealand inner‐city public hospital completed a self‐administered questionnaire on organizational variables affecting their service recovery efforts, job satisfaction and intention to resign. Data obtained from the hospital were analyzed using the SEM‐based partial least squares (PLS) methodology.Findings – The results show significant relationships between perceived managerial attitudes, work environment perceptions, service recovery performance and outcomes variables.Research limitations/implications – Limitations of the study are noted including the generalizability of the findings within a public health‐care environment. Suggestions for future research include an examination of other variables potentially important in service recovery e...

Job resourcefulness, symptoms of burnout and service recovery performance: an examination of call centre frontline employees

Purpose – This study aims to extend previous research on the relationship between role stressors and symptoms of burnout by examining the influence of job resourcefulness as a situational personality trait in the burnout process, and its impact on service recovery performance. Using data from call centre frontline employees (FLEs) in New Zealand, it seeks to investigate the moderating influence of job resourcefulness on the relationships between role stressors, burnout symptoms and FLE service recovery performance.Design/methodology/approach – In this study, call centre FLEs completed a self‐administered online survey questionnaire on role stressors, emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, job resourcefulness and service recovery performance. Data were analyzed using structural equations modelling (SEM) by means of LISREL 8.53.Findings – The results show that job resourcefulness buffers both the dysfunctional effects of role stressors on symptoms of burnout and the effects of role stressors on FLE servic...

Mapping and assessing the key management issues influencing UK public healthcare purchaser‐provider cooperation

Purpose – The purpose is to examine the bases of positive relations between suppliers and purchasers of healthcare services. In doing so, the paper examines the nature of cooperation between the providers of healthcare services (hospitals) and those who commission and purchase healthcare on behalf of patients (regional health authorities).Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a qualitative interview approach for gathering and analysing major stakeholder (provider and purchaser) perceptions of their interorganisational relations and how these interactions impact on the quest of the healthcare provider to meet the needs of the community they serve.Findings – The paper identifies group relevant variables into four major themes or “core categories” that characterise purchaser‐provider stakeholder cooperation. These themes represent provider and purchaser views on those factors characterising stakeholder relationships within the purchaser‐provider dyad.Practical implications – The paper suggests that...

Purchaser‐provider interaction in UK public health: improving stakeholder cooperation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the bases of positive relations between suppliers and purchasers of healthcare services. In doing so, it examines the nature of cooperation between the providers of healthcare services (hospitals) and those who commission and purchase healthcare on behalf of patients (regional health authorities) and makes specific recommendations as to how cooperation can be better realized.Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a qualitative interview approach for gathering and analyzing major stakeholder (provider and purchaser) perceptions of their interorganizational relations and how these interactions impact on the quest of the healthcare provider to meet the needs of the community they serve.Findings – The paper identifies and groups relevant variables into four major themes or “core categories” that characterize purchaser‐provider stakeholder cooperation. These themes represent provider and purchaser views on those factors characterising stakeholder relat...

Antecedents and outcomes of service recovery perfomance in private healthcare: An empirical investigation

In this study, frontline employees from a sample of New Zealand private sector hospitals completed a self-administered questionnaire on organizational variables affecting their service recovery efforts, their job satisfaction and intentions to resign. The results identify significant relationships between perceived managerial attitudes, work environment perceptions, service recovery performance and outcomes variables. The research advances understanding of frontline service recovery performance in a private healthcare setting and the findings indicate that healthcare managers can take actions on a number of fronts to assist progress toward the achievement of frontline service recovery excellence.ResumenEn el presente estudio empleados al público de una muestra de hospitales privados en Nueva Zelanda completaron un cuestionario autoadministrado relativo a las variables organizativas que influian sobre su esfuerzo en el servicio de atención al paciente, su satisfactión en el trabajo y sus intenciones de renuncia. Los resultados obtenidos muestran relaciones significativas entre las actitudes percibidas del equipo directivo, las percepciones del ambiente de trabajo, el desempeño en el servicio de atenciñn al paciente y las variables de resultados. La investigatión realizada profundiza en el conocimiento del desempeóo de cara al público del servicio de atenciún al paciente en el marco de la sanidad privada, y los resultados indican que los gerentes sanitarios deben llevar a cabo acciones en diversos frentes a fin de progresar en el objetivo de lograr la excelencia en la atención al póblico en este tipo de servicios.

Walking on the light side: investigating the world of ghost tour operators and entrepreneurial marketing

Ghost tours are an important part of tourism in many towns and cities around the world. Described as light dark tourism, they are a mix of the macabre and entertainment. Ghost tours are usually small business enterprises. In order for their venture to be sustainable, ghost tour operators must engage in effective entrepreneurial marketing (EM) practices. This study aims to evaluate the extent to which ghost tour operators use EM within their business.,A qualitative bricolage approach is used as a way to explore the use of EM practices within ghost tourism; that is, a niche tourism product. Data were collected using 21 in-depth interviews, participant observation and analysis of venture websites. This study used a two-stage data analysis procedure.,Findings reveal that ghost tour operators practice several dimensions of EM that are often simultaneously present and interwoven through the practices ghost tour operators use, as identified by thematic analysis.,This study adds an EM lens to the light dark tourism literature.

Asking Attitude, Intention and Prediction Questions as a Social Influence Technique: A Meta-Analysis of the Question-Behavior Effect

The question-behavior effect, how asking attitude, intention and prediction questions influences behavior, has been widely examined since its discovery by Sherman (1980). In the present study, a meta-analysis is carried out to examine the effectiveness of this influence technique. Studies were included if they used an experimental design with random allocation of participants, where the experimental condition consisted of asking attitude, intention and/or prediction questions and the dependent variable was a behavioral measurement. This resulted in 55 comparisons in 35 papers, with a total of 49108 participants. Applying a random-effects model on the data resulted in a small effect (d = .26, 95%CI [.18, .34]). Methodological causes and moderators related to the applicability and universality of the technique are discussed.