Luc Honore Petnji Yaya

Impact of e-Quality and service recovery on loyalty: A study of e-banking in Spain

The purposes of this study are twofold: (i) to propose and apply scales to measure service quality and service recovery in the setting of electronic banking (e-banking) services; and (ii) to examine the impact of electronic service quality (e-quality) and service recovery (e-recovery) on loyalty (e-loyalty) in the setting of e-banking services. An online questionnaire is used to survey 428 Spanish customers of e-banking services (123 of whom have reported a service failure) using modified versions of the E-S-QUAL and E-RecS-QUAL scales. The data are analysed by exploratory factor analysis to: (i) test the applicability of the scales to the setting of online banking services: and (ii) generate and test a model of e-quality, e-recovery, and e-loyalty using structural equation modelling. Three of the four dimensions of the original E-S-QUAL scale and two of the three dimensions of the original E-RecS-QUAL scale are confirmed in the setting of e-banking services. The study reassures managers of online banks that modified versions of the E-S-QUAL and E-RecS-QUAL scales are appropriate instruments for measuring e-quality and e-recovery. The study also provides empirical evidence that efficiency of a website and responsiveness to complaints have a positive influence on e-loyalty. The study is the first to provide definitive empirical evidence (in the context of e-banking) of the presumed link between: (i) the e-quality and e-recovery dimensions proposed in the E-S-QUAL and E-RecS-QUAL scales; and (ii) the construct of loyalty.

Assessing e-service quality: the current state of E-S-QUAL

Purpose: This study seeks to holistically undertake a comprehensive review of the current state of the E-S-QUAL scale including the methodology used, suggestions and limitations associated with the adoption of the scale. Design/methodology/approach: The data collection process was done through an exhaustive search of the largest well-known databases and search engines such as ScienceDirect, Emerald Insight, EBSCOhost, ABI/INFORM and Google Scholar. Results: The dimensional structure of E-S-QUAL appears to be very unstable, even within a given sector. However, the general results revealed that the scale is effective in capturing the core e-service quality since it has been to a certain extent successfully replicated and applied in 11 countries and a variety of e-service settings. The dimensions of efficiency, system availability and privacy appear consistently in the various models regardless of the type of e-service. In contrast, the dimension of fulfilment seems not to be generic but specific to particular e-service contexts such as websites selling physical goods. Management implication: Providing the scale dimensional structure appears to be very unstable, both scholars and practitioners must assess the underlying factor structure of their data before drawing any conclusions from their study. Managers should be careful in applying the fulfilment dimension in contexts that have few elements in common with industry-specific which the sites did not promised about order delivery and item availability that must not be shipped.

Can integration difficulties affect innovation and satisfaction

Purpose – The difficulties in the integration of management systems (MSs) and their relationship with innovation and customer satisfaction are explored by proposing a model that links these three concepts together. Integration, innovation and customer satisfaction are relevant issues for the competitiveness of companies, especially for the ones that have implemented several MS standards. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Data for the study derives from a survey carried out in 76 Spanish organizations registered to at least both ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 standards for quality MSs and environmental MSs, respectively. An exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) are utilized to assess and confirm the proposed scales validity and the relationships of the conceptual model. Findings – Based on the empirical study, the second-order SEM shows that the difficulties of integration are directly and negatively related to both of MS documentation and ...

The contest determinant of delight and disappointment: a case study of online banking

Purpose: This study considers perceived online service quality and online service recovery as antecedents to online satisfaction for the purposes of investigating which factor has the most significant impact on online customer satisfaction and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach: An online questionnaire method approach was used to survey 428 customers of online banking (123 of whom reported a service failure). Exploratory factor analyses, oblique rotation and varimax rotation were used to assess scale validity. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling based on partial least squares and bootstrapping analysis. Results: Perceived service quality and service recovery have direct/indirect effects on customer loyalty through customer satisfaction. The mediating role of satisfaction was also confirmed. Rather than service recovery, e-quality is the most important predictor of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Management implication: Antecedents such as online service quality, service recovery and satisfaction can be used to forecast customer loyalty in e-banking. However, it is more important to increase customer satisfaction, which requires placing an external focus on developing what will ‘go right’ in the first place by enhancing online perceived service quality, instead of preventing dissatisfaction through recovery, which is an internal focus on fixing what has ‘gone wrong’. Original value: This study is the first to provide important insights into both the direct and indirect impacts of e-service quality and e-service recovery on building relationships characterised by customer satisfaction and loyalty as well as providing definitive evidence in terms of the various sub-dimensions of service quality and service recovery.

Service quality assessment of public transport and the implication role of demographic characteristics

This paper first proposes scales to evaluate customers’ perceived service quality in public transport then identifies the demographic characteristic factors that may influence customer perceived service quality, as well as identifies any customer perception differences between the subcategories. The manager interview and random sampling method were used to survey 288 consumers of public transport buses. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to confirm the scale validity. Thereafter, structural equation modeling, Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to assess the causal paths and service quality perceptions differences among the subgroups. The three dimensions of functional, convenience and physical environment quality were confirmed as underlying factors to assess customer perceived quality in a public transport setting. Age and owning a driver’s license are factors that directly and positively affect service quality, whereas education was negatively related to perceived quality. In contrast, relationships between being a car user, gender and perceived quality were not supported. The results also showed that younger commuters appear to have lower perceptions of service quality compared to adults. However, the current study does suggest that people with a university education and above may be a better audience for advertising appeals focused on one of these three significant dimensions of service quality. This study adds theoretical knowledge on how to accurately assess opinions of customers’ perception of service quality in public transport services, as well as how to provide sufficient insight on the direct role of demographic characteristics on customers’ perceived service quality.

The expert experience in adopting the E-S-QUAL scale

This paper aims to identify and discuss some key conceptual and empirical issues that should be considered while adopting a generic scale, such as E-S-QUAL, to evaluate service quality. A collection of the 21 most relevant papers that have previously used the scale were retrieved from the leading databases. The authors involved in these papers were invited to share their experience in the use of the scale through a Delphi methodology. The experts agreed on many points related to the conceptualisation and empirical issues. Some of the most important points are the following: there was consensus that the ‘Fulfilment’ dimension is one of the prominent dimensions only for those websites that sell and deliver physical goods. Moreover, due to the high speed in the development of technology and telecommunication, the experts agreed that the Efficiency dimension must be updated. It was also agreed that the causes of instability in a number of dimensions are not only due to the service industry analysed but also due to the factors of such analysis methodology used across studies. The results of this study will increase the knowledge and the confidence that researchers and practitioners have when they use the scale in their subsequent studies.

Analysis of training programs related to quality management system: the Spanish case

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identifying, discussing and analyzing the existing education and training programs related to quality management system (QMS) in Spain. Design/methodology/approach Exhaustive search of the education system database was used to map the multifaceted of Spanish education system and professional training in addition to their relationships with the labor market. Thereafter, a thorough scan of the existing training related to management system standards was used to classify them into different subgroups as well as identifying possible education and the professional trainings related to QMS. Findings The overall results showed that general education in Spain and in particular related to QMS can be classified into four different groups including: official university, unofficial university, official non-university and unofficial non-university. Moreover, this study observed that the general concern about the employment and earnings in Spain has led the local, autonomous communities and national government to launch specific measures designed to both continue to increase the quality of the workforce with the QMS backgrounds and to ease the difficulties encountered when entering the labor market. Originality/value This study is the first to analyze and map the multifaceted character of Spanish education system and professional training related to QMS. The findings of this study may be useful for organizations trying to evaluate their QMS efforts, thus, engage their people in order to face the competitive challenges that lie ahead.

Experience in Adapting E-S-QUAL to Different Sectors or Settings

Throughout the last decade, we have witnessed the rise of online service quality models that aim to support managers in the evaluation and improvement of their service offerings. The existing literature indicates that among the various instruments that have been proposed, the generic parsimonious E-S-QUAL has received the most recognition. However, critics have argued that the scale is not generic but is specific for e-services that sell physical goods. Accordingly, the present study aims to resolve the matter based on two relevant sources of information. First, this study reassesses the scale in three different sectors including retail service (e-supermarket), soft retail service (e-travel agencies), and non-retail service (e-banking). Thereafter, the Delphi analysis method is used to survey experts who have previously used the scale. The overall results confirmed that the E-S-QUAL is effective in capturing the core of e-service quality. However, the results also reveal that the scale appears to be very unstable because there were important differences in the final number of dimensions (e.g., four for the e-supermarket, three for online banking and one for the e-travel agencies). The extant literature on the topic points toward online service quality as a multidimensional (rather than a unidimensional) construct. In other words, E-S-QUAL has fallen short in assessing the quality of service of e-travel agencies on its entire domain. Consequently, this study argued that the four dimensions of E-S-QUAL may have several limitations in assessing e-service quality in some sectors. In addition, the Delphi results indicate that the fulfillment dimension of E-S-QUAL is one of the prominent dimensions referring only to online services that sell physical goods. Finally, the output results confirmed the service quality–perceived value–loyalty chain. In addition, loyalty intention was shown to be a strong predictor of actual purchase.