The authors respond to concerns raised by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1994) about the relative efficacy of performance-based and perceptions-minus-expectations measures of service quality. They demonstrate that the major concerns voiced by these authors are supported neither by a critical review of their discussion nor the emerging literature. Several research issues relative to service quality measurement and strategic decision making also are identified.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BabakusEmin and BoilerGregory W. (1992), “An Empirical Assessment of the SERVQUAL Scale,” Journal of Business Research, 24, 253–68.
2.
BabakusEmin and MangoldW. Glenn (1992), “Adapting the SERVQUAL Scale to Hospital Services: An Empirical Investigation,” Health Service Research, 26 (6), 767–80.
3.
BitnerMary Jo (1990), “Evaluating Service Encounters: The Effects of Physical Surroundings and Employee Responses,” Journal of Marketing, 54 (2), 69–82.
4.
BoltonRuth N. and DrewJames H. (1991), “A Multistage Model of Customers’ Assessments of Service Quality and Value,” Journal of Consumer Research, 17 (4), 375–84.
5.
BouldingWilliam, KalraAjay, StaelinRichard, and ZeithamlValarie A. (1993), “A Dynamic Process Model of Service Quality: From Expectations to Behavioral Intentions,” Journal of Marketing Research, 30 (February 1993), 7–27.
6.
BrownTom J., ChurchillGilbert A.Jr., and PeterJ. Paul (1992), “Improving the Measurement of Service Quality,” A.C. Nielsen working paper #91–4, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, WI.
7.
CarmanJames M. (1990), “Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality: an Assessment of the SERVQUAL Dimension,” Journal of Retailing, 66 (1), 33–55.
8.
CroninJ. JosephJr. and TaylorSteven A. (1992), “Measuring Service Quality: A Reexamination and Extension,” Journal of Marketing, 56 (3), 55–68.
9.
GardialSarah Fisher, ClemonsD. Scott, WoodruffRobert B., SchumannDavid W. and BurnsMary Jane (1994), “Comparing Consumers’ Recall of Prepurchase and Postpurchase Product Evaluation Experiences,” Journal of Consumer Research, forthcoming.
10.
GardialSarah Fisher, WoodruffRobert B., BurnsMary Jane, SchumannDavid W., and ClemonsScot (1994), “Comparison Standards: Exploring Their Variety and the Circumstances Surrounding Their Use,” Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Complaining Behavior, forthcoming.
11.
HawesJ. M. and RaoC.P. (1985), “Using Importance-Performance Analysis to Develop Health Care Marketing Strategies,” Journal of Health Care Marketing, 5 (4), 19–25.
12.
MazisMichael B., AhtolaOlli T., and KlippelR. Eugene (1975), “A Comparison of Four Multi-Attribute Models in the Prediction of Consumer Attitudes,” Journal of Consumer Research, 2 (June), 38–52.
13.
OliverRichard L. (1980), “A Cognitive Model of the Antecedents and Consequences of Satisfaction Decisions,” Journal of Marketing Research, 17 (November), 460–9.
14.
OliverRichard L. (1993), “A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Service Satisfaction: Compatible Goals, Different Concepts,” in Advances in Services Marketing and Management: Research and Practice, Vol. 2, SwartzTeresa A., BowenDavid E., and BrownStephen W., eds. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
15.
ParasuramanA., ZeithamlValarie, and BerryLeonard (1985), “A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Future Research,” Journal of Marketing, 49 (Fall) 41–50.
16.
ParasuramanA., ZeithamlValarie, and BerryLeonard (1988), “SERVQUAL: A Multi Item Scale for Measuring Consumer Perception of Service Quality,” Journal of Retailing, 64 (Spring) 12–40.
17.
ParasuramanA., ZeithamlValarie, and BerryLeonard (1991), “Refinement and Reassessment of the SERVQUAL Scale,” Journal of Retailing, 67 (4), 420–450.
18.
ParasuramanA., ZeithamlValarie, and BerryLeonard (1994), “Reassessment of Expectations as a Comparison Standard in Measuring Service Quality: Implications for Further Research,” Journal of Marketing, 58 (January), 111–24.
19.
PattersonPaul G. and JohnsonLester W. (1993). “Disconfirmation of Expectations and the Gap Model of Service Quality: An Integrated Paradigm,” Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Complaining Behavior, forthcoming.
20.
PeterJ. Paul, ChurchillGilbert A.Jr., and BrownTom J. (1992), “Caution in the Use of Difference Scores as Measures of Marketing Constructs,” A. C. Nielsen working paper #91–2, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, WI.
21.
ZeithamlValarie, BerryLeonard, and ParasuramanA. (1993), “The Nature and Determinant of Customer Expectation of Service, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 21 (1), 1–12.