Evaluation of the Information and Support Services in the Voluntary Sector Using a New P–C–P Attributes Model

Abstract

This paper describes the development and use of a modified SERVQUAL research instrument for measuring the service quality of voluntary organizations from the perspective of their ‘customers’. A series of focus group meetings were run with providers and users of the services to identify the appropriate dimensions of service quality. These were structured meetings led by the researchers addressing set questions in a group setting. The meeting enabled the identification of six different dimensions of service quality which neatly mapped on to the pivotal–core–peripheral (P–C–P attributes model [Philip and Hazlett, 1997]), which was developed after extensive research of existing models such as SERVQUAL. These dimensions were used to develop a questionnaire to assess service quality within the voluntary sector. The questionnaire was distributed to 2005 service users, representing eight voluntary organizations from across Northern Ireland. The research resulted in the development of a methodology and research instrument suitable for measuring service quality in the voluntary sector.