SERVQUAL Model as a Metric for Service Quality in the Airline Industry - Research Proposal Example

SERVQUAL REVIEW REPORT By Name Course Instructor Institution City/State Date Table of Contents SERVQUAL REVIEW REPORT 1 Table of Contents 2 1.0 Background 3 2.0 Scope and Objectives 4 3.0 Research Methodology 6 4.0 Major Findings 7 5.0 Impacts of the Findings 9 6.0 Conclusion 11 12 7.0 References 12 Appendices 14 Appendix 1 14 SERVQUAL Review Report 1.0 Background Service quality in the airline industry is a crucial issue in the global air transportation industry. Even though numerous studies in the past concentrated on the subject of evaluating airline service quality, the majority of these studies used the SERVQUAL model to analyse the service quality in the airline industry. However, as mentioned by Chou et al. (2011, p.2117) only some studies have tried to analyse the airline service quality through the weighted SERVQUAL technique. Besides, human perceptions are usually indistinguishable and it is hard for passengers to put across the weights of the contentment and evaluation criteria of airline service quality through a precise numerical value (Chou et al., 2011, p.2117). Quality in conducting services is a complete experience regularly analysed by customers, and. it usually involves manifold interactions between different workers and the customer. For that reason, the airline industry has to stress on both price as well as differentiation. Considering that all airliners have similar fares as well as identical frequent flyer programs, the airline company whose service are perceived better attracts passengers from other companies. According to Kiatcharoenpol and Laosirihongthong (2006, p.748), the airline industry is exceedingly impacted by changes occurring in its wide-ranging environment. In this regard, service quality is a type of attitude that arises from the contrast between expectations and perceptions, so outstanding service quality connotes that the company is meeting the expectations of the customer. Thanks to the differences in past experiences and entity perceptions with regard to delivered service, Kiatcharoenpol and Laosirihongthong (2006, p.749) posit that it is extremely hard to measure service quality. Therefore it is recommended that airline companies should make sure that the services they deliver, meet the expectations of the customer, and this can be achieved through designing appropriate service attributes at an early stage. SERVQUAL model propose gap analysis, and this can be utilised to evaluate the service quality as well as offer information for bettering the service attributes. Therefore, the SERVQUAL model concentrates principally on recognising gap, which results in minimising the level of variation between customers expected and perceived level of service quality. Chikwendu et al. (2012, p.118) argue that airline services quality is hard to measure and describe thanks to its inseparability, intangibility, and heterogeneity. It is from this point of view that SERVQUAL model has been suggested as an applicable as well as dependable model in airline service quality (Pakdil & Aydın, 2007, p.229). Studies such as Pakdil and Aydın (2007), Chikwendu et al. (2012), Huang (2009), Chou et al. (2011), and Kiatcharoenpol and Laosirihongthong (2006) seek to analyse how SERVQUAL model is used as a service quality metric in the Airline industry. 2.0 Scope and Objectives The key goal of the study is using the already existing studies to analyse how SERVQUAL model is utilised as a metric for service quality in the Airline industry. Besides that, the report seeks to offer a clear understanding of how satisfaction amongst passengers within an airliner is as well as how its managers can boost their service quality. Huang (2009) study improves our knowledge of decision-making processes of air passengers by examining a theoretical paradigm that considers behavioural intentions, perceived sacrifice, satisfaction, airline service quality, as well as service value. Besides that, the report highlights how service quality can be assessed in an airline company, and also examines the theoretical framework of examining service operations created in numerous studies, which are rooted in the SERVQUAL model. Given that human preference and judgments are frequently fuzzy and cannot assess his preference with a precise numerical value. In this regard, the report will make use of linguistic terms to explain the looked-for value as well as vital weighting criteria, for example very high, high, fair, low, very low, and so forth. Thanks to this form of subsisting uncertainty in the process, Chou et al. (2011, p. 2118) posit that fuzzy set theory is a suitable technique for handling fuzziness. For that reason, the report presents subjective analysis information that is sufficiently conveyed in linguistic variables. In consequence, the fuzzy set theory is a suitable technique for measuring passenger’s perception within regard to service quality. Chou et al. (2011, p. 2117) devloped a fuzzy weighted SERVQUAL technique in order to comprehend the airline service quality, and this evaluation paradigm is analysed by Taiwanese airline case. This report intends to analyse how SERVQUAL method can be utilised to analyse and comprehend the airline service quality. Towards the end, the report will offer a number of interesting findings as well as practical suggestions that can be utilised in airline industry to improve and maintain their service quality. Generally, the report concentrates on ascertaining main issues on SERVQUAL model application in Airline industry that is; the model strengths in analysing Airline industry service quality as well as setbacks facing the use of the model considering the ever-changing status of contemporary technology. 3.0 Research Methodology The report will espouse various forms of data collection approaches which will range from case studies, through literature review, to surveys so as to make certain that the objective of the study is realised. The report pursues a qualitative research, which will be used to survey as well as to recognize passenger’s point of view, feelings, practices, behavior as well as connections with regard to service quality and satisfaction. All studies make use of SERVQUAL model to examine the airline service quality, with most studies using questionnaire design and interview survey to collect data. Chou et al. (2011, p.2122) and Pakdil and Aydın (2007, p. 230) used a questionnaire derived from the previous literature, and samples of their questionnaires was taken from the international airline customers. In report, the airline service quality and SERVQUAL dimensions will be considered under the stimulation of past studies such as that of Chikwendu et al. (2012, p.2122). Although SERVQUAL offers wide-ranging quality dimensions for airliners, the report will discuss why the model does not offer certain dimensions for airline service industry. Therefore the report will summarise five key dimensions and a number of items in this SERVQUAL questionnaire for airline industry service quality. Importantly, the questionnaire will be generated to examine the ratings of expectations and perception of passengers on the attributes of service offered to them by the airline industry. After authenticating the questionnaire, SERVQUAL scale akin to that in Chikwendu et al. (2012, p.119) study, will be increased to capture other characteristics of airlines services. The study respondents will be asked to rate their perception concerning airline attributes on a five point lickert scale. Subsequent to questionnaire, data will be collected through interview survey, and the interview sample will be taken from the airline travellers. Four weeks as noted in Huang (2009, p. 4) study will be enough for collecting the needed data. The scores of perceptions as well as expectations from respondents will be calculated after the survey as evidenced in Kiatcharoenpol and Laosirihongthong (2006, p. 749) study. Aside from the questionnaire method, the SERVQUAL model will be utilised to make out the underperformance in the airliner and deficit between the will be utilised to determine the deficits. 4.0 Major Findings The report findings are rooted in scope and objective of the study. With regard to the significant weight of service dimensions, the foremost imperative dimension noted was assurance and reliability, while the second was responsiveness, and empathy was the third, pursued by the flight pattern as well as tangibles dimensions. With regard to the imperative weight of service items, as evidenced in Chou et al. (2011, P. 2124) study, the safety was the first key service item, followed by handling customer complains, the then the crew courtesy, punctual departure as well as arrival, and seat’s comfort in addition to its cleanness. Hitherto, it has been noted that travellers consider assurance and reliability dimension, as well as the safety-based service items as the main concern. Studies such as that of Huang (2009, p. 6) and Kiatcharoenpol and Laosirihongthong (2006) has offered similar empirical results. The flight pattern dimension and the tangibles dimension, on the other hand, as evidenced in Chou et al. (2011, p. 2125 ) study emerge as the least significant service dimensions. The seat comfort as well as cleanness is one of fascinating findings in this report, and should therefore, be considered as more and more essential service item in coming years. With regard to service expectation dimensions, the order in terms of priority starts with reliability and assurance, responsiveness, empathy, then flight pattern and tangibles just like the weight of service dimensions. Based on service expectation, safety comes first, then crew courtesy, followed by handling of customer complaints, seat comfort and cleanness and finally, the approach of the crew against unforeseen situations: this is evidenced in Chou et al. (2011, p. 2125) and Kiatcharoenpol and Laosirihongthong (2006, p. 751) studies. The service perception dimensions priority is akin to that of service expectation dimensions, but the items of service perception are different. Here in service perception dimensions, the crew courtesy came first, followed by the behaviour of the crew to belated traveller, proficient handling of check-in/baggage comes third, followed by the reliable in-flight services as well as entity interest to traveller, as well as suitable process of ticketing. When comparing the service quality perceptions with expectations, then the ten gaps of service quality from airline travellers include airplane size, flight schedules convenience, delay handling, punctual departure and arrival, as well as in-flight programs, respectively and facilities for entertainment, seat conform and cleanness, food quality, handling of customer complaints, safety, approach of the crew against unforeseen situations, in that order (Chikwendu et al., 2012, p. 121; Pakdil & Aydın, 2007, p. 231; Kiatcharoenpol & Laosirihongthong, 2006, p. 751). Interestingly, the gap of service quality between the traveller’s expectation and perception as evidenced (Chou et al. (2011, p. 2126) and Huang (2009, p. 7) studies is more and more big, with regard to the tangibles dimension as well as the service item such as seat comfort. On account of the gaps in service quality, it was noted that none of travellers’ perception took action to their expectations in any of abovementioned dimensions. Basically, these findings substantiates that managers in airline industry must be more dedicated to improving performance and always remain attentive for improvement chances all through the processes of service delivery. Still, as mentioned by Chikwendu et al. (2012, p. 123) future research must explore why traveller’s perceptions are lower than expectations, as well as how this state of affairs can be made better. In the section of expectation and perception, responsiveness was the most vital dimension, whereas ‘availability was the least important. Contrary to previous studies such as Kiatcharoenpol and Laosirihongthong (2006, p. 752) study, this draws attention to the expectation aspects on which marketing function of airline companies must be centred when developing their processes of service delivery. Additionally, the gap scores of travellers’ considerably varied with flight purposes, the flight frequency, and educational level. Undoubtedly, this is an imperative finding to boost satisfaction of the passengers as well as to increase market share ultimately. 5.0 Impacts of the Findings The above discussed findings have both research as well as managerial implication; for instance, for the airline managers, knowing how to provide the consumer satisfactory quality has turned out to be the crucial running methods of airlines. Thanks to the non-divisible, diverse, invisible, as well as easy-passing quality of the airline industry, it has become easier for the travellers to have the sense of insecurity and uncertainty. The study findings makes clear that maintaining a relationship of a great quality with the customers will undoubtedly reduce the fuzziness of the customers and heighten their sense of security. For that reason, as mentioned by Huang (2009, p. 8) and Chikwendu et al. (2012, p. 124), creating a great relationship with customers has turn out to be the pressing element of modern businesses. Therefore, marketing research must be carried out often to perceive the expectations/needs of the customers. As pointed out by Kiatcharoenpol Laosirihongthong (2006, p. 754), the research findings must be utilised to design a range of service-operations like offering additional flight schedule, carrying out a feasibility study of the business with regard to economical airline route, and offering more facilities/systems for comfort and safety purposes. Besides that, findings of this study create the need of assessing the current airline performance to every worker concerned. Basically, service agreement must be cautiously performed anchored in the available information offered. The service over-promise level can result in customer dissatisfaction if workers cannot meet the promise. Owing to the rapid advancement of technology, aircraft fleet designs as suggested by Kiatcharoenpol Laosirihongthong (2006, p. 753) must be incessantly modernised and renovated. To reduce the gap between expectation and perception as evidenced in the findings, every customer-contacted worker mainly in baggage claim and checking-in services must be motivated to demonstrate helpful/courtesy so as to gain the loyalty of the passenger. Furthermore, the risk of annoying the customer such as missing the baggage must at all time be kept low so as to gain confidence of the passenger towards the service processes of the company. The findings also highlighted the significance of offering staff attention to travellers, but it is worth noting that the level of passenger’s perception on service quality can be differing occasionally. As a consequence, there airline companies must continue monitoring the needs as well as the customer satisfaction level. The study evidence suggest that the managers of airline companies have to develop strategies to better service quality like meeting the needed service levels from the travellers, improving in-flight meals quality, introducing facilities that visually appealing, and so forth. Evidently, these strategies will improve image of the airline as well as lead to retention of existing travellers as well as alluring travellers from other airline companies. Workers must take part in training courses regularly and must take into consideration that their behaviour is often influential in resulting in the needed outcome. Importantly, as suggested by the findings and evidenced in Chikwendu et al. (2012, p. 241) study, airlines’ management must offer an enlightening feedback on the workers’ performance through differential punishment as well as rewards. 6.0 Conclusion In summary, the report has offered a critical analysis of the significance, benefits, use and problems of the SERVQUE model on expectation and perception, as well as service quality gap in the airline industry. As evidenced by the findings, to delivery improved services to travellers, airlines must comprehend travellers’ expectations and needs. Importantly, only the traveller (customer) can truthfully characterize the airline service quality; thus, making high-quality service delivery to be a significant prerequisite amongst airlines due to competitive pressure. Even if, there could be no need for examining customers’ perception on the quality of service, these perceptions assist airline companies to broaden their market share. Furthermore, the airlines may give discounts for loyal passengers or customers who make use of their services. Airline companies management must optimise its resources’ allocation by consistently disseminating their resources to regions complaining of pitiable service quality as well as pulling out some resources in regions experiencing exceedingly high service quality. To make sure that service processes’ attributes are designed and delivered efficiently, SERVQUE model offers knowledge of customer expectations as well as perceptions on services’ delivered; thus, helping the airline companies to know if there is need to design a suitable service delivery specifications as well as processes. 7.0 References Chikwendu, D., Ejem, E. & Ezenwa, A., 2012. Evaluation of service quality of Nigerian airline using servqual model. Journal of Hospitality Management and Tourism, vol. 3, no. 6, pp.117-25. Chou, C.-C. et al., 2011. An evaluation of airline service quality using the fuzzy weighted SERVQUAL method. Applied Soft Computing, vol. 11, pp.2117–28. Huang, Y.-K., 2009. The Effect of Airline Service Quality on Passengers’ Behavioural Intentions Using SERVQUAL Scores: A TAIWAN Case Study. Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, vol. 7, pp.1-14. Kiatcharoenpol, T. & Laosirihongthong, T., 2006. Innovations in Service Strategy: An Evaluation of Quality in Airline Service Operations by Using SERVQUAL Model. In University, S. & University, T., eds. 2006 IEEE International Conference on Management of Innovation and Technology. Bangkok, Thailand, 2006. IEEE. Pakdil, F. & Aydın, O.z., 2007. Expectations and perceptions in airline services: An analysis using weighted SERVQUAL scores. Journal of Air Transport Management, vol. 13, pp.229–37. Appendices Appendix 1 For example: Studies examining services quality etc... Author (s) DV=Dependent Variable IV=Independent Variable Relationship with DV Measurement used Country Method Number of Respondent & Response Rate Population size Survey method Unit of Analysis Chikwendu et al. (2012) DV=The airline SERVQUAL model IV=Transport industry SERVQUAL is the best method to evaluate service quality in transport industry SERVQUAL model Nigeria Quantitative 200 respondents Surveys Service quality of a Nigerian Airline Chou et al. (2011) DV- Fuzzy weighted SERVQUAL method IV- International air travel transportation industry Fuzzy set theory is an-appropriate method for dealing with uncertainty SERVQUAL model Taiwan Qualitative 329 respondents Case study The fuzzy weighted SERVQUAL model for evaluating the airline service quality Huang (2009) DV- SERVQUAL Scores IV-The Airline industry Service value is the major factor that can influence the behavioural intention SERVQUAL model Taiwan Quantitative 602 respondents Questionnaire survey Testing a conceptual model that considers service value, airline service quality, satisfaction, perceived sacrifice, and behavioural intentions Kiatcharoenpol and Laosirihongthong (2006) DV- SERVQUAL Model IV- Airline Service Operations Quality Airline Service Operations can be measured by SERVQUAL Model SERVQUAL model Global Qualitative 37 respondents Case study, Need for culture change, commitment of management and employee involvement in order to increase customer satisfactions Pakdil and Aydın (2007) DV= weighted SERVQUAL scores IV= The Airline industry Passengers’ educational level is an important variable affecting their expectations and perceptions SERVQUAL model Turkey Quantitative 385 respondents Questionnaire survey Airline service quality based on data collected Read More