Abstract
This paper proposed four dimensions of customer participation in service purchase. They are information collection, participation in service design and standard build-up, interaction with employees, and word of mouth delivery. The paper analyzed how these customer participative behaviors shorten the gap between customer expectation and perception. To test the theoretical analysis this research distributed questionnaires in Tianjin hotels China. Using 185 completed surveys from hotel customers, the paper did an empirical study to explore the relationship between customer participation and service quality. Independent-samples T test and path analysis confirmed that the more participation a customer devoted in a service process, the shorter the gap between his expectation and perception. That is active customer participation helps to improve service quality.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Adelman, M.B., Ahuvia, A., Goodwin, C.: Beyond smiling, social support and service quality. In: Rust, R.T., Oliver, R.L. (eds.) Service Quality, pp. 139–171. Sage, Thousand Oaks (1994)
Babakus, E., Boller, G.W.: An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale. Journal of Business Research 24, 253–268 (1992)
Berry, L.L., Zeithaml, V.A., Parasuraman, A.: Quality Counts in Business, Too. Business Horizens 31, 46 (1985)
Bolton, R.N., Drew, J.H.: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Service Changes on Customer Attitudes. Journal of Marketing 55, 1–9 (1991)
Bowen, D.E.: Managing customers as human resources in service organizations. Human Resource Management 25, 371–383 (1986)
Cronin, J.J., Taylor, S.A.: Measuring Service Quality: A Reexamination and Extension. Journal of Marketing 56(3), 55–68 (1992)
Cronin, J.J., Taylor, S.A.: SERVPERF versus SERQUAL: Reconciling Performance-Based and Perceptions-Minus Expectations Measurement of Service Quality. Journal of Marketing 58(1), 125–131 (1994)
Fick, G.R., Ritchie, J.R.B.: Measuring service quality in the travel and tourism industry. Journal of Travel Research, 2–9 (Fall 1991)
Grönroos, C.: A Service Quality Model and its Market Implication. European Journal of Marketing 18(4), 36–44 (1984)
Hanser, L.M., Muchinsky, P.M.: Work as an information environment. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 12, 50–76 (1978)
Lam, S.K.: SERVQUAL: a tool for measuring patients’ opinions of hospital service quality in Hong Kong. Total Quality Management 8, 145–152 (1997)
Lehtinen, U., Lehtinen, J.R.: Service Quality: A Study of Quality Dimensions, Service Management Institutes, Helsinki (1982)
Lewis, R.C., Boom, B.H.: Customer care in service organizations. In: Johnston, R. (ed.) The Management of Service Operations: Proceedings of the UK Operations Management Association Annual International Conference, pp. 183–194. IFS Publications, Bedford (1983)
Nunnally, J.C., Bernstein, I.H.: Psychometric Theory, 3rd edn. McGraw-Hill, New York (1994)
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L.L.: A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future study research. Journal of Marketing 49, 41–50 (1985)
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L.L.: An empirical test of the extended gaps model of service quality. Marketing Science Institute working paper, pp. 90-122 (1990)
Tribe, J., Snaith, T.: From SERVQUAL to HOLSAT: Holiday satisfaction in Varadero, Cuba. Tourism Management 19(1), 25–34 (1998)
Youngdahl, W.E., Kellogg, D.L.: The relationship between service customer’s quality assurance behaviors, satisfaction, and effort: A cost of quality perspective. Journal of Operations Management 15, 19–32 (1997)
Zeithaml, V.A., Bitner, M.J.: Service Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm, 3rd edn. McGraw-Hill, New York (2003)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Wang, J. (2011). The Impact of Customer Participation on Service Quality Improvement – An Empirical Study in Tianjin Hotels. In: Zhou, Q. (eds) Advances in Applied Economics, Business and Development. ISAEBD 2011. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 209. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23020-2_31
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23020-2_31
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-23019-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-23020-2
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)