Title: Chinese managers' perceptions of their ability to deliver service quality

Authors: Darlene Brannigan Smith, Dennis A. Pitta

Addresses: University of Baltimore, USA. ' University of Baltimore, USA

Abstract: This paper reports upon the application of SERVQUAL in accessing the perceptions held by Chinese managers with respect to their ability to deliver service quality and to examine the generalisability of the SERVQUAL model in measuring the antecedents of service quality. A self-administered questionnaire was used to survey 86 Chinese managers enrolled in the Beijing International MBA programme. A descriptive statistics analysis was used, including one-way Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs), to evaluate managers| perceptions of customer expectations and the existence of performance standards linked to customer expectations. The results of the factor analysis measuring the antecedents to service delivery indicated that the original SERVQUAL constructs did not work as prescribed. The surrogates for the antecedents generated as a result of factor analysis were used in regression analysis to assess the relationship between the antecedents and both overall performance and customer satisfaction. Both regression analyses were significant. Two dimensions – role clarity of employees and the existence of internal processes – accounted for 17.7% of the variance associated with performance. The same two dimensions plus teamwork accounted for 22.4% of the variation in perceived customer satisfaction.

Keywords: service quality; China; market performance; manager perceptions; customer expectations; customer satisfaction; teamwork; employee roles; role clarity; quality of service; QoS.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2009.024445

International Journal of Business Excellence, 2009 Vol.2 No.3/4, pp.241 - 256

Published online: 04 Apr 2009 *

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