A Review of Literature on the Gaps Model on Service Quality: A 3-Decades Period: 1985–2013

Abstract

The study aims to contribute to the research on service quality, analyzing almost 30 years of research on the Gaps Model proposed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry in the 1980s. A literature review has been conducted from 1985 to 2013 with the purpose of underlining the model evolution and its criticisms. Major international academic databases have been consulted.On this basis the paper summarizes some theoretical-conceptual and methodological-operational critical aspects identified by scholars who analyzed and applied the model and the scale. Despite that, the Gaps Model and the SERVQUAL scale are still the most used instruments to study service quality in marketing literature.The analysis allows to identify interesting points for future research on the topic of service quality. The conceptual framework presented in the paper does not include any empirical research that could be eventually implemented to validate the findings.

The Service Quality Dimensions that Affect Customer Satisfaction in the Jordanian Banking Sector

“…As the SERVQUAL model evolved, the original 10 dimensions were reduced to five. Mauri et al [26] define service quality as "a multidimensional concept, assessed and perceived by consumers, according to a set of essential parts, grouped in five categories, namely: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy". Siddiqi [27] states that the SERVQUAL model is an appropriate assessment tool to measure service quality perceptions.…”

Hospitality & tourismmarketing

“…Major criticism regarding the SERVQUAL model includes the assumption that customers already have expectations before being provided any service and omitting the role of the price plays in customer expectations. Nonetheless, due to the significance of SERVQUAL, it is a starting point for a number of theoretical and practical studies that have gone beyond American and European boundaries (Mauri, Minazzi & Muccio, 2013). The other limitation of this study is the data sample size.…”

“…Among them, the SERVQUAL model developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985) has been the most used and is considered one of the best-received and most heuristically valuable contributions to service literature (Brown &Bond, 1995;Mauri, Minazzi & Muccio, 2013). Since it was introduced, it has served as the basis for quality measurement of hotel and tourist services in numerous research projects.…”

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“…Este método desenvolveu a ideia de que as expectativas dos clientes influenciariam na formação da qualidade percebida. Assim, a qualidade do serviço é a diferença entre percepção e expectativa dos clientes sobre os serviços experimentados (Akbaba, 2006;Wilkins, Merrilees & Herington, 2007;Blesic, Tesanovic & Psodorov, 2011;Mauri, Minazzi & Muccio, 2013).…”