Customer Satisfaction: A Comprehensive Approach

Nagel, Pieter; Cilliers, Willem W.

doi:10.1108/eum0000000000366

Cited by 93 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The peculiarity of this sector lies in the fact that internal customers build a long-term relationship with the other component (in an exclusive collaboration contract), thus becoming ' captive customers ' , and their suppliers may be considered ' the only game in town ' . 45,54 In addition, internal customers are knowledgeable about the services provided, 19 leading Finn et al 55 to refer to them as ' professional customers ' . The survey content was based on individual interviews with managers of the gas stations.…”

Section: Methodology the Samplementioning

confidence: 99%

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Internal service quality and job satisfaction synergies for performance improvement: Some evidence from a B2B environment

Pantouvakis¹

2011

J Target Meas Anal Mark

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The role played by human aspects inside the fi rm, in creating an environment conducive to production excellence and improved performance, is widely recognised as being a critical determinant of both success and sustained competitive advantage. This focuses on the sources of competitive advantage, from within the fi rm implicitly a resource-based view of the fi rm, as discussed by Barney. ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to assess the performance of business units in a businessto-business (B2B) environment, by presenting a framework including tangible (hard) and intangible(soft) elements. The intangible part encapsulates internal service quality and job satisfaction, whereas the tangible part includes quantifi able elements. In this study, the dimensionality of the INTSERVQUAL instrument is tested in a B2B environment through Confi rmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) , and its ability to explain job satisfaction is explored with regression analysis, both in isolation and together with other tangible elements. An optimisation framework is then proposed, with respect to the satisfaction -internal-service quality -performance triad in a B2B environment, based on a two-phase data-envelopment analysis model. ' Interactive ' and ' physical ' quality, as extracted from INTSERVQUAL, assesses internal service quality (ISQ) suffi ciently and appropriately in a B2B environment. In addition, the results suggest that internal customers ' job satisfaction, which depends on the soft (interactive and physical) ISQ dimensions, as well as the ' hard ' ISQ dimensions, succeeds in accounting for measurable effects on the outcomes (performance) of the businesses. Managers of service fi rms should focus on both soft and hard dimensions of internal service quality, as they infl uence job satisfaction and, as a consequence, business performance. Moreover, the benchmark method (DEA) provides useful information about the effi ciency of the set of decision-making units.

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Section: Methodology the Samplementioning

confidence: 99%

“…19 However, an area of disagreement among researchers is the measurement of internal service quality. Some researchers stress the need for a new instrument that is positioned closely to internal customer needs and expectations, and they attempt to investigate internal quality dimensions.…”

Section: Internal Service Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Internal service quality and job satisfaction synergies for performance improvement: Some evidence from a B2B environment

Pantouvakis¹

2011

J Target Meas Anal Mark

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“…First, internal customers, relative to external customers, have fewer perceived service alternatives with little or no choice in terms of alternative service providers; they are virtually 'captive' customers (Nagel and Cilliers 1990).…”

Section: Characteristics Of Call-center Employees As Internal Customersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Zone of Tolerance for Internal Customers in IT-Enabled Call Centers

Hsieh

Sharma

Rai

et al. 2013

Journal of Service Research

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Today, call-center employees' service encounters with external customers are extensively supported with modern information technology (IT). However, prior research on service quality and zone of tolerance (ZOT) focuses on external customers with little attention to how internal customers (e.g., service employees) respond to services provided by internal functions, particularly IT function that supports employees' IT use. Drawing on theory of administrative behavior and IT success literature, we conducted a study at a call center of a telecommunications firm and found that the impact of internal IT service quality (ITSQ) on employees' service quality (ESQ) to external customers, as well as on their satisfaction with and use of the deployed technology, exhibits a positive diminishing pattern as ITSQ increases from below to within to above the ZOT. We also found that ITSQ's impacts on ESQ and employees' satisfaction with technology change more dramatically around adequate service level (ASL) than desired service level (DSL). Finally, we show that call-center employees' satisfaction with technology partially mediates ITSQ's impact on ESQ. Besides adding to the service and IT literature, our findings suggest that managers should understand internal customers' different levels of expectations towards internal IT service and the differential performance impacts of those levels.Keywords: Call center, internal customers, internal services, service quality, zone of tolerance, theory of administrative behavior, IT success, IT-enabled service This is the Pre-Published Version.

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“…There are a number of studies that have attempted to investigate empirically the relationship between internal and external customer service quality (Chaston, 1994;Farmer et al, 2001;Hallowell et al, 1996;Heskett et al, 1994;Nagel and Cilliers, 1990;Newman et al, 2001;Pitt et al, 1998;Stanley and Wisner, 2001). As explained in detail in the "Literature review" section, some of these studies identify internal gaps; others examine indirectly the relationship between internal and external customer service quality; finally, one of these studies examines this service quality relationship within a company only.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between internal and external service quality

Bouranta

Chitiris

Paravantis

2009

Int J Contemp Hospitality Mngt

182

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to provide experimental evidence supporting the view that internal service quality has a direct effect on external service quality. Design/methodology/approach -The study focuses on the restaurant industry in Greece. Waiters are considered as internal customers and kitchen personnel as internal suppliers. Inferential analysis included factor analysis on individual waiter and customer data as well as canonical correlation analysis on a restaurant level. Findings -Factor analysis of external service quality revealed six factors including product, organizational image, safety and choice, empathy, reliability as well as responsiveness. Internal service quality factors, additional to those found in external service quality research, included professionalism and internet. Canonical correlation revealed that the internal service quality dimensions of safety, reliability and internet exert a direct positive influence on the external service quality dimensions of organizational image, empathy and responsiveness. Originality/value -The paper shows that service firms should focus on internal service quality in order to improve external service quality.

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Customer Satisfaction: A Comprehensive Approach

Cited by 93 publications

References 10 publications

Internal service quality and job satisfaction synergies for performance improvement: Some evidence from a B2B environment

Internal service quality and job satisfaction synergies for performance improvement: Some evidence from a B2B environment

Exploring the Zone of Tolerance for Internal Customers in IT-Enabled Call Centers

The relationship between internal and external service quality

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