Quality in service, a potential foundation of competitiveness in the informal market of shoes

Abstract

The production and sale within the informal footwear market is one of the main economic and labor activities carried out in the city of Ambato, where it constitutes an economic refuge for those who are unemployed. The main objective of this research was to analyze the current situation in which the informal footwear market is based on the dimensions of quality in the service and the degree of satisfaction of the needs of consumers through a field study, applying a survey based on the dimensions of SERVQUAL model. thee methodology used was a qualitative-quantitative analysis of the five dimensions of the SERVQUAL: reliability, sensitivity, security, empathy and tangible elements; the research instrument was a survey applied to 103 clients. the analysis of reliability and internal consistency of the instrument by means of Cronbach’s Alpha present a value of 0.801; also, by the Spearman’s correlation analysis, the strong relationship of the variables was evidenced: sensitivity and reliability (0.815); sensitivity and security (0.815) and security with empathy (0.768); which show what is being done correctly in relation to customer service. e other dimensions, that did not show a significant correlation, should improve customer service in order to create competitive advantages.