Decoding the Gaps and Determinants of Service Quality
Decoding the Gaps and Determinants of Service Quality
Unveiling the Secret to Service Excellence
[reading time: about 5 minutes]
Hello everyone! With this week’s article, I’m starting the slightly modified format I discussed in last week’s post. Let me know what you think.
Today’s topic explores a seminal piece of research from the 80s— a study by a team at Texas A&M University examining the concept of service quality. When I was looking deeper into public sector value chains, I came across this research, and it was actually the first time I’d seen it. It’s pretty fascinating stuff, so I’d like to share it with you.
If you’re interested in service design, delivery, or transformation, I strongly suggest reading the original research paper: A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Future Research (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1985).
Their research was conducted in two parts. So, next week, we’ll look at the second part, where they created a framework for assessing customer perceptions of service quality. For now, let's start by exploring their concepts for service quality.
Service Quality
These researchers were motivated to look deeper into service quality because, at the time of their work, quality was an established metric for tangible goods, but how to assess the quality of services was more elusive and largely unexplored. The authors aimed to fill this gap and create a conceptual model to understand service quality better.
They defined service quality as meeting or surpassing the expectations of service users. And to grasp the nuances of service quality, they introduced two key concepts: gaps in service quality and the determinants shaping it.
This research is conducted from the point-of-view between a consumer and a marketer, but I believe these are equally valid and applicable if we use the perspective of a citizen and an organization.
The gaps are the discrepancies between citizens' expectations and their actual experiences. The paper outlines five such gaps, each reflecting a different facet of service delivery, from management's comprehension of citizen expectations to actual service delivery.
The determinants of service quality are the influencing factors that shape how citizens perceive service quality. The paper identifies ten such determinants, including reliability, responsiveness, and understanding citizens’ needs.
The Five Gaps in Service Quality
The concept of gaps in service quality captures the differences between citizens' expectations and their actual experiences.
The five gaps are:
Citizen expectation-management perception gap: the difference between what citizens expect and management’s perception of those expectations (i.e. how well do we know what our clients really want and need).
Management preception-service quality specifications gap: the difference between management’s perception of what citizens expect and the organization’s ability to match or exceed those expectations (e.g. resource constraints, political conditions, management indifference).
Service quality specifications-service delivery gap: the difference between how an organization wants to deliver the service (e.g. service standards) and the actual service delivery.
Service delivery-external communications gap: the difference between how the service was delivered and how the service was communicated to citizens.
Expected service-perceived service gap: the difference between what citizens expect from a service and what they perceive to have received.
What’s interesting to note in this model is that the researchers argue that service quality as perceived by the citizen depends on the size and direction of gap 5, which itself depends on the other four gaps since gap 1 influences gap 2, which influences gap 3, which influences gap 4, which influences gap 5.
The Ten Determinants of Service Quality
The determinants are factors shaping citizens' perceptions of service quality. The research paper lists ten determinants. In alphabetical order, they are,
Access: Ensuring the service is easy to access and use.
Communication: Keeping citizens informed in language they can understand.
Competence: Having the necessary skills and knowledge to deliver the service.
Credibility: Being trustworthy and believable.
Courtesy: Being polite, respectful, and considerate in delivering the service.
Reliability: Delivering the service as promised, consistently, and accurately.
Responsiveness: Being prompt and helpful in delivering the service.
Security: Making citizens feel safe and secure when using the service.
Tangibles: The physical aspects of the service, such as facilities, equipment, and the appearance of personnel.
Understanding/Knowing the customer: Grasping the needs and wants of citizens.
The researchers argue that citizens use these determinants to evaluate service quality and that perceived service quality results from a citizen’s comparison of their expectation of the determinants with their experience. Logically, if someone expects exceeds the service they receive, they perceive lower-than-satisfactory service quality; when these are equal, the service is satisfactory; and, when perception exceeds expectation, perceived quality is higher than satisfactory.
Service Quality Perception: Gaps, Determinants and Their Influence
Let’s take stock of the insights discussed in this research. Service quality perception refers to how citizens perceive the services they receive. It is shaped by the five gaps and the ten determinants we discussed above.
The gaps reflect the discrepancies between citizens' expectations and experiences. When these gaps are wide, citizens perceive the service quality as subpar. Conversely, when these gaps are narrow or non-existent, citizens perceive the service quality as good.
Conversely, the determinants shape citizens' expectations and experiences. Effectively managed, these determinants can help diminish the gaps, resulting in a positive perception of service quality.
Understanding these aspects is not just an academic exercise—it's a crucial step toward transforming public sector services. Public sector organizations can enhance the quality of their services by identifying and addressing the gaps and effectively managing the determinants, leading to increased citizen satisfaction and trust.
Wrap Up
So, as we wrap up, let's remember that service quality is not just about delivering services—it's about delivering services that meet or exceed citizens' expectations. And that's what public sector service transformation is all about.
I hope you’ll join me next week when we explore the framework these researchers created for assessing service quality based on these concepts.
References
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1985). A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Future Research. Journal of Marketing, 49(4), 41–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224298504900403