Service quality: a fulfilment‐oriented and interactions‐centred approach

Abstract

This paper proposes a different approach to, and definition of, service quality. Service quality is framed as being dependent on composite results that a service provider and its systems offer a customer. In contrast to the approach that depicts service quality as a discrepancy construct, this paper frames the concept as a fulfilment-oriented construct. The premise of the paper is that each services sector should have service quality criteria that specifically fit its features and characteristics. To implement a context-dependent services quality instrument, it is argued that managers could use a service quality grid to classify firms according to their outcomes and dominant service-encounter interactions. Three kinds of dominant interactions are introduced: customer-to-staff, customer-to-technology, and customer-to-product/services. Three central recommendations are proposed. First, it is important for managers to define their services in terms of the dominant service interactions. Second, managers should develop their service-quality instruments around the dominant interactions of their particular sector. Third, managers should develop service-quality question items using the paired criteria approach to capture customer experiences during service interactions.