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Journal ArticleDOI

Communication and control processes in the delivery of service quality

01 Apr 1988-Journal of Marketing (SAGE PublicationsSage CA: Los Angeles, CA)-Vol. 52, Iss: 2, pp 35-48
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the difficulty of delivering consistently good service quality is difficult but profitable for service organizations and understand why it is so difficult and how it might be facilitated.
Abstract: Delivering consistently good service quality is difficult but profitable for service organizations. Understanding why it is so difficult and how it might be facilitated is the purpose of the articl...
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: For consumers, evaluation of a service firm often depends on evaluation of the "service encounter" or the period of time when the customer interacts directly with the firm as mentioned in this paper. But this evaluation may not be accurate.
Abstract: For consumers, evaluation of a service firm often depends on evaluation of the “service encounter” or the period of time when the customer interacts directly with the firm. Knowledge of the factors...

4,811 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a conceptual model articulating the nature and determinants of customer expectations of service is proposed and discussed, specifying three different types of service expectations: desired service, adequate service, and predicted service.
Abstract: A conceptual model articulating the nature and determinants of customer expectations of service is proposed and discussed. The model specifies three different types of service expectations: desired service, adequate service, and predicted service. Seventeen propositions about service expectations and their antecedents are provided. Discussion centers on the research implications of the model and its propositions.

2,605 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review and synthesize the literature about service quality delivery through Web sites, describe what is known about the topic, and develop an agenda for needed research.
Abstract: Evidence exists that service quality delivery through Web sites is an essential strategy to success, possibly more important than low price and Web presence. To deliver superior service quality, managers of companies with Web presences must first understand how customers perceive and evaluate online customer service. Information on this topic is beginning to emerge from both academic and practitioner sources, but this information has not yet been examined as a whole. The goals of this article are to review and synthesize the literature about service quality delivery through Web sites, describe what is known about the topic, and develop an agenda for needed research.

2,520 citations


Cites background from "Communication and control processes..."

  • ...The lack of effective communication between marketing and operations documented in traditional SQ contexts (Parasuraman et al. 1985; Zeithaml et al. 1988) is likely to be present in eSQ contexts as well....

    [...]

  • ...Existing literature on organizational deficiencies that lead to poor SQ (e.g., Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman 1988) offers at least indirect evidence of the presence of the design gap in e-companies....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the provision of extraordinary hedonic experiences on commercial, multiday river rafting trips in the Colorado River basin and found that personal growth and self-renewal, "communitas", and harmony with nature are significant in explaining overall satisfaction.
Abstract: This article explores the provision of extraordinary hedonic experiences on commercial, multiday river rafting trips in the Colorado River basin. White water river rafting provides a dramatic illustration of some of the complex features of delivering an extraordinary experience. Multiple methods were employed over two years of data collection to articulate the lived meaning of this experience from both the guides' and the consumers' perspectives. Robust quantitative measures were developed from rich qualitative data. Participant observation and interview data enriched the interpretation of quantitative results. Experiential themes of personal growth and self-renewal, “communitas,” and harmony with nature are evidenced across the data; they evolve and are woven together over the course of the trip. Together they are significant in explaining overall satisfaction. There is a complex relationship between client expectations and satisfaction. The narrative of the rafting experience rather than relationships between expectations and outcomes is shown to be central to its evaluation. Implications for other services and consumption activities are discussed.

2,327 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the potential problems and the findings from an empirical study are presented in this article, suggesting that the dimensionality of service quality may depend on the type of services under study.

2,081 citations


Additional excerpts

  • ...(Parasuraman et al., 1985; Zeithaml et al., 1988)....

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References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The attainment of quality in products and services has become a pivotal concern of the 1980s as discussed by the authors, while quality in tangible goods has been described and measured by marketers, quality in services is la...
Abstract: The attainment of quality in products and services has become a pivotal concern of the 1980s. While quality in tangible goods has been described and measured by marketers, quality in services is la...

16,185 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the development and testing of questionnaire measures of role conflict and ambiguity and show that these two constructs are factorially identifiable and independent, and that they tend to correlate with measures of organizational and managerial practices and leader behavior.
Abstract: The literature indicates that dysfunctional individual and organizational consequences result from the existence of role conflict and role ambiguity in complex organizations. Yet, systematic measurement and empirical testing of these role constructs is lacking. This study describes the development and testing of questionnaire measures of role conflict and ambiguity. Analyses of responses of managers show these two constructs to be factorially identifiable and independent. Derived measures of role conflict and ambiguity tend to correlate in two samples in expected directions with measures of organizational and managerial practices and leader behavior, and with member satisfaction, anxiety, and propensity to leave the organization.

4,858 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, McNally describes three fundamentally different mechanisms through which organizations can seek to cope with this problem of evaluation and control, referred to as markets, bureaucracies, and clans.
Abstract: The problem of organization is the problem of obtaining cooperation among a collection of individuals or units who share only partially congruent objectives. When a team of individuals collectively produces a single output, there develops the problem of how to distribute the rewards emanating from that output in such a manner that each team member is equitably rewarded. If equitable rewards are not forthcoming, members will, in future cooperative ventures, adjust their efforts in such a manner that all will be somewhat worse off cf. Simon [Simon, H. A. 1964. On the concept of organizational goal. Admin. Sci. Quart.9 1, June 1--22.], Marschak [Marschak, Thomas A. 1965. Economic theories of organization. J. G. March, ed. Handbook of Organizations. Rand McNally, Chicago, Ill., 423--450.], Alchian and Demsetz [Alchian, Armen A., Harold Demsetz. 1972. Production, information costs, and economic organization. Amer. Econom. Rev.62 777--795.. It is the objective of this paper to describe three fundamentally different mechanisms through which organizations can seek to cope with this problem of evaluation and control. The three will be referred to as markets, bureaucracies, and clans. In a fundamental sense, markets deal with the control problem through their ability to precisely measure and reward individual contributions; bureaucracies rely instead upon a mixture of close evaluation with a socialized acceptance of common objectives; and clans rely upon a relatively complete socialization process which effectively eliminates goal incongruence between individuals. This paper explores the organizational manifestations of these three approaches to the problem of control. The paper begins with an example from a parts distribution division of a major company which serves to give some flesh to what might otherwise be overly-abstract arguments. Through the example, each of the three mechanisms is explicated briefly and discussed in terms of two prerequisite conditions, one social and the other informational. The more concrete organization design features of the three forms are considered, along with some consideration of the unique costs accompanying each form.

3,514 citations

Book
01 Jan 1974
TL;DR: The authors provides a succinct overview of the principal schools of thought in organizational theory and presents a critical, sociopsychological, and historical orientation to the field of organizational analysis Vividly written, with theories made concrete by specific, student-oriented examples, it takes a critical view toward organizations, analyzing their impact on individuals, groups, and society as a whole New chapters on economic theories of organization and the conditional power theory are among the features of this revised edition
Abstract: This classic in organizational theory provides a succinct overview of the principal schools of thought as it presents a critical, sociopsychological, and historical orientation to the field of organizational analysis Vividly written, with theories made concrete by specific, student-oriented examples, it takes a critical view toward organizations, analyzing their impact on individuals, groups, and society as a whole New chapters on economic theories of organization and the conditional power theory are among the features of this revised edition

2,721 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A review of both laboratory and field studies on the effect of setting goals when learning or performing a task found that specific, challenging goals led more often to higher performance than easy goals, 'do your best' goals or no goals as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: : A review of both laboratory and field studies on the effect of setting goals when learning or performing a task found that specific, challenging goals led more often to higher performance than easy goals, 'do your best' goals or no goals. This is one of the most robust and replicable findings in the psychological literature, with 90% of the studies showing positive or partially positive results. The main mechanisms by which goals affect performance are by directing attention, mobilizing effort, increasing persistence, and motivating strategy development. Goal setting is most likely to improve task performance when the goals are specific and sufficiently challenging, when the subjects have sufficient ability (and ability differences are controlled), when feedback is provided to show progress in relation to the goal, when rewards such as money are given for goal attainment, when the exerimenter manager is supportive, and when the assigned goals are actually accepted by the individual. No reliable individual differences have emerged in goal setting studies, probably because goals were typically assigned rather than self-set. Need for achievement and self esteem may be the most promising individual difference variables. (Author)

2,592 citations