This study investigates the role played by service quality at manufacturer-distributor junction in small-medium manufacturing units, and presents a model that proposes and validates that contribution towards service quality on behalf of both the distributor and manufacturer leading to satisfaction as well as loyalty. The research design for this study includes a combination of literature review, exploratory interviews and a questionnaire survey conducted through interview schedule from 101 respondents working in different small-medium manufacturing units (SMEs) of North India. The study uses Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to develop dual directional scales to measure service quality at manufacturer-distributor junction besides testing a set of propositions related to service quality. A model showing linkages of manufacturing organization’s service quality with distributor service quality leading to mutual satisfaction and loyalty is developed. The model is empirically tested and is found to be fit. This study would be of interest to SME practitioners interested in improving service quality w.r.t. distributors. This study finds support for strengthening relationships with distributors to achieve a win-win situation. Future researchers may validate this scale, and empirically test the proposed model in similar settings. Insights derived from this study may be transferred to other junctions of a manufacturing supply chain such as suppliers, retailers, employees and end customers.

This paper presents an empirical investigation to study the effects of service quality on post-purchase intention. The study is applied among some small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in city of Kerman, Iran. There were approximately 300 people working for these units and the study chose 168 people as a sample study. The study used a standard questionnaire consists of 20 questions in Likert scale and distributed it among the sample size. Using structural equation modeling the study has determined that service quality as well as perceived quality influenced positively on customer satisfaction and post-purchase intention.

Quality has always been one of the most important topics in the competitiveness of organizations’ service activities and it influences on brands, significantly. This paper presents an empirical investigation to study the effects of service quality on brand personality in hotel industry. The study uses two questionnaires, one for measuring brand personality by using Aaker’s questionnaire (Aaker, 1997) [Aaker, J. L. (1997). Dimensions of brand personality. Journal of Marketing Research, 34(3), 347-356.] and the other one for measuring service quality. The study chooses a hotel chain in city of Mashad, Iran named Sadr Hotel and examines the effects of five-brand personality on service quality by choosing a sample of 384 customers. Using structural equation modeling, the study has determined that all five factors could influence on service quality of the case study, positively.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the dimensions of hotel service quality, to assess relative importance of them and to evaluate service quality of Tehran hotels in terms of guests’ perspectives. The paper examines the reliability and validity of the designed scale based on SERVQUAL model. A cross-sectional research based on SERVQUAL model conducted on nine hotels in Tehran (n=1080). Several statistical analyses such as EFA, CFA, Linear regression and t-test were applied to analyze the data. Five service quality dimensions were identified and named as “tangibles”, “problem solving”, “service supply”, “empathy” and “security”. Even though our findings confirmed five dimensional SERVQUAL constructs, some dimensions have been identified differing from SERVQUAL scale dimensions. Finding showed that the best overall service quality predictor is “tangibles” followed by “service supply”, “problem solving”, “assurance” and “empathy”.

This research proposes a comprehensive model that investigates the relationships between service quality, hedonic, perceived value and behavioral intentions. The purpose of this study is to build a better understanding of the determinants of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty throughout the restaurant services by incorporating the perceptions of hedonic effect in service delivery and outlining why and how service quality is important to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Respondents were chosen from three regular customers of Atawich chain restaurants in city of Tehran by using stratified random sampling method. A total of 390 questionnaires were used for data analysis. Structural equations modeling by using LISREL was performed to empirically test the relationships between the constructs of this study. Results show that both service quality and hedonic effect are importance predictors of customer satisfaction in Iranian society. In addition, results indicate that service quality and hedonic effect have positive and significant effects on perceived value. However, relationship between customer satisfaction and perceived value with attitudinal loyalty was not significant. Finally, it suggests that restaurant managers should improve their restaurant service offerings to satisfy customers. In addition, the results emphasize the significance of hedonic effect and positive emotions in creating perceived value and customer satisfaction.

During the past few years, many organizations try to provide some of their services through their websites. This would help them provide fast and reliable services to various people around the world. In this paper, we present an empirical survey to measure the relative performance of a university website in Iran using Parasuraman & apos; s technological readiness index. The proposed study uses a standard questionnaire and distributes it among 387 active website users and the results are analyzed using structural equation modeling. The proposed study of this paper considers the effects of four factors including efficiency, accessibility, achievement and security on customer loyalty via two variables of trust and satisfaction. The results demonstrate that three components of trust, efficiency and achievement play essential role on customer loyalty.

The present study investigates the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty in one of Iranian banks in province of Golestan, Iran named Bank Melli Iran. The population of the study consists of all customers of this branch. Using Kersity-Morgan table and simple random sampling, a number of 384 customers were selected as the participants of the study. The method of research is descriptive-correlation with a survey design. SERVQUAL scale and a researcher-made questionnaire were used to examine service quality and customer loyalty, respectively. Pearson correlation formula was run to analyze the data. The results showed a significant relationship between different aspects of service quality and customer loyalty in this particular branch of bank.

Service quality plays an important role in service industries such as banks, insurance firms, etc. The purpose of this paper is to investigate level of service quality in private banking industry in Iran. The proposed model of this paper uses SERVQUAL tool for measuring service quality and population of this study includes customers of three private banks in Tehran. Results show that except efficiency, other variables of SERVQUAL obtained suitable level mean in this study. As a result, with the development of electronic commerce, internet banking has become an alternative for developing, operating and offering bank services.

Automation in service delivery has increased the consumers’ expectation with regard to service quality and subsequently the perception of the same. Technology-driven services redefined quality dimensions and their subsequent impact on the behavioural outcomes of the consumers with specific reference to attitudinal loyalty and propensity to switch. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has further reinforced the operational aspects of a service provider by integrating the behavioural perspectives with technology. This paper attempts to explore the nomological link between automated service quality and its behavioural consequences with specific reference to consumers’ attitudinal loyalty and their intention to switch or defect from their present service provider. The study further takes into consideration the moderating effects of the performance of the dimensions and attributes of customer relationship management by introducing a novel approach to CRM performance indexing. The cross-sectional study was carried out with the customers of State Bank of India at Asansol, Durgapur, Bolpur and Santiniketan in West Bengal, India. The study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess and validate the nomological relationship between the variables.

Quality of services in airline industry plays an important role in market penetration and customer retention. In this paper, we present a factor analysis to find important factors in Iranian Airline industry. The study designs a questionnaire consist of 35 questions and distribute it among 200 customers who regularly use services from 16 different airlines and they are investigated based on the implementation of factor analysis. The results of our survey determines seven important factors including physical features of the environment, Kettering, Pre-flight passenger services, Ability to respond, Reliability, Passenger service flight and Virtual Passenger Services. The paper discusses that improving these seven factors can significantly improve service quality in this sector.