Originally published as Managing Service Quality Volume 16 Number 4, 2006
ISBN: 1 84663 056 8
Guest Edited by: Dr Marianna Sigala and Dr Evangelos Christou, University of the Aegean, Greece
The objective of this Special Issue is to identify the emerging trends and challenges that face businesses within the service sector, as well as examine and discuss ways by which service firms try to address the former.
Overall, three papers are focusing on the important issue of service quality and its different dimensions and implications (e.g. cross-cultural understanding, experiences, relations and emotional issues), while two papers concentrate on the exploitation of information and communication technologies and their role in enhancing business performance through the creation of personal service experiences that customers value.
Contents:
Global trends and challenges in services
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the theme of the special issue on global trends and challenges in services. Although the papers included in the special issue represent only a small sample of the global trends and issues facing services management nowadays, the papers provide a good basis and implications for conducting future research and extending the area further.
Student satisfaction and quality of service in Italian universities
In order to face the new competitive scenario, Italian universities are involved in a change process and are trying to adopt an entrepreneurial approach to better serve their customers/students. This paper aims to assess university performance by testing student satisfaction. It tries to provide universities with some solutions to improve its performance.
The importance of service quality in bank selection for mortgage loans
This project aims to offer an in-depth understanding of bank customers' buying behaviour in relation to the selection process, and provide bank managers with useful insight into the development of high quality relationships with customers.
Bank service quality: evidence from five Balkan countries
The authors propose a specific scale for measuring perceived service quality in retail banking consisting of six dimensions of service quality: effectiveness and assurance; access; price; tangibles; service portfolio; and reliability. This instrument was used for collecting data in the context of banking services from five Balkan countries.
Mass customisation implementation models and customer value in mobile phones services: Preliminary findings from Greece
A customer-centre approach was adopted for analyzing mass customisation strategies that enhance both extrinsic and intrinsic customer value. A convenience sample was surveyed for gathering data regarding the customer value dimensions perceived by users of customised mobile phone services in Greece.
Investigating the impact of business-process-competent information systems (ISs) on business performance
Investments in information systems (ISs) seem to suffer from the productivity paradox. In this article, three interpretations of this paradox are explored and a business process oriented methodology to overcome it is suggested. The final goal is to investigate the relationship between a BP-competent IS and improved business performance.
About Managing Service Quality
Service quality is about ensuring customers, both internal and external, get what they want. As travel and technology bring markets, people and products ever closer, it is the single most effective and sustainable means of differentiation between competing companies.
Managing Service Quality is packed with case histories, insights and guidance to the latest and most insightful academic thought in the field of service quality. Senior managers and board directors share with you their ideas, experience and advice as they strive for excellence in service quality. In every edition, you will find examples to which you can relate, lessons that you can learn and conclusions about how service quality can be achieved.
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