Share:


The behavioural consequences of perceived service quality: a study of the Indian telecommunication industry

Abstract

The telecom industry in India has witnessed substantial growth over the last decade. Rapid growth of telecommunications is opening up the doors for many telecom players from Europe, Asia and other parts of the world, resulting in increased competition and tariff reductions. In the present competitive environment, the services perceived by the customers and their behavioural intentions play a pivotal role in the customer switching process among service providers. With the changing expectations of service quality, it becomes imperative to discover the gap between customer expectations and customer perception. In this context, the aim of the present study is to identify the existing gap between customer expectations and perceptions and investigate the relationship between post-experience perception of service quality and customers’ behavioural intentions. The data was collected from 500 customers in Delhi NCR, India. Paired sample t-test and multiple correlation analysis were performed. The results of the study points out the key areas wherein the service gaps are considerably high such as reliability and responsiveness. The customer behavioural intentions, such as “Complain to customer service if a problem occurs”, “Switch to another service provider” and “Reducing the usage with a particular service provider”, have shown a strong relationship with quality of service. The findings of the study confirm that the perceptions of customers regarding the quality of service received definitely have an impact on their behaviour.

Keyword : service quality, expectations, perceptions, behavioural intentions, telecom service providers

How to Cite
Jhamb, D., Mittal, A., & Sharma, P. (2020). The behavioural consequences of perceived service quality: a study of the Indian telecommunication industry. Business: Theory and Practice, 21(1), 360-372. https://doi.org/10.3846/btp.2020.11480
Published in Issue
May 26, 2020
Abstract Views
1209
PDF Downloads
894
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Aggarwal, A., Goyal, J., & Nobi, K. (2018). Examining the impact of leader-member exchange on perceptions of organizational justice: the mediating role of perceptions of organizational politics. Theoretical Economics Letters, 8(11), 2308–2329. https://doi.org/10.4236/tel.2018.811150

Alexandris, K., Zahariadis, P., Tsorbatzoudis, C., & Grouios, G. (2004). An empirical investigation of the relationships among service quality, customer satisfaction and psychological commitment in a health club context. European Sport Management Quarterly, 4(1), 36–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184740408737466

Al-Hashedi, A. H., & Abkar, S. A. (2017). The impact of service quality dimensions on customer satisfaction in telecom mobile companies in Yemen. American Journal of Economics, 7(4), 186–193.

Anderson, R. E. (1973). Consumer dissatisfaction: The effect of disconfirmed expectancy on perceived product performance. Journal of Marketing Research, 10(1), 38–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224377301000106

Babakus, E., & Mangold, W. G. (1992). Adapting the SERVQUAL scale to hospital services: an empirical investigation. Health Services Research, 26(6), 767. PMCID: PMC106985.

Baruah, P., & Baruah, R. (2014). Telecom sector in India: Past, present and future. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Studies, 1(3), 147–156.

Berry, L. L., Parasuraman, A., & Zeithaml, V. A. (1994). Improving service quality in America: lessons learned. Academy of Management Perspectives, 8(2), 32–45. https://doi.org/10.5465/ame.1994.9503101072

Bolton, R. N., & Drew, J. H. (1991). A multistage model of customers’ assessments of service quality and value. Journal of Consumer Research, 17(4), 375–384. https://doi.org/10.1086/208564

Brown, J. D. (2002). The Cronbach alpha reliability estimate. JALT Testing & Evaluation SIG Newsletter, 6(1).

Chopra, S., & Chawla, P. (2018). Innovation, growth and intellectual property: a study of the Indian Telecom sector and the way forward. Journal of National Law University Delhi, 5(1), 40–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/2277401718787953

Choudhury, K. (2014). Service quality and customers’ complaining behavior: a study of the Indian banking sector. Services Marketing Quarterly, 35(2), 123–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332969.2014.885361

Chowdhary, N., & Prakash, M. (2007). Prioritizing service quality dimensions. Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, 17(5), 493–509. https://doi.org/10.1108/09604520710817325

Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16(3), 297–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02310555

Cronin Jr, J. J., & Taylor, S. A. (1992). Measuring service quality: a reexamination and extension. Journal of marketing, 56(3), 55–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299205600304

Cruz, V., & Mendes, L. (2019). The influence of service quality on users’ behavioural intentions in developing countries: a crosssectional study in Cape Verde’s public hospitals. International Journal for Quality Research, 13(2), 361–380. https://doi.org/10.24874/IJQR13.02-08

David Mc, A. B. (2013). Service quality and customer satisfaction in the airline industry: A comparison between legacy airlines and low-cost airlines. American Journal of Tourism Research, 2(1), 67–77. https://doi.org/10.11634/216837861302317

Dua, S. (2017). Digital India: opportunities and challenges. International Journal of Science Technology and Management, 6(3), 61–67.

Dubey, A., & Srivastava, A. K. (2016). Impact of service quality on customer loyalty – A study on telecom sector in India. 10SR Journal of Business and Management (10SR-JBM), 18(2), 45–55.

Howat, G., Crilley, G., & McGrath, R. (2008). A focused service quality, benefits, overall satisfaction and loyalty model for public aquatic centres. Managing Leisure, 13(3–4), 139–161. https://doi.org/10.1080/13606710802200829

IBEF. (2019). Telecom industry in India. https://www.ibef.org/industry/telecommunications.aspx

Johnson, W. C., & Sirikit, A. (2002). Service quality in the Thai telecommunication industry: a tool for achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. Management Decision, 40(7), 693–701. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740210438526

Kang, G. Du., James, J., & Alexandris, K. (2002). Measurement of internal service quality: application if the SERVQUAL battery to internal service quality. Managing Service Quality, 12, 278–291. https://doi.org/10.1108/09604520210442065

Kirk, J., Miller, M. L., & Miller, M. L. (1986). Reliability and validity in qualitative research (Vol. 1). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412985659

Kondasani, R. K. R., & Panda, R. K. (2016). Service quality perception and behavioural intention: a study of Indian private hospitals. Journal of Health Management, 18(1), 188–203. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972063416639168

Kumar, A., Shankar, R., & Debnath, R. M. (2015). Analyzing customer preference and measuring relative efficiency in telecom sector: A hybrid fuzzy AHP/DEA study. Telematics and Informatics, 32(3), 447–462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2014.10.003

Kushwah, S. V., & Bhargav, A. (2014). Service quality expectations and perceptions of Telecom sector in India. International Journal of Advancements in Technology, 5(1), 1–10.

Ladhari, R. (2009). A review of twenty years of SERVQUAL research. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 1(2), 172–198. https://doi.org/10.1108/17566690910971445

Lee, Y. C., Wang, Y. C., Chien, C. H., Wu, C. H., Lu, S. C., Tsai, S. B., & Dong, W. (2016). Applying revised gap analysis model in measuring hotel service quality. SpringerPlus, 5(1), 1191. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40064-016-2823-z

Lewis, B. R., & Mitchell, V. W. (1990). Defining and measuring the quality of customer service. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 8(6), 11–17. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000001086

Liang, R. D., Chang, C. S., & Wang, T. S. (2011). The effect of service responsiveness and social emotions on service outcomes: An empirical investigation of service firms. African Journal of Business Management, 5(8), 3155–3167.

Loke, S. P., Taiwo, A. A., Salim, H. M., Downe, A. G., & Petronas, U. T. (2011). Service quality and customer satisfaction in a telecommunication service provider. In International Conference on Financial Management and Economics, 11, 24–29.

Mani, S. (2005). The dragon vs the elephant: Comparative analysis of innovation capability in the telecom industry of China and India. Economic and Political Weekly, 40(1), 4271–4283. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4417201

Manohar, S., Mittal, A., & Marwah, S. (2019). Service innovation, corporate reputation and word-of-mouth in the banking sector – A test on multigroup-moderated mediation effect. Benchmarking: An International Journal, ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-05-2019-0217

Mathew, B., Narayanan, R., & Mittal, A. (2019) A review of the perception of healthcare quality among patients and employees. Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development, 10(9), 452–456. https://doi.org/10.5958/0976-5506.2019.02469.0

Min, S., & Khoon, C. C. (2014). Demographic factors in the evaluation of service quality in higher education: A Structural Equation Model (SEM) approach. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 6(1), 90. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijms.v6n1p90

Ministry of Electronics & Information technology. (2018). Digital India programme, government of India. http://digitalindia.gov.in/content/universal-access-mobile-connectivity

Munusamy, J., Chelliah, S., & Mun, H. W. (2010). Service quality delivery and its impact on customer satisfaction in the banking sector in Malaysia. International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, 1(4), 398.

Naseer, A., Hu, B., & Fukuda, K. (2012, June). HOME Q-Score: Assessing the quality of healthcare provisioning. In 2012 25th IEEE International Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems (CBMS, 1–6). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/CBMS.2012.6266395

Ojiaku, O. C., & Osarenkhoe, A. (2018). Determinants of customers’ brand choice and continuance intentions with mobile data service provider: The role of past experience. Global Business Review, 19(6), 1478–1493. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972150918780764

Ojo, O. (2010). The relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in the telecommunication industry: Evidence from Nigeria. BRAND. Broad Research in Accounting, Negotiation, and Distribution, 1(1), 88–100.

Olshavsky, R. W., & Miller, J. A. (1972). Consumer expectations, product performance, and perceived product quality. Journal of Marketing Research, 9(1), 19–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224377200900105

Pandey, N., & Kumar, A. (2018). Responding to 4G telecom pricing war: ignore, accommodate or retaliate. Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, 8(2), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1108/EEMCS-11-2017-0251

Parasuraman, A., Berry, L. L., & Zeithaml, V. A. (1991). Refinement and reassessment of the SERVQUAL scale. Journal of Retailing, 67(4), 420.

Parasuraman, A., Berry, L. L., & Zeithaml, V. A. (1990). Guidelines for conducting service quality research. Marketing Research, 2(4).

Parasuraman, A., Berry, L. L., & Zeithaml, V. A. (1993). More on improving service quality measurement. Journal of Retailing, 69(1), 140–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4359(05)80007-7

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., and Berry, L. L. (1988). Servqual: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perc. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), 12.

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

Patel, B. K. (2018). A study on marketing strategy adopted by leading players of telecom sector in Gujarat state. Clear International Journal of Research in Commerce & Management, 9(6). http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsh&AN=130686529&site=eds-live

Paulrajan, R., & Rajkumar, H. (2011). Service quality and customers preference of cellular mobile service providers. Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, 6(1), 38–45. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-27242011000100004

Pedro, E., Mendes, L., & Lourenço, L. (2018). Perceived service quality and student’s satisfaction in higher education: the influence of teaching methods. International Journal for Quality Research, 12(1), 165–192.

Pitt, L. F., Watson, R. T., & Kavan, C. B. (1995). Service quality: a measure of information systems effectiveness. MIS Quarterly, 19(2), 173–187. https://doi.org/10.2307/249687

Prasad, R. (2018). Ascendant India, digital India: how net neutrality advocates defeated Facebook’s Free Basics. Media, Culture & Society, 40(3), 415–431. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443717736117

Qadri, U. A. (2015). Measuring service quality expectation and perception using SERVQUAL: A gap analysis. Business and Economics Journal, 6(3), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.4172/2151-6219.1000162

Ravichandran, K., Bhargavi, K., & Kumar, S. A. (2010). Influence of service quality on banking customers’ behavioural intentions. International Journal of Economics and Finance, 2(4), 18–28. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijef.v2n4p18

Reichheld, F. F., & Sasser, W. E. (1990). Zero defections: quality comes to services. Harvard Business Review, 68(5), 105–111.

Ryu, K., Lee, H. R., & Gon Kim, W. (2012). The influence of the quality of the physical environment, food, and service on restaurant image, customer perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 24(2), 200–223. https://doi.org/10.1108/09596111211206141

Selvakumar, J. J. (2016). Impact of service quality on customer satisfaction in public sector and private sector banks. Purushartha: A Journal of Management Ethics and Spirituality, 8(1).

Sharma, P. (2017). Service quality and customer behaviour intentions in Indian telecom sector. In Proceedings of IEEEFORUM International Conference (pp. 7–10).

Sharma, P., & Jhamb, D. (2017). Measuring service quality in the telecom industry in India. International Journal of Management Studies, 4, 123–131. http://www.researchersworld.com/ijms/

Shine. (2013). Telecom industry set for growth in 2013. http://info.shine.com/ Industry-Information/Telecom/183.aspx

Siwach, J., & Kumar, A. (2015). Vision of digital India: dreams comes true. IOSR Journal of Economics and Finance, 6(4), 66–71.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). (2017). Telecom Subscription Reports. http://www.trai.gov.in/release-publication/reports/telecom-subscriptions-reports

Uppal, V., & Mittal, A. (2019). Antecedents of post purchase consumer dissatisfaction in household white goods. Journal of Advanced Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, 11(5), 1958–1966.

Wong, I. A., & Dioko, L. D. A. (2013). Understanding the mediated moderating role of customer expectations in the customer satisfaction model: The case of casinos. Tourism Management, 36, 188–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2012.10.010

Yadav, H. R. (2014). A comparative study on performance of public sector and private sector telecommunications with reference to wireless services in India. International Journal of Research, 1, 535–544.

Yadav, N. (2014). Total interpretive structural modelling (TISM) of strategic performance management for Indian telecom service providers. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 63(4), 421–445. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-04-2013-0081

Yore, M. M., Ham, S. A., Ainsworth, B. E., Kruger, J., Reis, J. P., Kohl III, H. W., & Macera, C. A. (2007). Reliability and validity of the instrument used in BRFSS to assess physical activity. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 39(8), 1267–1274. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e3180618bbe

Zehendner, E., & Feillet, D. (2014). Benefits of a truck appointment system on the service quality of inland transport modes at a multimodal container terminal. European Journal of Operational Research, 235(2), 461–469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2013.07.005

Zeithaml, V., Berry, L., & Parasuraman, A. (1996). The behavioural consequences of service quality. Journal of Marketing, 60(2), 2–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299606000203

Zeithaml, V. A., Bitner, M. J., & Gremler, D. D. (1996). Services marketing. McGraw Hill.

Zeithaml, V. A., Bitner, M. J., Gremler, D. D., & Pandit, A. (2006). Services marketing: Integrating customer focus across the firm (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Zeithaml, V. A., Parasuraman, A., & Berry, L. L. (1990). Delivering quality service: perceptions and expectations. Free Press.

Zeithaml, V. A., Parasuraman, A., & Malhotra, A. (2000). E-service quality: definition, dimensions and conceptual model. Marketing Science Institute, Cambridge, MA, working paper.

Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., & Griffin, M. (2013). Business research methods (9th International Edition). South-Western Cengage Learning, Canada.