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Measuring Perceived Service Quality

Using servqual: A Case Study of

the Croatian Hotel Industry

suzana markovi ´c

Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija, Croatia

sanja raspor

Polytechnic of Rijeka, Croatia

The purpose of the study is to examine customers’ perceptions

of service quality in the Croatian hotel industry. The aim is to assess

the perceived service quality of hotel attributes and to determine

the factor structure of service quality perception. A modified

servqual scale was used to assess service quality perceptions

from the perspective of domestic and international tourists. Data

were collected in 15 hotels in the Opatija Riviera (Croatia), using

a self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistical analysis,

exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis were conducted.

The study results indicate the rather high expectations of

hotel guests regarding service quality. ‘Reliability,’ ‘empathy and

competence of staff,’ ‘accessibility’ and ‘tangibles’ are the key factors

that best explained customers’ expectations of hotel service

quality. The results of the quantitative assessment of perceived

service quality may provide some insights on how customers rate

the service quality of a particular hotel. Thus, the findings can be

used as a guide for hotel managers to improve the crucial quality

attributes and enhance service quality and business performance.

Key words: service quality, servqual, factor analysis, reliability

analysis, hotel industry

Introduction

In the highly competitive hotel industry, service becomes one of

the most important elements for gaining a sustainable competitive

advantage in the marketplace. Consequently, the efforts of service

managers and academic researchers are directed towards understanding

how customers perceive the quality of service.

Customers are likely to view services as a variety of attributes that

may, in different ways, contribute to their purchase intentions and

perceptions of service quality. Although researchers (Grönroos 1984;

Parasuraman, Berry and Zeithaml 1985, Parasuraman, Zeithaml and

Berry 1988; Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry 1990) have focused

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on different aspects of service quality, they all agree that the emphasis

should be on customers. The most common definition of the

concept is attitude, which results from a comparison of customers’

expectations with perceptions of performance (Parasuraman, Berry

and Zeithaml 1985, Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1988). What

is more, customers perceive service quality as a multidimensional

concept.

The specific nature of services makes it difficult to provide, measure

and maintain their quality. However, Parasuraman Berry and

Zeithaml and Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985, 1988) presented

the servqual scale, which became the most popular instrument

for measuring service quality. The model has been applied in

various service industries, including tourism and hospitality. In most

of the researches the instrument was modified to suit the features of

a specific service.

The study has several objectives. The first objective is to determine

the level of perceived service quality in Croatian hotels. The second

aim is to establish the number of dimensions of perceived service

quality in the hospitality industry, using the modified servqual

model. Finally, the third objective is to test the reliability of the modified

servqual model.

Conceptual Background

perceived service quality

The service quality construct is mostly conceptualized in the context

of service marketing literature (Lee, Lee and Yoo 2000). Therefore,

it deals with the concept of perceived service quality. According to

Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry (1990), perceived service quality

is the extent to which a firm successfully serves the purpose of customers.

Customers determine the perceived or cognitive value of service

based on their experience with the service delivered. Ghobadian,

Speller and Jones (1994) stated that customers’ expectations, service

delivery process and service outcome have an impact on perceived

service quality. Yoo and Park (2007) found that employees, as an integral

part of the service process, are a critical element in enhancing

perceived service quality. Furthermore, Edvardsson (2005) pointed

out that service quality perceptions are formed during the production,

delivery and consumption process. The author concluded that

customers’ favorable and unfavorable experience, as well as their

positive and negative emotions may have an important impact on

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perceived service quality. Similarly, O’Neill and Palmer (2003) have

reported that customers’ perceptions of service quality may, to a

large extent, be influenced by the degree of their prior experience

with a particular service.

In the hospitality industry, several studies have examined hotel

attributes that guests may find important when evaluating the

performed service quality. Literature review suggests that cleanliness

(Atkinson 1988; Knutson 1988; Gundersen, Heide and Olsson

1996), security and safety (Atkinson, 1988; Knutson, 1988; Gundersen

et al. 1996), employees’ empathy and competence (Atkinson

1988; Knutson 1988; Barsky and Labagh 1992; Gundersen, Heide

and Olsson 1996; Choi and Chu 2001; Markovi ´c 2004), convenient

location (Knutson 1988; Barsky and Labagh 1992), value for money

(Atkinson 1988; Gundersen, Heide and Olsson 1996; Choi and Chu

2001) and physical facilities (Choi and Chu 2001; Markovi ´c 2004) are

attributes that hotel guests perceive as being important.

It should be noted that according to some authors, perceived service

quality has been accepted as an antecedent of customer satisfaction

(Churchill and Suprenant 1982; Oliver 1997). What is more,

Rowley (1998) argued that perceived service quality is an attitude

related to, but not the same, as satisfaction. It is evident that the relationship

between these two concepts is complex and that they have

a causal ordering.

service quality measurement

One of the main research instruments for measuring quality in service

industries is the servqual model, developed by Parasuraman

Berry and Zeithaml and Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985;

1988). The model contains 22 items for assessing customer perceptions

and expectations regarding the quality of service. A level of

agreement or disagreement with a given item is rated on a sevenpoint

Likert-type scale. The level of service quality is represented

by the gap between perceived and expected service. The servqual

model is based on five service quality dimensions, namely tangibles

(physical facilities, equipment and personnel appearance), reliability

(ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately),

responsiveness (willingness to help customers and provide

prompt service), assurance (knowledge and courtesy of employees

and their ability to gain trust and confidence) and empathy (providing

individualized attention to the customers).

During the last few years a variety of service quality studies have

been conducted (Ladhari 2008). Among others, service quality was

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measured in: accounting and audit firms (Ismail 2006), health spas

(Snoj and Mumel 2002; Markovi ´c, Horvat and Raspor 2004), higher

education (Russel 2005; Markovi ´c 2006), hotels (Markovi ´c 2003, 2004;

Juwaheer 2004;Wang,Wang and Zhao 2007; Raspor 2009), insurance

(Tsoukatos,Marwa and Rand 2004), public-transport (Sánchez Pérez

2007), restaurants (Andaleeb and Conway 2006; Namkung and Jang

2008), travel agencies (Martinez Caro and Martinez Garcia 2008),

and web-sites (Parasuraman, Zethaml and Malhotra 2005; Nusair

and Kandampully 2008).

Despite its wide usage, the model has been criticized by a number

of academics (Carman 1990; Babakus and Boller 1992; Teas 1994).

Criticism was directed at the conceptual and operational base of the

model, mostly its validity, reliability, operationalization of expectations,

and dimensional structure. However, there is general agreement

that servqual items are reliable predictors of overall service

quality (Khan 2003).

As a result of these criticisms, alternative measures of service

quality for specific service settings were developed. In the tourism

and hospitality industry, Knutson et al. (1991) developed lodgserv,

a model utilized to measure service quality in the lodging industry.

The model is based on five original srevqual dimensions and

contains 26 items. Getty and Thompson (1994) introduced another

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