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Keywords
Service quality, Thailand,
Telecommunications industry
Abstract
The objectives of this paper are to provide an overview of service quality and discuss its potential for offering a competitive advantage; to test several research propositions concerning service quality in the Thai telecommunications industry; and to offer managerial implications of the study's findings and provide directions for future research. The results indicated that perceptions and expectations of service quality level showed no significant difference. A post hoc analysis found that the telecommunication industry received excellent ratings on tangibles, particularly customer service staff's dress, and low ratings on empathy, particularly service providers' interest differences. Tangibles are an aspect of service quality that is extremely important to the Thai telecommunication customer. This study provides evidence supporting the proposition that consumers distinguish between the performance cues of customercontact employee groups. Service delivery systems should create positive moments of truth by ensuring that the point of customers' contact is reduced to a minimum.
Introduction
Service organizations ranging from small business owners to large corporations existing throughout the business world are constantly seeking unique ways of differentiating their offering. The willingness and ability of managers in service firms to respond to changes in the service economy will determine whether their own organizations survive and prosper. With so many changes occurring in Thai service industries, including an expansion and intensification of competition and increasing customer sensitivity, the issue of service quality has gained considerable currency.
During the last decade of service quality research, Parasuraman et al. (1985) have reported that excellent service is a profitable strategy because it results in more new customers, more business with existing customers, fewer lost customers, more insulation from price competition, and fewer mistakes requiring the re-performance of services. Profit impact of market strategy (PIMS) research has indicated that companies that offer superior service are able to charge 8 per cent more for their product (Gale, 1992), while achieving higher-than-normal market share growth (BuzzeR and Gale, 1987) and profitability (Phillips et al., 1983).
Thus, offering superior service quality can help firms become more profitable and help them sustain a competitive advantage in their served markets (Hampton, 1993). However, before service improvement programs are introduced, current service quality levels needs to be addressed (Berry and...