Customers' Perceptions of Service Quality in Financial Institutions

Abstract

Increasing competition on international markets has led many companies to consider quality as a strategic tool capable of influencing market share and return on investment. Yet a review of the marketing literature reveals a serious lack of explanatory and empirical studies on the concept of quality and its related phenomena as it applies to the service sector. This article presents the results of an exploratory study on service quality in a financial institution setting, using data collected from 1,224 respondents. A set of six factors that explain perceived quality is identified, namely the degree of customer satisfaction, the contact personnel, the internal organisation, the physical environment and instruments, the corporate image, and the personnel/customer interaction during the service encounter.