Private and public banks: a comparison of customer expectations and perceptions

Reports the findings of a survey among customers of private and public sector banks in Greece on service quality perceptions and expectations. Finds that quality expectations and evaluation of services received were marginally higher in the private than in the public sector in most of the dimensions measured; the relative importance attached to each quality attribute was, however, of a similar profile for the two sectors. The perception of the profile of services received was, however, different between sectors, thus suggesting that they did deliver a different quality of service. Discusses the implications for strategy since sectoral differentiation in banking is becoming blurred as a result of increasing overlap between services and competition from related and substitute industries. Identifies the distinctiveness of what is perceived as a service on offer as essential ingredient to competitive positioning in financial services.