Service quality: a fulfilment‐oriented and interactions‐centred approach Available to Purchase

This paper proposes a different approach to, and definition of, service quality. Service quality is framed as being dependent on composite results that a service provider and its systems offer a customer. In contrast to the approach that depicts service quality as a discrepancy construct, this paper frames the concept as a fulfilment‐oriented construct. The premise of the paper is that each services sector should have service quality criteria that specifically fit its features and characteristics. To implement a context‐dependent services quality instrument, it is argued that managers could use a service quality grid to classify firms according to their outcomes and dominant service‐encounter interactions. Three kinds of dominant interactions are introduced: customer‐to‐staff, customer‐to‐technology, and customer‐to‐product/services. Three central recommendations are proposed. First, it is important for managers to define their services in terms of the dominant service interactions. Second, managers should develop their service‐quality instruments around the dominant interactions of their particular sector. Third, managers should develop service‐quality question items using the paired criteria approach to capture customer experiences during service interactions.