Differentiated service is the success measure: an investigation in telecom industry Odisha, India

Abstract

Purpose: The paper aims to investigate the relative importance of the factors among existing customers of mobile telecom industry and identify any difference in importance among the service quality dimension with respect to demographic variables. Research Design: Questionnaire response to different quality dimensions was used to identify customer preference. The data was segregated as per demographic variables and the differences were identified and interpreted. The hypotheses are tested on data from a survey of 803 users of mobile services, in Odisha, India. Findings: The study results suggest that there exist difference in preference order for different dimensions when grouped by demographic factors. Research limitations: Non parametric research design and generalization from the findings should be context specific. Factors considered for the study may not be exhaustive for different situation. Practical implications: The demographic differences observed with respect to demographic factors indicate that the efforts to signal service quality must be prioritized as per the preference of specific demographic variable. Business can channelize the business processes and integrated communication effort to customers as per quality dimension preference. Similarly entrepreneurs in service industry should understand the differences in priorities of service quality factors to be able to utilize their scarce resources in customer communication. The differentiation indicated could be industry specific. Originality/value: The paper is original for its factors selection and segregation of preference among different demographic variable in mobile services industry in Odisha, India.