A Review on the Existing Service Quality Measurement Models

Abstract

The purpose of this review is to assess the existing service quality measurement models. A review of the literature was conducted utilizing keywords such as “definitions of quality”, “meaning of quality”, “service quality and features of service quality”, “measurement models”, specifically, “Gronroo’s”, “SERVQUAL”, and “SERVPERF”. These studies are selected from well-known databases – such as “Emerald”, “ABI/Inform”, “ScienceDirect”, and “EBSCOhost”. As yet, no consensus has been reached among scholars on the definition, indicators and factors of the quality of the healthcare services. Moreover, most of the current models are of Western origin and incongruent with the cultural and economic contexts of developing countries. From the review it is clear that none of the models are currently perfect in diverse cultures and no reliable generic model has yet been developed for measuring the quality of service. Generic models have failed to capture the real dynamism of the pragmatic environment, and can therefore be of limited practical use. Existing service-quality models have widely been criticised for the number and composition of the dimensions. All these models comprise of pre-defined dimensions that are non-specific to all service organisations. This is therefore advising organisations to develop their own models for measuring the quality of their services.