According to increase of concerns and importance of service industry, studies as to the management aspect of service quality have been ongoing. The rapid rising status of service industry in Korea is because the improvement of service quality is direc...
According to increase of concerns and importance of service industry, studies as to the management aspect of service quality have been ongoing. The rapid rising status of service industry in Korea is because the improvement of service quality is directly connected with the survival of service industry and profitability. This phenomenon exerts a dominant influence when the competition between companies is tough and there are little differences of quality of products like current modern society.
A role of brand for company which provides with service is not limited to distinguish their products from the ones of other competitors. Accordingly, lots of companies consider the brand strategy as a principal method for competition and the proportion of this method is increasing more and more.
In addition, according to an engineering gap is getting less, the competition is getting stiff, company which provides with service faces the difficulties that conventional differentiation strategy is not enough to respond to such a changed circumstances, furthermore, since the ultimate goal of enterprises is to produce profits, they have to increase rebuying motive of the customer and customer satisfaction through the brand properties.
Most of studies mainly focus on the correlativity between the service quality and customer satisfaction and the study as to the correlativity between the service quality and brand properties is insufficient. Therefore, in this study, we will analyze how the efforts of company which provides with service in order to increase the service quality effects on the brand properties which the customer realizes.
This will be one of the significances of this study. Accordingly, in this study, we will analyze and investigate how the efforts of company which provides with service in order to increase the service quality effects on the brand properties and customer satisfaction and whether brand properties can effect on customer satisfaction and rebuying motive.
According to the first result of empirical analysis, firstly, we elicit the definition of service quality, how service quality effects on constituent of brand assets and which factors mainly effect on it. As a result of this study, we confirm that all factors effect on it. Therefore, the brand of company which provides with service occupies very important part and since they use their brand as a trademark, the importance of components of the brand is out of question.
Secondly, as a result of analysis of the correlativity between components of service quality and customer satisfaction, we confirm that service quality effects on the customer satisfaction.
Thirdly, as a result of analysis of the correlativity between components of brand assets, we confirm that service all of the components of brand assets, the amount of recognition, brand image and brand loyalty effect on customer satisfaction significantly.
Fourthly, the more satisfied the customers, the higher is the customer's rebuying motive.
Fifthly, as an additional analysis, we verified the customer satisfaction could make differences depending on the type of company which provides with service (e.g., department store, discount store, bank, hotel, dining out industry, airlines).
Based on the service process matrix by Schmenner(1986), the type of company could be divided into corporate type of 1 including hotel, dining out industry and airlines and corporate type of 2 including department store, discount store and bank. As a result, at the type of 1 and 2, hypothesis 1, 3 and 4 are adapted and hypothesis 2 is dropped. Regardless of level of labor intensity, the high service quality can not always make the customer satisfaction higher.
The implications of this study are as follows. Firstly, most of the studies concerning service quality are mainly as to the correlativity between service quality and customer satisfaction. However, this study focuses on the relationship between service quality and brand assets and it is verified that the service quality effects on the brand assets.
Secondly, the customer satisfaction is proportional to the customer's rebuying motive.
Thirdly, regardless of the level of labor intensity, the service quality itself is not necessarily proportional to the customer's satisfaction. Rather, the high service quality through the brand assets is the key ingredient of the customer satisfaction. As you see on the service process matrix by Schmenner, it can be confirmed that 4 segments of service system move to the service factory.
Fourthly, in this study we divide the company which provides with service according to the level of labor intensity. Contrary to our expectation, same results derived from the type 1 and 2.
Recently, the service quality and brand differentiation strategy is in the spotlight as main methods for the competition due to equalization of technology and simultaneous release of new products and in terms of international competition, companies are getting interested in the significance of brand properties.
Additionally, empirical findings concerning facets of quality, the service quality in order to satisfy the customer and the importance of service properties can determine the customer satisfaction will be one of the significances of this study.