It has been argued that service quality is an interesting issue in service marketing. Research on service quality shows that the interaction between customer and service provider is a critical factors of service quality. It is commonly known that verb...
It has been argued that service quality is an interesting issue in service marketing. Research on service quality shows that the interaction between customer and service provider is a critical factors of service quality. It is commonly known that verbal components of service providers positively influence customer's perceptions of overall service quality. However, what is relatively unclear is the nature of the effect of service provider's nonverbal behavior on customer's perceptions of service quality.
Literature in sociology, psychology and communication fields reveals that the nonverbal components are at least as important as the verbal components of interpersonal communication. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the importance of service provider's nonverbal communication duing service interactions. Specifically, a conceptual model is presented that links nonverbal communication(kinesics, proxemics, paralanguage and physical appearance), customer's evaluations of service provider (customer orientation and competence) and customer's perceptions of overall service quality. The proposed model was tested across two service industries(travel agency and overseas education services) using LISREL 8.12 version.
The goodness-of-fit index(GFI) for the overall model is respectable 0.90. In the test of hypotheses, kinesics and physical appearance had a significant influence on customer's evaluations of customer orientation on the service providers. kinesics and paralanguage had a signigicant influence on customer's evaluations of competency on the service providers. Further, each dimensions of nonverbal communication were exposed indirect-effect to customer's perceptions of overall service quality through customer's evaluations of service providers.
Finding of this study imply that nonverbal communication of service provider can become prior variable of customer's evaluations on service provider and customer's perceptions of overall service quality. Service marketer must put weight in nonverbal communication behaviors for enhancement of service quality.