The chapter reviews the existing literature on the subject, including; articles, books, journals and publications. Light is shed on current literature relevant to the study and the conceptual framework by renowned scholars such as Parasuraman, Valarie Zeithaml and Len Berry who developed the SERVQUAL model used to assess customer expectation and perceptions of service quality. 2.1 Concept of Quality 2.1.1 Defining Quality Garvin (1988) describes quality as an unusually slippery concept, easy to visualize and yet exasperatingly difficult to define. Notwithstanding Quality has been defined from diverse perspectives. Quality was primarily seen as a defensive mechanism but it is seen as a competitive weapon for emergence of new markets as well …show more content…
It details the movement from a transcendent to a values-based approach. Transcendent: Quality cannot be defined, and can be recognised only when the product is used or the service experienced. Product-based: Quality can be judged by the presence or absence of particular characteristics of the product itself. If they are present, quality can be said to be present, and vice versa. Manufacturing-based: Quality exists if product meets original specifications. Failure to meet the standards completely represents a lack of …show more content…
2.2.3 What is Service Quality? Defining service quality is difficult as compared to product quality due to features that are unique to services. Notwithstanding, Eshghi et al. (2008) defines service quality as the overall assessment of a service by the customers. While Parasuraman et al. (1988) define service quality as a difference between customer expectation of service and customers’ perceptions of the actual service. Kasper et al. (1999) defines service quality as the degree to which the service offered can satisfy the expectations of the user. It can be inferred from these definitions that customers are the sole judges of service quality. If they perceive it to be good service, then it is. They assess the quality of service by comparing their expectation with perception. Bolton (1998), points out that service quality influences a customer’s subsequent behavior, intentions and preferences. When a customer chooses a provider that delivers service quality that meets or exceeds his or her expectations, he or she is more than likely to choose the same provider