Service quality, satisfaction and loyalty among sharing economy vehicle users

Abstract

AbstractSharing economy has emerged as an influential concept, shaping the way and manner businesses are transacted. Of particular interest is the transport industry, where a combination of GPS and the development of software have resulted in the creation of an e-hailing transportation system. Issues such as the provision of quality services persist; giving rise to further investigations. The study, therefore, delved into service quality, satisfaction and loyalty of users of e-hailing transport services. Using a cross-sectional descriptive survey, a convenience sample was employed to intercept 436 users of e-hailing vehicles at pick-up and drop-off points in Accra, Ghana. A structural equation model was used to test the relationships between service quality, satisfaction and loyalty among users of e-hailing vehicles. Results show assurance (β = 0.149; p = .022); tangibles (β = 0.140; p = .045), responsiveness (β = 0.040; p = .008); reliability (β = 0.014; p = .015); empathy (β = 0.062; p = .000); system information (β = 0.013; p = .005) and price (β = 0.001; p = .008) significantly influence user satisfaction. Similarly, customer satisfaction was found to influence the loyalty of users of e-hailing vehicles. The study concludes that both individual service quality dimensions and the composite service quality model influence users’ satisfaction which in turn influences users’ willingness to re-use and recommend e-hailing services to others. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Keywords

• Service quality
• customer satisfaction
• loyalty
• sharing economy vehicles
• Ghana
• Pier Luigi Sacco, Humanities, IULM University, Milano, Italy