The Impact of Service Employees and Servicescape on Customers’ Perception of Quality Improvement Efforts

Abstract

The present study contributes to the understanding of the influence of service employees and the tangible components of the service production and delivery system on perceptions of quality improvement efforts in a service organization. A hierarchical multiple regression with interaction analysis was performed on data collected from a convenience sample of 435 respondents in a higher education institution to assess the main effect of service employees and servicescape, as well as their interactive effect, on customers’ perception of the institution’s quality improvement efforts. The results show a significant effect of service employees, servicescape as well as the interaction between service employees and servicescape in their influence on customers’ perception of quality improvement efforts. The results also reveal that the servicescape intervenes as a moderator variable in the relationship between service employees and quality improvement efforts. Service organizations should therefore focus on the crucial role of service employees during the service encounter and recognize the importance of the servicescape, in view of increasing customers’ favourable perceptions towards the service organisation’s capability to provide better quality in order to satisfy their needs. The study has limited generalization given the convenience sample and the great variety of service industries. It would be helpful to realize similar studies in other service settings and to explore the exact nature of the interaction between service employees and servicescape.

Keywords

• service employees
• servicescape
• quality improvement efforts