簡易檢索 / 詳目顯示

回結果列表
研究生： 馬奇
Mägi, Sander
論文名稱： Comparing Evaluations of Internal Service Quality within European and Chinese Cultures for Services provided by IT Departments
Comparing Evaluations of Internal Service Quality within European and Chinese Cultures for Services provided by IT Departments
指導教授： 鄭至甫
Jeng, Don Jyh-Fu
學位類別： 碩士
Master
系所名稱： 管理學院 - 國際經營管理研究所碩士班
Institute of International Management (IIMBA--Master)
論文出版年： 2010
畢業學年度： 98
語文別： 英文
論文頁數： 141
外文關鍵詞： Internal customer service, Internal service quality, IT department, Cultural context, Cross-cultural research, Hofstede’s culture dimensions, Online services, Estonia, Taiwan
相關次數： 點閱：107  下載：2 
分享至:
查詢本校圖書館目錄 查詢臺灣博碩士論文知識加值系統 勘誤回報

    • Previous research has found that contextual factors influence service quality. However, very little cross-cultural research studying internal service quality (ISQ) has been conducted and no research has compared European and Chinese cultures ISQ evaluations. This study tries to fill that research gap by studying ISQ of services provided by the IT department in Estonia (a European culture) and Taiwan (a Chinese culture) and focusing on the influence of culture (both national culture and Hofstede’s culture dimensions) on ISQ evaluations. The influence of the amount of services received online is also under investigation.
    In order to adequately study differences in ISQ evaluations in Estonia and Taiwan, as well as the influence of contextual factors, data was collected simultaneously in Estonia and Taiwan. This resulted in 201 usable responses collected from Estonia and 202 from Taiwan.
    Findings from this study benefit both to the academic world and practitioners by adding to the knowledge about the influence of contextual factors, especially culture, to service quality evaluations by using a unique research setting. This research finds that ISQ evaluations and the important attributes indeed differ in Estonia and Taiwan and thus practitioners should focus on those factors and attributes that are important in their respective country to be more efficient in improving ISQ. However, ISQ factor Shared Understanding is found to be important in predicting overall quality evaluations in both Estonia and Taiwan. Another important finding is that all ISQ factors are significantly influenced by at least one of Hofstede’s culture dimensions, while six out of seven Hofstede’s culture dimensions are found to significantly influence ISQ evaluations. However, overall the influence of culture on ISQ evaluations is weak.
    Practitioners also benefit from the finding that the more services received online, the better ISQ is evaluated in Taiwan, while ISQ evaluations in Estonia are not influenced, indicating that more services should be provided online in Taiwan to improve ISQ evaluations. More research investigating the effect the amount of online services has on ISQ evaluations and on its moderating factors (such as culture) is called for.

    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................... I ABSTRACT ................................................... II TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................... IV LIST OF TABLES .............................................. VII LIST OF FIGURES.............................................. X CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ................................... 1 1.1 Research Background. ....................................... 1 1.2 Research Objectives. ........................................ 3 1.3 Research Process and Structure................................ 5 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW .............................. 6 2.1 Internal Service Quality. ...................................... 6 2.1.1 Service Quality Background. .............................. 6 2.1.2 Internal Services. ...................................... 8 2.1.3 Importance of Internal Service Quality. ...................... 8 2.2 Contextual Factors Influencing Internal Service Quality. ............... 8 2.3 Culture. ................................................. 9 2.3.1 Defining Culture and Culture Dimensions. .................... 9 2.3.2 Taiwanese Culture. ................................... 12 2.3.3 Estonian Culture. .................................... 14 2.3.4 Comparing Estonia and Taiwan. .......................... 14 2.3.5 Culture’s Influence on ISQ. .............................. 16 2.3.6 Applicable ISQ Attributes Based on Cultural Context. ........... 18 2.4 ISQ in IT Services. ........................................ 20 2.4.1 Service Quality within the IT Context. ...................... 20 2.4.2 Applicable ISQ Attributes Based on IT Context. ............... 21 2.4.3 Online Services. ...................................... 23 2.5 Culture‟s Influence on IT Service Quality. ........................ 26 CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY .......... 28 3.1 Research Design. .......................................... 28 3.2 Questionnaire Design. ...................................... 28 3.2.1 Preliminary Testing and Adjustment of Questionnaire............ 31 3.2.2 Section One – Performance Evaluation for Internal Service Quality Attributes. .......................................... 32 3.2.3 Section Two – Culture Questions from VSM 08. ................ 32 3.2.4 Section Three – Summary Questions. ....................... 32 3.2.5 Section Four – Basic Information. ........................ 33 3.3 Sampling Plan. ........................................... 33 3.4 Data Analysis............................................ 34 3.4.1 Assessing Factor Structure(s) (H1). ........................ 34 3.4.2 Assessing Relative Importance of ISQ Factors and Attributes (H2)...35 3.4.3 Pearson Correlation, Multiple Regression Analysis and Canonical Analysis (H3 and H4). .................................. 35 3.4.4 One-Way ANOVA Post Hoc Analysis and Independent t-Test (H5 and H6)...................... 36 CHAPTER FOUR RESEARCH RESULTS............................. 37 4.1 Sampling Procedure. ....................................... 37 4.2 Descriptive Analysis. ....................................... 38 4.3 Assessing Factor Structure and Creating Purified Scales.............. 43 4.4 Construct Validity. ........................................ 57 4.4.1 Content Validity. ...................................... 57 4.4.2 Convergent Validity. ................................... 58 4.5 Prediction Strength, and Testing Relative Importance of ISQ Factors.....64 4.6 Testing Relative Importance of ISQ Attributes. .................... 73 4.7 Relating Internal Service Quality Factors to Hofstede’s Culture Dimensions. ...................................................... 81 4.8 Influence of Online Services. ................................. 91 4.9 Segmentation Analysis. ..................................... 96 CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS............ 102 5.1 Research Conclusion and Discussion. .......................... 102 5.2 Managerial Implications. ................................... 109 5.3 Research Limitations. .................... 110 5.4 Suggestions for Future Research................... 112 REFERENCES ............................................ 115 APPENDICES............................................. 121 Appendix 1: Questionnaire – English............................. 121 Appendix 2: Questionnaire – Estonia.............................. 128 Appendix 3: Questionnaire – Taiwan.............................. 135

    Badri, M. A., Abdulla, M., & Al-Madani, A. (2005). Information technology center service quality: Assessment and application of SERVQUAL. International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, 22(8), 819-848.
    Berry, L. L. (1981). The employee as customer. Journal of Retail Banking, 3(1), 33-40.
    Brady, M. K., & Cronin Jr, J. J. (2001). Some new thoughts on conceptualizing perceived service quality: A hierarchical approach. Journal of Marketing, 65(3), 34-49.
    Bruhn, M. (2003). Internal service barometers: Conceptualization and empirical results of a pilot study in Switzerland. European Journal of Marketing, 37(9), 1187-1206.
    Cronin, J. J., Jr., & Taylor, S. A. (1992). Measuring service quality: A reexamination and extension. The Journal of Marketing, 56(3), 55-68.
    Croom, S., & Johnston, R. (2003). E-service: Enhancing internal customer service through e-procurement. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 14(5), 539-555.
    Czepiel, J. A. (1990). Service encounters and service relationships: Implications for research. Journal of Business Research, 20(1), 13-21.
    Dabholkar, P. A., Thorpe, D. I., & Rentz, J. O. (1996). A measure of service quality for retail stores: Scale development and validation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 24(1), 3-16.
    Davis, J. M., Kettinger, W. J., & Kunev, D. G. (2009). When users are IT experts too: the effects of joint IT competence and partnership on satisfaction with enterprise-level systems implementation. European Journal of Information Systems, 18(1), 26-37.
    DeLone, W. H., & McLean, E. R. (2003). The DeLone and McLean model of information systems success: A ten-year update. Journal of Management Information Systems, 19(4), 9-30.
    Donthu, N., & Yoo, B. (1998). Cultural influences on service quality expectations. Journal of Service Research, 1(2), 178-186.
    E-readiness rankings 2009: The usage imperative. (2009). Economist Intelligence Unit.
    Espinoza, M. M. (1999). Assessing the cross-cultural applicability of a service quality measure: A comparative study between Quebec and Peru. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 10(5), 449-468.
    Fassnacht, M., & Koese, I. (2006). Quality of electronic services: Conceptualizing and testing a hierarchical model. Journal of Services Research, 9(1), 19-37.
    Furrer, O., Liu, B. S.-C., & Sudharshan, D. (2000). The relationships between culture and service quality perceptions: Basis for cross-cultural market segmentation and resource allocation. Journal of Services Research, 2(4), 355-371.
    Gremler, D. D., Bitner, M. J., & Evans, K. R. (1994). The internal service encounter. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 5(2), 43-56.
    Grove, S. J., Fisk, R. P., & John, J. (2003). The future of services marketing: Forecasts from ten services experts. Journal of Services Marketing, 17(2), 107-121.
    Grönroos, C. (1981). Internal marketing - An integral part of marketing theory. In J. H. Donnely & W. R. George (Eds.), Marketing of Services (pp. 236-238). Chicago: American Marketing Association.
    Grönroos, C. (1984). A service quality model and its marketing implications. European Journal of Marketing, 18(4), 36-44.
    Hair, J. S., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (2006). Multivariate data analysis (Sixth ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
    Hallowell, R., Schlesinger, L. A., & Zornitsky, J. (1996). Internal service quality, customer and job satisfaction: Linkages and implications for management. Human Resource Planning, 19(2), 20-32.
    Heskett, J. (1987). Lessons in the service sector. Harvard Business Review, 65(2), 118-126.
    Heskett, J., Jones, T. O., Loveman, G. W., Sasser, W. E., & Schlesinger, L. A. (1994). Putting the service profit chain to work. Harvard Business Review, 72(2), 164-174.
    Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. Beverly Hills CA: Sage Publications.
    Hofstede, G. (1984). Cultural dimensions in management and planning. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 1(2), 81-99.
    Hofstede, G. (n.d.). Geert Hofstede cultural dimensions. Retrieved 29. January, 2010, from http://www.geert-hofstede.com
    Hofstede, G., & Bond, M. H. (1988). The Confucius connection: From cultural roots to economic growth. Organizational Dynamics, 16(4), 4-21.
    Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., Minkov, M., & Vinken, H. (2008). Values Survey Module 2008 [Electronic Version], 08, 1-17,
    Holloway, B. B., & Beatty, S. E. (2008). Satisfiers and dissatisfiers in the online environment: A critical incident assessment. Journal of Services Research, 10(4), 347-364.
    Ifinedo, P., & Davidrajuh, R. (2005). Digital divide in Europe: Assessing and comparing the e-readiness of a developed and an emerging economy in the Nordic region. Electronic Government, 2(2), 111-133.
    Imrie, B. C., Cadogan, J. W., & McNaughton, R. (2002). The service quality construct on a global stage. Managing Service Quality, 12(1), 10-18.
    Jain, S. K., & Gupta, G. (2004). Measuring service quality: SERVQUAL vs. SERVPERF scales. Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, 29(2), 25-37.
    Jiang, J. J., Klein, G., & Carr, C. L. (2002). Measuring information system service quality: SERVQUAL from the other side. MIS Quarterly, 26(2), 145-166.
    Johnston, R. (1995). The determinants of service quality: Satisfiers and dissatisfiers. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 6(5), 53-71.
    Johnston, R. (2008). Internal service - barriers, flows and assessment. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 19(2), 210-231.
    Kang, G.-D., Jame, J., & Alexandris, K. (2002). Measurement of internal service quality: Application of the SERVQUAL battery to internal service quality. Managing Service Quality, 12(5), 278-291.
    Kanousi, A. (2005). An empirical investigation of the role of culture on service recovery expectations. Managing Service Quality, 15(1), 57 - 69.
    Karatepe, O. M., Yavas, U., & Babakus, E. (2005). Measuring service quality of banks: Scale development and validation. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 12(5), 373-383.
    Kettinger, W. J., & Lee, C. C. (1994). Perceived service quality and user satisfaction with the information services function. Decision Sciences, 25(5-6), 737-766.
    Kettinger, W. J., & Lee, C. C. (1997). Pragmatic perspectives on the measurement of information systems service quality. MIS Quarterly, 21(2), 223-240.
    Kettinger, W. J., & Lee, C. C. (2005). Zones of tolerance: Alternative scales for measuring information systems service quality. MIS Quarterly, 29(4), 607-623.
    Kettinger, W. J., Lee, C. C., & Lee, S. (1995). Global measures of information service quality: A cross-national study. Decision Sciences, 26(5), 569-588.
    Ladhari, R. (2008). Alternative measures of service quality: A review. Managing Service Quality, 18(1), 65-86.
    Ladhari, R. (2009). A review of twenty years of SERVQUAL research. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 1(2), 172-198.
    Lai, J.-Y. (2006). Assessment of employees' perceptions of service quality and satisfaction with e-business. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 64(9), 926-938.
    Lovelock, C., & Gummesson, E. (2004). Whither services marketing? In search of a new paradigm and fresh perspectives. Journal of Services Research, 7(1), 20-41.
    Lovelock, C. H., & Yip, G. S. (1996). Developing global strategies for service businesses. California Management Review, 38(2), 64-86.
    Malhotra, N. K., Kim, S. S., & Patil, A. (2006). Common method variance in IS research: A comparison of alternative approaches and a reanalysis of past research. Management Science, 52(12), 1865–1883.
    Malhotra, N. K., Ulgado, F. M., Agarwal, J., Shainesh, G., & Wu, L. (2005). Dimensions of service quality in developed and developing economies: Multi-country cross-cultural comparisons. International Marketing Review, 22(3), 256-278.
    Marshall, G. W., Baker, J., & Finn, D. W. (1998). Exploring internal customer service quality. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 13(4/5), 381-392.
    Martínez, J. A., & Martínez, L. (2010). Some insights on conceptualizing and measuring service quality. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 17(1), 29-42.
    Matsumoto, D., & Yoo, S. H. (2006). Toward a new generation of cross-cultural research. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1(3), 234-250.
    Mattila, A. S. (1999). The role of culture in the service evaluation process. Journal of Service Research, 1(3), 250-261.
    Meuter, M. L., Ostrom, A. L., Roundtree, R. I., & Bitner, M. J. (2000). Self-service technologies: Understanding customer satisfaction with technology-based service encounters. The Journal of Marketing, 64(3), 50-64.
    Owen, J. (2009). Managing internal service quality in Taiwan: Accounting departments as service providers. National Cheng Kung University, Tainan.
    Paraskevas, A. (2001). Internal service encounters in hotels: An empirical study. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 13(6), 285-292.
    Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V., & Berry, L. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), 12-40.
    Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1985). A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research. The Journal of Marketing, 49(4), 41-50.
    Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Malhotra, A. (2005). E-S-QUAL: A multiple-item scale for assessing electronic service quality. Journal of Service Research, 7(3), 213-233.
    Pitt, L. F., Watson, R. T., & Kavan, C. B. (1995). Service quality: A measure of information systems effectiveness. MIS Quarterly, 19(2), 173-187.
    Pitt, L. F., Watson, R. T., & Kavan, C. B. (1997). Measuring information systems service quality: Concerns for a complete canvas. MIS Quarterly, 21(2), 209-221.
    Podsakoff, P. M., & Organ, D. W. (1986). Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of Management, 12(4), 531-544.
    Raajpoot, N. (2004). Reconceptualizing service encounter quality in a non-Western context. Journal of Service Research, 7(2), 181-201.
    The Republic Of China Yearbook. (2009). Retrieved. from http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/yearbook/contents.html.
    Reynoso, J., & Moores, B. (1995). Towards the measurement of internal service quality. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 6(3), 64-83.
    Riddle, D. (1992). Leveraging cultural factors in international service delivery. Advances in Services Marketing and Management, 1, 297-322.
    SA. (2010). Statistics Estonia. Retrieved June 6th, 2010, from www.stat.ee
    Schneider, B., & Bowen, D. E. (1985). Employee and customer perceptions of service in banks: Replication and extension. Journal of Applied Psychology, 70(3), 423-433.
    Shankar, V., Smith, A. K., & Rangaswamy, A. (2003). Customer satisfaction and loyalty in online and offline environments. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 20(2), 153-175.
    Smith, A. M., & Reynolds, N. L. (2001). Measuring cross cultural service quality: A framework for assessment. International Marketing Review, 19(5), 450-481.
    Stanworth, J. O., Chen, S. S.-y., & Hsu, R. S.-w. (2009). Understanding Chinese employees’ (dis)satisfaction in the internal service encounter.
    Stauss, B., & Mang, P. (1999). "Culture shocks" in inter-cultural service encounters? Journal of Services Marketing, 13(4/5), 329-346.
    Zeithaml, V. A., Parasuraman, A., & Malhotra, A. (2002). Service quality delivery through web sites: A critical review of extant knowledge. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 30(4), 358-371.
    Tan, K. C., Xie, M., & Li, Y. N. (2003). A service quality framework for web-based information systems. The TQM Magazine, 15(3), 164-172.
    Teas, R. K. (1993). Expectations, performance evaluation, and consumers' perceptions of quality. The Journal of Marketing, 57(4), 18-34.
    Tsikriktsis, N. (2002). Does culture influence web site quality expectations? Journal of Services Research, 5(2), 101-112.
    Usunier, J.-C. G. (1993). International marketing. New York: Prentice Hall.
    Van Dyke, T., Kappelman, L., & Prybutok, V. (1997). Measuring information systems service quality: Concerns on the use of SERVQUAL. MIS Quarterly, 21(2), 195-208.
    Van Dyke, T. P., Prybutok, V. R., & Kappelman, L. A. (1999). Cautions on the use of the SERVQUAL measure to assess the quality of information systems services. Decision Sciences, 30(3), 877-891.
    Vandamme, R., & Leunis, J. (1993). Development of a multiple-item scale for measuring hospital service quality. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 4, 30-49.
    Winsted, K. F. (1997). The service experience in two cultures: A behavioral perspective. Journal of Retailing, 73(3), 337-360.
    World development indicators 2009. (2009). New York: World Bank.
    World economic outlook database (Publication. (2009). Retrieved 29. January, 2010, from International Monetary Fund: http://imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2009/02/weodata/index.aspx
    Yang, Z., & Fang, X. (2004). Online service quality dimensions and their relationships with satisfaction. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 15(3), 302-326.

    下載圖示 校內：立即公開
    校外：立即公開
    QR CODE