Assessment of the three-column format SERVQUAL: an experimental approach

Over the past decade, SERVQUAL has emerged as perhaps the most popular standardized questionnaire to measure service quality. This study investigates the usefulness of the three-column format SERVQUAL proposed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry, (Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L.: Reassessment of expectations as a comparison standard in measuring service quality: Implications for further research, Journal of Marketing 58 (January 1994): 111-124. Using a six-group experimental design, group 1 respondents are administered the revised SERVQUAL instrument containing minimum expectations, desired expectations, and performance items. The remaining five groups are given different combinations of the one and/or two column questionnaire. The findings indicate that the perception battery is the salient component, raising new concerns regarding the usefulness of the revised expectations scale in service quality measurement. Management implications and future research issues are discussed.