SERVICE QUALITY
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A research on how recruitment companies secure service quality
Efendic, Elvira, 901119 Tutor: Halvarsson, Dan International Marketing Programme
Examiner: PH. D Oghazi, Pejvak Lajiq, Sabina, 890505
International Marketing Programme Subject: Business Administration Level & Semester: Bachelor Thesis, Spring 2012.
“Excellent firms don’t believe in excellence – only in constant
improvement and constant change” - Tom Peters
Acknowledgement
First and foremost the authors would like to offer their sincerest gratitude to the examiner of this research, Dr. Pejvak Oghazi at Linnaeus University, Dr. Vinit Parida at Luleå University of Technology as well as Dr. Magnus Hultman at Leeds University for their valuable feedback during this thesis.
The authors also wish to express their gratitude towards their supervisor, Prof. Dan Halvarsson who has been abundantly supportive and has offered this thesis valuable assistance as well as guidance.
This dissertation would not have been possible without the cooperative support from the recruitment companies and the respondents. In addition the authors wish to express their sincerest gratitude towards their families who during trials continued to encourage, inspire and support us throughout this thesis.
Last, but by no means least, the authors wish to express the sincerest gratitude towards each other for encouraging and supporting one another during challenging times that occasionally occurred during these study years.
Title: Service quality
- A research on how recruitment companies secure service quality Authors: Efendic, Elvira
Lajiq, Sabina
Tutor: Dan Halvarsson
Date: 2012-05-15
Abstract
Background Service quality is considered to be a vital strategy for survival and success in today’s competitive environment. Although there have been an emphasis in quality overall, the research in companies performance within a business-to-business approach is still largely unexplored. Accordingly, service quality in recruitment companies will be interesting to examine in order to explore the business-to- business industry further.
Purpose & The purpose of this research is to study how recruitment
Research Question companies secure quality in their services. What factors indicate various quality levels?
Methodology This is a qualitative study with a deductive approach. Multiple case studies were conducted with a total of six respondents from three companies.
Conclusion This research concluded factors that indicate various quality levels in recruitment companies. The collected data that could not be strengthened with the theories was recommended as further research.
Keywords: Service quality, heterogeneity, intangibility, gap analysis, self- service, servqual, service quality in B2B.
Table of Content
1. Introduction ... 1
1.2 Problem Discussion ... 2
1.3 Purpose ... 2
2. Literature Review ... 3
2.1 Theoretical Introduction ... 3
2.2 Aspects of Services ... 3
2.2.1 Intangibility ... 3
2.2 Heterogeneity ... 4
2.3 What is Service Quality? ... 5
2.3.1 Definition of service quality ... 6
2.3.2 Characteristics of the business-to-business market ... 6
2.3.3 Service Quality in business-to-business ... 7
2.4 Service Quality Methods ... 7
2.4.1 Gap analysis ... 7
2.4.2 Self Service ... 10
2.4.3 Method for Measuring Service ... 11
2.4.4 Research Question ... 13
2.5 Conceptualization ... 13
3. Methodology ... 15
3.1 Research Approach ... 15
3.1.1 Inductive versus Deductive Research... 15
3.1.2 Qualitative versus Quantitative Approach ... 16
3.2 Research Design ... 17
3.3 Data Sources ... 18
3.3.1 Primary Data ... 18
3.3.2 Secondary Data ... 19
3.4 Research Strategy ... 20
3.4.1 Experiment ... 20
3.4.2 Surveys ... 20
3.4.3 Archival Analysis ... 20
3.4.4 History ... 21
3.4.5 Case study ... 21
3.5 Data collection method ... 23
3.6 Data Collection Instrument ... 25
3.6.1 Operationalization and Measurement of Variables ... 25
3.6.2 Interview guideline ... 26
3.6.3 Pretesting ... 27
3.7 Sampling ... 27
3.7.1 Sampling frame ... 28
3.7.2 Sample selection ... 28
3.8 Data analysis method ... 29
3.9 Quality Criteria ... 31
3.9.1 Content Validity ... 31
3.9.2 Construct validity ... 31
3.9.3 External validity ... 32
3.9.4 Reliability ... 32
4. Empirical ... 34
4.1 Discussion of the empirical findings ... 34
4.1.1 Intangibility ... 34
4.1.2 Heterogeneity ... 36
4.1.3 Gap Analysis ... 38
4.1.4 Self-service ... 41
5. Analysis ... 42
5.1 Discussion of the Analysis ... 42
5.1.1 Intangibility ... 42
5.2 Heterogeneity ... 44
5.3 Gap Analysis ... 45
5.4 Self Service ... 47
6. Conclusion and Implications ... 49
6.2 Discussion of the findings ... 49
6.2.1 Intangibility ... 49
6.2.2 Heterogeneity ... 50
6.2.3 Gap analysis ... 50
6.5 Self-service ... 51
6.6 Implications for Managers ... 51
6.7 Implications for Academicians ... 52
6.8 Limitations & Future research ... 53
7. References ... 54 Appendix
Appendix 1 Appendix 2
List of Tables
Table 2.1: Definitions and Characteristics of Service Quality………... 5
Table 2.2: Factors causing gaps in Service Quality………... 9
Table 2.3: A multiple Item Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality...12
Table 3.1: The differences between qualitative and quantitative research…………...………17
Table 3.2: Relevant Situations for Different Research Strategies………22
Table 3.3: Interview Process Outline………24
Table 3.4: Aspects of Service Quality………..25
Table 3.5 Service Quality Methods………...26
Table 3.6: Criteria for Respondents………. 28
Table 3.7: Criteria for Companies……….28
Table 3.8: Presentation of the Respondents………..29
Table 4.1 Presentation of the Companies………..34
Table 4.2: Attributes of ISO 9001 and 14001………...36
List of Figures Figure 2.1 Conceptualization of theoretical framework…………...………14
Figure 3.1: Data analysis process………..30
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1. Introduction
This chapter will provide a presentation of the background for the research in order to create logic for the project at hand. Further, a problem discussion addressing critical issues of the research subject is presented and concludes with the purpose of this research.
The importance of retaining a stable position by maintaining quality in a competitive market has been in focus for decades. (e.g. Regan, 1963; Juran, 1974; Crosby, 1979; Garvin, 1984;
Parasuraman et al, 1985; Deming, 1986; Feigenbaum, 1951; Cronin and Taylor, 1992;
Heskett et al, 1997; Grönroos, 2000). Between the years of 1995-2007 the employment opportunities were mainly created within the service sector and a very important contribution to the economic growth in Sweden has since 1995 been investment in intangible assets (Almega, 2011). Usually, only tangible assets are considered as investment in the National Account, despite the importance for output that stems from intangible assets. The main reason for this is related to the complexity of measuring intangible assets. Result has showed that investment in intangible assets in the Swedish business sector reaches 10% of the GDP (Almega, 2011). In a continuously increasing competitive environment, it is not enough for organizations to just reach the top, but to maintain a leader-position (Kandampully, 1998).
Delivering service quality is considered to be a vital strategy for survival and success in today’s competitive environment (Dawkins and Reichheld 1990). Zeithaml et al (1996) state that the main difference between services and goods is that services are intangible. According to Kaplan & Norton, (1997), a company’s ability of handling their intangible assets is of greater importance for reaching success, than the ability of managing and investing in tangible assets. In the 1980’s the main focus of both managerial and academic effort focused on determining what service quality meant to the customers. According to Berry et al. (1985) service quality is the match between service expectations and service performance. In order to deliver quality, customer expectations should be met by the service provider on a consistent basis (Berry et al. 1985). Kandampully (1998) stress that gaps between customers’
expectations and the service they are provided with, is what most likely will contribute to low quality. Since providers of service are aiming for customer’s loyalty, the customers, in turn, are searching for service loyalty (Kandampully, 1998). The customer seeks the loyalty as an assurance for being provided with service of a consistent quality level in the short-run as well as over a longer period of time, which means gaining loyalty by providing loyalty (Kandampully, 1998). Since it is argued that customer loyalty is occasional and time-limited,
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for an organization to reach long-term success, they need to maintain and seek to develop the relationship to their customers continuously.
1.2 Problem Discussion
According to Zeithaml et al (1996) the difference between goods and services is that services are intangible. A customer purchasing products can judge the quality on physical attributes such as colour, package and fit. Since fewer physical attributes exist in services, the quality is instead, before the purchase, judged upon the provider’s equipment, personnel and facility (Zeithaml et al, 1985). Due to the absence of tangible attributes, Zeithaml (1985) state that evaluating services quality is an issue. Services complicate the expectations that are usually requested by the customer since they do not have a tangible outcome from the service, therefore it is also impossible for them to decide on what to expect (Paraguayan et al, 1988).
The search of quality goes back to the 1980’s when striving towards quality was a huge consumer trend. Back then there was very little research on the area due to the complexity of modelling and defining quality. Kandampully (1998) and Zeithaml (1985) stress the complexity of defining quality, but emphasized the importance of it for customer’s and companies. Berry et al (1985) and Zeithaml (2000) argues that profitability is an outcome of investments in quality.
This far the literature has emphasized in quality overall, the research in company’s performance within a business-to-business approach is still largely unexplored (Forker et al, 1996). In the environment of business-to-business, service providers and customer’s need to understand the customer’s unique needs and attributes as well as the importance of building a strategic relationship (Rauyruen and Miller, 2007). Currently, limited research has investigated the recruitment industry, the research that exists only emphasizes on the customer’s perspective (Englund et al 2000). Therefore, investigating the recruitment companies’ perspective on how to secure quality in their services will be the aim of this study since they operate within a business-to-business approach.
1.3 Purpose
The purpose of the research is to study how recruiting companies secure quality in their services.
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2. Literature Review
This chapter will present an overview of the literature within the frame of the presented research problem. The first section of this chapter will provide a brief introduction of service marketing and further a presentation of the service aspects; intangibility and heterogeneity as well as several service quality methods and models are presented followed by the research question.
2.1 Theoretical Introduction
Service marketers need to understand the expectations of the potential customers in order to be in a position to develop marketing strategies for the service delivery (Liu et al, 2000). Liu et al (2000) also argues that if the service providers manage to establish a good relationship with their customers, a lifetime value will be accomplished. There are three types of marketing approaches that can be distinguished for this purpose; attracting the consumers, retaining customers and creating loyalty (Izduierdo et al, 2005). Accordingly, Izduierdo et al (2005) states that service quality is reached by establishing good relationships. According to Gilbert (1996), quality is the main facilitator to achieve objectives of relationship marketing.
The mentioned aspects to this statement are; the commitment to a brand, the moving involvement and also the active relation (Gilbert, 1996).
2.2 Aspects of Services
This section will present two vital aspects of services; intangibility and heterogeneity. Bauer (1960) argues that these aspects are important to take into consideration since customer’s usually experience insecurity when purchasing services due to the lack of tangible attributes and various quality levels of services.
2.2.1 Intangibility
Zeithaml et al (1996) argues that the main difference between a service and a good is that goods are tangible while services are intangible. Berry (1980) states that another important attribute of service, is that services are processes rather than goods, which leaves the customer with no opportunity to have a tangible product but instead have interactive processes. Since services are intangible it is an issue to specify and explain the contents of services (Bauer, 1960). Customers will experience certain insecurity from the purchase due to of the amount of
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quality of the information in a service (Bauer, 1960; Cox, 1967, Riel et al, 2001; Berry, 1980).
Since intangibility of services complicate a service, it becomes impossible for consumers to determine what they should expect (Paraguayan et al, 1988). Since intangibility cause problems for the customer’s, companies need to emphasize in demonstrating the service value which is difficult to asses before consumption (Martin, 1999) According to Lovelock (1991), consumers tend to evaluate services depending on if they can experience the delivery of the service and also on the perceived service outcome. A study conducted by Bebko (2000) has showed that environmental cues in services help the consumers shape their expectations.
Previous research has showed the importance of understanding customers’ expectations and satisfaction of service quality but there is a small amount of empirical evidence that demonstrate how consumers expectations of quality differ between services (Bebko, 2000).
Grönroos (1982) research, which is a classification model of different services on the other hand, proved that differences in service attributes do exist. Bebko (2000) states that, if intangibility affects consumer’s perception of risks, then the promise of reliability can reduce it. However businesses need to be careful while they are promoting their reliability because if they exaggerate or overstate it, consumer’s expectations will increase. According to Bebko (2000) it is more important that companies emphasize on their reliability first and where after it should be promoted to the customer’s. In a research made by Bebko (2000) there is a hypothesis which states that most issues with quality would follow a pattern where reliability would be the most important dimension of service quality to consumers for all services.
Intangible services, risks, uncertainty and customers’ expectations are an area that still needs to be examined in the service literature (Bebko, 2000).
2.2 Heterogeneity
Throughout the last a numerous of researchers have made an effort to create knowledge of heterogeneity in different markets. The result has provided useful classification tools for uncovering different groups with different sensitivities and preferences (Allenby et al, 2012).
Berry (1987) stresses the difficulty of providing services with consistent quality levels due to heterogeneity. The inconsistency in services is unavoidable and each service should be considered as unique. (Berry, 1980; Zeithaml et al, 1985) Services usually vary from one purchase occasion to another and services are often viewed as experimental, why consumers tend to re-evaluate the quality criteria of services each time (Friedman & Smith, 1993;
Parasuraman et al, 1985). If services are treated right from both the seller and the buyer, Crosby et al (1990) argues, that this will lead to a permanent buyer-seller relationship. High
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service quality has the ability to reduce service uncertainty and increase the companies’
reliability (Li and Ho, 2008). The higher quality of relationships, long-term exchanges will be developed between the service providers which results in mutual benefits for both parties (Singh, 2008). Grönroos (1990) argues that services are heterogeneous since both the provider of the service and the consumer has a major influence on the construction and the delivery development. Heterogeneity is not necessarily connected to a dire matter since according to Bubkek (2000) service organizations are seeking to differentiate themselves in today’s competitive market and delivering high service quality has been related to success in the service industry. Therefore it is important that services are designed in the right way from the beginning, since they can not be exchanged, stored or redone (Bubkek, 2000)
2.3 What is Service Quality?
The first part of this section provides several definitions of service quality. Further, the role of service quality in B2B is presented, since this is the approach that the project at hand will highlight. The section ends by a presentation of service quality models relevant for the project.
6 2.3.1 Definition of Service Quality
Service quality can be viewed from different aspects; interactive, corporate and physical quality (Lehtinen & Lehtinen, 1982). Below several definitions of service quality are provided (See Table 2.1).
Table 2.1 Definitions and Characteristics of Service Quality Author Definitions of Service Quality
Grönroos (1982) Service quality is evaluated based on the extent to which customer’s expectations are met by the service provided.
Lewis and Booms (1983) Service quality measures the extent to which the service provided matches customers’ expectations, and meets the expectations.
Gefen (2002) Service quality is the subjective comparison that customers make between the quality of service that they receive and the one they get.
Smith and Houston (1982) Service quality means confirmation or disconfirmation of the expectations a customer has. Customer’s base research upon the disconfirmation paradigm which stresses that is connected to the direction and size of the disconfirmation experience. The disconfirmation on the other hand is related to a person's primary expectations.
Ramsawamy (1996) The creations of service quality are the business transactions that occur between a service provider and the customer in order to create an outcome that will satisfy the customer.
Zeithaml and Bitner (1996) Service quality includes a process, performance and deeds.
Companies can gain great benefits if service quality is secured properly (Buzzel and Gale, 1987). Companies that can offer superior service have the ability to charge approximately eight percent more for their service and as a results achieve more than the average market share growth (Buzzel and Gale, 1987). This is also strengthened by Liu et al. (2007) who state that delivering more effective service quality than competitors, is a way for firms to become successful in today’s business environment. Providing a service that is of high quality is a noticeable way for companies to differentiate from competitors and achieve a competitive advantage (Liu et al, 2007).
2.3.2 Characteristics of the Business-to-Business Market
The business-to-business (B2B) market concerns commercial business interactions between business organizations where the customers are businesses purchasing products and services from other businesses. Business may refer to an institution or the government as well (Hutt &
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Speh 2010). The differences between the B2B and business-to-consumer (B2C) market are concerned with marketing and buying processes; B2B companies have fewer customers who purchases large quantities Kotler (2003). Accordingly, it is stressed that supplier-customer relationships are closer in B2B due to a high corporation level between parties. Another characteristic of the B2B is the incidence of customized solutions which evolves as supplier and buyers becomes more integrated with one another Kotler (2003).
2.3.3 Service Quality in Business-to-Business
Mehta and Durvasula (1998) argue that service quality has a significant concern within business-to-business marketing of services and the lack of delivering high service can have consequences for businesses. If customer’s perceived quality is below their expectations, a service quality gap occurs (Brogowicz et al, 1990). Therefore quality gaps need to be identified.
2.4 Service Quality Methods
The research and the service quality methods will shed light to the service provider’s perspective since currently this area is largely unexplored. This statement is strengthen by Svensson (2004) who states that the existing models of service quality are frequently based on the interpretations of involving different actors in a service encounter but not the service provider’s point of view.
2.4.1 Gap Analysis
According to Grönroos (1990), managers who believe that providing 100% quality is not possible are not putting enough effort. Grönroos (1990) state that the problem usually is concerned with the company’s approach of addressing quality improvement and that many companies see service quality as a project, something temporary and restricted to a time- frame. Grönroos (1990) argues that quality improvements should be addressed as a continuous process and every individual in the organization should understand how they can influence service quality.
Management perceptions of customer expectations serve as a guide for decisions on service quality which the organization should take into consideration when the delivery of the service
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takes place (Grönroos, 1990). Another thing that influences the perceived, as well as the expected service, is marketing communication (Grönroos, 1990). Berry et al (1988), presents a model including five gaps that can be used for identifying factors affecting quality and provides managers with an understanding of how service quality can be improved. The gaps occur due to inconsistence in quality management and the factors behind them should be taken into considerations during the planning process of service quality (Berry et al, 1988).
Berry et al (1988) initial model was based on an investigation of companies from four different industries; credit card, securities brokerage, retail banking and product repair and maintenance. Grönroos (1990) further discuss the consequences and reasons behind the gaps.
The structure of the model demonstrates steps that need to be considered when planning and analyzing service quality in order to identify factors causing quality problems.
Further on, this research will emphasize on Grönroos (1990) clarification on the model presented by Berry et al (1988). The first four gaps are viewed from companies’ perspective, while the fifth gap investigates customer’s perspective of service quality (Grönroos, 1990).
Since this research will emphasize on investigating the company’s perspective of service quality, the fifth gap will be excluded.
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The table below (Table 2.2) presents information and reasons that need to be considered in order to prevent gaps from occurring in companies’ services.
Table 2.2: Factors causing gaps in Service Quality.
Gap Analysis Model
Gap 1 - The management perception gap The managements perceptions of quality expectations is not accurate Factors causing gap:
- Analysis of demand and information form market research are not accurate - Expectations are interpreted in a non-correct way
- Lack of demand analysis
- Lack in the information between the firms connection link to the customer and the management - Information becomes inaccurate when assign through too many organizational layers
Gap 2 – The quality specifications gap Mismatch between manager’s perception of quality and quality specifications Factors causing gap:
- Mistakes during the planning process
- Lacks in the management responsible for planning - No clear goals
- No sufficient support from top management in the planning of service quality Gap 3 – The service delivery gap Quality is not delivered in line with what is stated in specifications Factors causing gap:
- Specifications are too complicated
- Employees are not fulfilling specifications because they don’t agree with them - The specifications don’t match the corporate culture of the organization - Internal marketing is not sufficient
- Performance is not technologically supported
- Lack of real commitment to service quality among management.
- Lack of employee training
Gap 4 – The market communication gap Promises in marketing communication are not being properly fulfilled through the actual service delivery
Factors causing gap:
- The service operations are vague integrated with the marketing planning - Marketing communication campaigns are not in line with specifications - The organization has a tendency of promising too much
According to Grönroos (1990) the first gap (Gap 1) concerns the management of an organization and stresses that if management’s perception of quality is not accurate, a gap will occur. The gap indicates that management’s perception of quality is not in line with customers expectations. An example provided by Parasuraman et al (1985) concerns internet payments;
for a consumer internet payment is related to uncertainty, while management believes that it contributes to high quality.
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Grönroos state that companies will fail to match customer’s expectations if they interpret their perception of expectations incorrectly; they will also fail to match service specifications (Gap 2), (Grönroos, 1990). In the following gap (Gap 3), it is stressed that if there is a difference between an organizations specification for services and the actual delivery of the service, a gap will occur (Grönroos, 1990). Parasuraman et al. (1985) stresses the importance of employees’ impact on the service delivery. It is argued that employees might perform services in different ways, which implies that specifications for services not necessarily indicate high quality (Parasuraman et al, 1985). The fourth gap (Gap 4) stresses that if an organization does not deliver what is promised through marketing, a gap will occur (Grönroos, 1990). Despite the possibility of identifying quality problems that the gap analysis provides, criticism concerning its lack of ability to measure the quality gaps has been pointed out by Seth et al (2005). Since the focus of this thesis will aim to identify factors affecting service quality, measuring service quality will not be a relevant strategy to complete this research.
Accordingly, this will justify the author’s acceptance of the criticism.
2.4.2 Self-Service
The offering of services can be divided into two main components, where one part is the process and the other one is the outcome of the service (Oghazi et al, 2012). In line with the expansion of e-business and technology overall, technology based self-services has grown as a result and more companies are encouraging consumers of their services to perform the services by themselves (Oghazi et al, 2012). Self-service contributes to increasing the importance of service delivery. Many service companies has implemented technologies in order to provide customers with the possibility of serving themselves (Oghazi et al, 2012) According to Oghazi et al, (2012) there are several benefits to gain by offering self-service.
From the service providers’ perspective this is mainly concerned with facilitating employees’
jobs as well as achieving great cost efficiency. For the consumers purchasing services on the other hand, benefits are found within the possibility of individual control and customization as well as time efficiency (Oghazi et al, 2012). Accordingly, Oghazi et al (2012) stressed that consumers would prefer using self-services due to the possibility of control even if there are no price or time benefits to gain. Despite the benefits, some are still not convinced about the attractiveness of self-service (Oghazi et al, 2012). In some cases, consumers seek to avoid self-service due to the expected additional physical and mental efforts.
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According to Oghazi et al (2012), whether a consumer accepts or rejects a self-service is decided upon the attributes of the self-service. It is stressed that the attributes consumers’
values the most is individual control, time efficiency as well as how easy navigated the self- service is (Oghazi et al, 2012). Self-services that are perceived as difficult to use, will decrease customer’s desire of using the service due to the risk of looking foolish (Oghazi et al, 2012).
2.4.3 Method for Measuring Service
According to Parasuraman et al (1985), intangibility complicates the measurement of service quality. This is strengthened by Levitt (1981) who argue that the difficulties that arise from intangibility leads to quality control problems for both the consumer and the producer.
According to Lovelock and Wirtz (2007) researchers state that the nature of service quality requires a unique approach in order to measure and identify service quality. As stated by Parasuraman et al (1985), the intangibility makes it difficult to measure service quality but Lovelock and Wirtz (2007) also state that the comprehensive nature of services makes it hard to evaluate the quality of a service. In some cases it is beneficial to measure service quality, since measurement allows for a comparison before and after the changes when finding out the source of quality related problems (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2007). Most of the services that are offered today can not be measured, tested or counted neither be confirmed in advance of a sale in order to ensure quality delivery (Zeithaml, 1988). One way to measure service quality according to Bebko (2000) is by the level of differences between consumer’s expectations and desire as well as their perceptions of the service outcome. There need to be a drawn distinction between the service delivery process and the output of a service (Bebko, 2000). It is importance to understand the expectations of the customers since when evaluating services, customers compare their expectations with what they receive (Bebko, 2000). Customer’s expectation can vary since customers are influenced by new technologies, advertising, service innovation and other socially observed factors. In a successful company, customer’s expectations are met in every step (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2007). While exploring the field of service quality, it is noted that the Servqual model is an important aspect. The statement is strengthened by the innovators Parasuraman et al (1985), article "SERVQUAL: A multiple item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality" which currently have 9559 citations. Servqual is a model that provides a technology for measuring and managing quality (Parasuraman et al, 1985). Servqual measures the gap between the customer’s expectations
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and the experiences of the delivered service. In Parasuraman et al (1985) original formulation of Servqual, ten components were identified. The formulation was later on collapsed into five dimensions which is presented in the table below (Table 2.5). All the dimensions beside reliability, concern the process of service delivery while reliability concern whether the outcome of service was delivered as promised (Parasuraman, 1985). The table below (Table 2.5) provides descriptions of Parasuraman et al (1985) five dimensions of the Servqual model.
Table 2.5: A multiple Item Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality.
SERVQUAL
1. Tangibles Here the appearance of communication
material and physical facilities matters.
2. Reliability Within this dimension the performance of
companies’ promises are vital.
3. Responsiveness This dimension is about the willingness to help the customers and to provide them with punctual service.
4. Assurance The politeness and knowledge of employees
and their ability to impart confidence and trust.
5. Empathy The last dimension is about the attention the
firm give to its customer.
(Bebko, 2000).
With its growing popularity and extensive request, Servqual has been criticized in both a theoretical and operational way (Masser, 1957). Servqual has been improperly based on an expectations-disconfirmation model instead of an attitudinal model of service quality. As a result it does not build on present knowledge in statistics, economics and psychology. Masser (1957) among other authors state that Parasuraman (1988) management technology does not take any account of the costs required to improve service quality. Masser (1957) also tackled the issue of the cost and benefits of quality improvement in service settings. The existing model of service quality such as Servqual is usually not provided for professional evaluation of the interactive environment of service quality in service encounters (Svensson, 2004).
Therefore, this model will not be further investigated in this study.
13 2.4.4 Research Question
In order to be able to investigate how recruitment companies secure quality in their services the following question will be aimed to be answered:
- What factors indicates various quality levels in recruitment companies?
2.5 Conceptualization
In order to demonstrate the relevance of the chosen theories for this research, the figure below (figure 3.1) illustrates a conceptualization of how the theories will be used throughout the project. The model clarifies the components of service quality that will be examined in this research. Intangibility and heterogeneity in this model represents aspects of service quality, which through the literature review were noted to be critical aspects since they make the determination of service quality complex (Zeithaml et al, 1996; Allenby et al, 2012). Since there is an issue in explaining and specifying services due to their intangibility, the research aims to study how recruitment companies address this issue in order to secure quality in their services. Since the service provider and the consumer have equal influence on the construction and delivery development, services consistent (Grönroos, 1990). Therefore, the desire was to examine how recruitment companies manage to address this issue to keep their services consistent. Bubkek (2000) argues the importance of designing the services properly from the beginning, due to their non-ability to change, restore or exchange. In order to examine the factors affecting the quality outcome; the aim is to study how recruitment companies design their services.
As mentioned, the two mentioned aspects contribute to the determination of what factors indicates various quality levels. However, since intangibility and heterogeneity complicate the determination of service quality, the service quality methods; gap analysis and self-service will contribute by indicating what high service quality is for the recruitment companies. The research will highlight the complexity of services as well as identify the factors affect the quality outcome. The chosen theories will form the foundation for the empirical investigation of this study, and have been divided into constructs and further into items. From these items, an interview guideline will be constructed that further on will be mastered throughout the empirical material. The collected data will provide inferences about the recruitment
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companies’ strategies of securing quality in their services. The final outcome will demonstrate factors affecting the quality outcome.
Figure 2.1 Conceptualization of theoretical framework Service Quality
Heterogeneity Intangability
Factors affecting quality outcome
Gap Analysis Self- Service
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3. Methodology
In this chapter a description of the research methodology will be presented. The first section sheds light to the chosen research approaches, followed by a discussion and justification of the chosen method, while the last section highlights quality criteria. The chosen methods will be in accordance with the subject of this research.
3.1 Research Approach
In this section the different research approaches will be presented. At the end of the presentation a justification of the suitable approach chosen for this study will be provided.
3.1.1 Inductive versus Deductive Research
When conducting research there are two possible ways of building the theory; inductive and deductive. The most common approach of describing the relationship between theory and research is by applying deductive theory (Bryman and Bell, 2007). In order to construct a hypothesis, the researcher studies what is known about the area of interest from which a hypothesis is formed which further should be mastered through empirical material. The hypothesis should enclose ideas that can be transformed into units that are possible to research on (Bryman and Bell, 2007). The different steps of the deductive approach are demonstrated as a linear and logical progression, however, there are situations where this will not be the case. The researcher might due to several reasons, change his or her view of the literature and theory while analysing the data that has been collected. One reason might be that, before the researcher has accomplished the project, other researchers might publish new ideas or findings. In addition, the relevance between data and theory might not be clear until after the data has been collected. Also, a mismatch between the data and the intended hypothesis might exist. After studying what is known about the research phenomena a theory is constructed as a basis for the hypothesis. The hypothesis is then tested by empirically studying the phenomena in order to finally be able to confirm, or not confirm, the intended hypothesis (Bryman & Bell, 2007). Inductive research approach is reverse of the deductive one; theory is what will result from the collected data. Through this approach the researcher is able to draw generalizations based on observations. Inductive research may have influences of the deductive approach because when theoretical reflection is carried from the collected data, the researcher might collect more data in order to examine under what conditions a certain theory will hold or not
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hold. Inductive research usually provides very insightful generalizations but thus very little theory (Bryman & Bell, 2007). This research will be carried out with a deductive approach.
Since the conclusions of the research project will be based on pre-chosen theories. The reason for excluding the inductive approach is since the outcome of the research will not be theories.
3.1.2 Qualitative versus Quantitative Approach
Two approaches can be used in a research; a quantitative and a qualitative approach. The qualitative approach demands an emphasis on one of the qualities of units and on processes which meanings are not experimentally examined or measured (Lincoln and Denzim, 2005).
However, the quantitative approach emphasizes on intensity, amount and frequency. In the qualitative approach the researcher seeks answers to questions that strain how experience is created and given meaning (Lincoln and Denzim, 2005). Qualitative data is not analyzed through numbers and is concerned with collecting and analyzing information in as many predominantly non-numeric forms as possible instead it emphasises on exploring as many details as possible (Lincoln and Denzim, 2005). Small numbers of examples or instances that are seen as illuminating or interesting are preferable since it aims to achieve depth instead of breadth (Blaxter, 2006). Unlike qualitative research, the quantitative approach highlights the analysis and measurement of fundamental relationships between variables instead of processes. Blaxter (2006) state the proponents work is based on a value-free structure, meaning the quantitative approach does include values, beliefs and attitudes. Quantitative research is a pragmatic research where the data is presented through numbers (Blaxter, 2006).
The quantitative approach tends to engage a somehow representative and large scale of data and also perceived as if the context is about the gathering of facts (Blaxter, 2006).
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The table below (Table 3.1) provides the reader with differences between the qualitative and quantitative approach. The purpose of the table is to give more depth to the reader and a clearer understanding of the mentioned research approaches.
Table 3.1: The differences between qualitative and quantitative research
Qualitative Research Quantitative Research
Focus on understanding behaviour of actors Seeks the causes and facts of social phenomena The insider perspective (Close to the data) The outsider perspective (Removed from data)
Subjective Objective
Process-oriented Outcome-oriented
Assumes a dynamic reality Assumes a stable reality
Since the purpose is to investigate how service quality is secured within the recruiting industry, the qualitative approach is more suitable for this study. This, since in a qualitative approach, the researcher seeks answers to questions that shows how experience is created and given meaning (Blaxter, 2006). This will be beneficial for the thesis since the purpose is to find out what service quality is according to the respondents experience. The respondents will have to justify their answers in their own words and not mark any options, since there will be in-depth interviews and therefore the quantitative approach which is objective and presented in numbers is not as suitable for our thesis. The data will be presented in words and will therefore fulfil the criteria for a qualitative approach.
3.2 Research Design
If a research question is interpreted incorrectly, an exploratory research design is sufficient. In an exploratory research, the researcher collects data and tries to find a lead, as more information comes up, the pattern or lead becomes clearer which lead to an identified answer for the researcher (Ghauri and Grønhaug 2005). The key attribute of the researchers approach to solving the problem is flexibility and a skilled researcher. When new information comes up, the search for the answer may change direction. In this research design, exploratory research requires the ability to obtain information, observe and construct explanation that is theorizing (Ghauri and Grønhaug 2005). In contrast from exploratory research, the problem in descriptive research is well structured and understood. The key attributes of descriptive
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research are precise rules, structure and procedures. Descriptive studies can include more than one variable. At first the researcher is confronted with definitional and conceptual problems.
When they are solved, the next step is a procedure on how to collect the data in order to be able to produce the data needed to answer the research question (Ghauri & Grønhaug 2005).
In a casual research the problems under analysis are well structured. In comparison to descriptive research, the researcher is confronted with “cause-and-effect” problems. The key task in this research is to isolate the cause and thereafter explain if and to what extent the cause results in an effect (Ghauri & Grønhaug 2005). For this thesis, there will be more than one variable that will be included and there will be an assortment of what service quality is in the previous chapters before examining how the recruitment companies secure it through their services. Therefore descriptive research will be used since it is structured and fulfils the criteria for the chosen research design. When the research question is defined, the next step is to collect the data in order to produce the data required to answer the research question, therefore the descriptive approach which is following this pattern is the most suitable one for this study.
3.3 Data Sources
This section presents different sources of data. First, primary data will be presented with a justification of its contribution for this thesis. Accordingly, the characteristics of secondary data will be presented.
3.3.1 Primary Data
Primary data is a type of data source used for collecting data in situations when secondary data is not available or does not provide enough information in order to complete the study at hand (Ghauri and Grønhaug 2005). The relevant data for the research has to be collected by the researcher in order to solve the particular problem. The most important advantages of collecting primary data are that it is gathered to fulfil the purpose of the specific project at hand (Ghauri and Grønhaug 2005). Primary data can provide more in-depth information about people’s intentions or attitudes toward a specific subject or product, which can be difficult to obtain an understanding of without asking the right questions (Ghauri and Grønhaug 2005).
The main drawbacks with the process of collecting primary data are that it is time-consuming and costly. Another problem is that it might be difficult to access information; there might be
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difficulties in finding customers or companies that are willing to participate, especially if the subject is of sensitive manner. The researcher it therefore dependent of information sources willingness to participate. When collecting primary data the researcher has a lower degree of control and the result might be affected by unexpected situations (Ghauri & Grønhaug 2005).
In order to address the problem of the project at hand primary data was required. The data was collected through six in-depth interviews in three recruiting companies. The questions were asked in accordance with the objective of the project. Accessibility to primary data was not an issue due to the respondents’ willingness to corporate. The primary data collection was both costly and time consuming, however, it was accomplish for the purpose to guarantee accurate information for this study.
3.3.2 Secondary Data
Secondary data is another type of data sources that is used for another purpose than to answer the research question for the project at hand. Secondary sources can be useful in the process of finding or clarifying a research problem at the beginning of a project. It might provide a partial solution or provide cues about the research problem at hand but not solve it completely (Bryman, 2007). There are several advantages of using secondary data. The most important one is that it is very timesaving as well as financially favourable for researchers. The data is in many cases of high quality since it is data provided by governments and international organizations is reliable since it is collected by experts. Secondary data is also useful when historical information is needed. However, there are some risks with using secondary data. On issue is that the information from secondary data is provided for another purpose than the one for the research at hand. Another problem is that it might be difficult to classify the data in ways that will be consistent with the study since concepts and variables might have been defined differently (Ghauri & Grønhaug 2005). Since this thesis will built upon a deductive study, secondary data was gathered to serve as guidance towards the research problem. The secondary data was valuable since it led to useful information for the chosen theories and simplified the research question. With the heavily considered and criticised data collection method of secondary data in mind, secondary data was gathered from the companies’ website and annual reports from 2011 and therefore considered to be valuable and relevant for this study.
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3.4 Research Strategy
The research strategy will be a description of the way a study is completed. Strategies such as experiments, surveys, history, case studies and the analysis of archival information are available strategies according to Yin’s (2007) differentiation. These strategies differ from each other based on the extent of control the investigator has over actual behavioural events, the type of research question posed and the degree of focus on contemporary events.
3.4.1 Experiment
The experiment is a situation which the independent variable also known as the intervention, exposure is cautiously influenced by the investigator. It is influenced under tightly defined and controlled conditions or sometimes by natural occurrence (Blaxter, 2006).The experiment consists of an experimental group who is uncovered to the intervention under investigation, and also to a control group that is not exposed (Blaxter, 2006). The experimental and the control groups should be investigated systematically and equivalent under conditions that are exactly identical, this in order to minimize the possible variation between them. Experiments are often used as a research approach in a number of the social sciences, usually in the social science (Blaxter, 2006).
3.4.2 Surveys
Another type of research strategies are surveys which involves systematic interviewing or systematic observation (Blaxter, 2006). Surveys ask the questions that a researcher wants answered so that they thereafter can state the range of answers that may be given.
Homogeneity lies at the heart of survey research (Blaxter, 2006). The purpose of surveys is to get reliable answers to consistent questions. Through surveys researchers try to ask questions in the exact same way in each interview, in order to regulate the questionnaires as a measuring instrument (Blaxter, 2006). Surveys are more often associated as a research approach with an idea of asking groups of people questions (Blaxter, 2006)
3.4.3 Archival Analysis
In addition to open-ended interviews and direct observations, a third common source consists of archival data. Archival data is information that is stored in existing channels such libraries, electronic records and old fashioned paper files (Blaxter, 2006). Newspapers, television as
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well as the mass media are one type of channel. On the other hand records maintained by public agencies, meaning law enforcement or public health serve another (Blaxter, 2006). The resulting archival data can be both qualitative and quantitative as well as subject to their own biases or shortcomings from a researcher’s perspective (Blaxter, 2006). Case studies rely heavily on archival data to be sensitive to the possible prejudices and take steps to, if possible, neutralize them (Blaxter, 2006).
3.4.4 History
In historical review, the mission is to describe what has happened in the past so that there can be a deeper understanding of the present but also a plan for the future (Ghauri & Grønhaug 2005). In this section, the task is to go through existing records and report. It’s also important to talk to different people in order to get as true picture as possible (Ghauri & Grønhaug 2005). The records are reviewed in a curious manner with a certain research question/problem in mind. The risk in using a method like this is that we have to trust the human memory, which records that are selective parts of reality (Ghauri & Grønhaug 2005). It is possible that two different people can record or remember different things even if they go through a certain situation or experience together. Sometimes there will be mistakes or misunderstandings (Ghauri & Grønhaug 2005). Therefore while using this method, it is important that researcher’s cross-check written sources with another (Ghauri & Grønhaug 2005).
3.4.5 Case Study
A case study is a method of choice when the phenomenon under study is not differentiable from its context. The experimenter manipulates variables to determine their casual significance (Blaxter, 2006). Through a survey a researcher ask standardized questions of representative, large samples of individuals while the case study researcher usually observe the attributes of an individual unit which can be a clique, class, community or school (Blaxter, 2006). The generalizations that may occur from case studies need to be handled with care. In order to serve a foundation for generalization, this type of studies should be related to a theoretical framework, which in turn may be adjusted as case study results that provide new evidence (Blaxter, 2006). A case study is in many ways ideally suited to the needs and resources of the small-scale researcher (Blaxter, 2006). In business studies, the case study approach is useful when the area or industry of interest is complex to investigate and when variables are difficult to quantify due to too many variables (Ghauri & Grønhaug 2005). They
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are conducted in order to describe management situations and usually include data collected from various sources such as interviews, verbal reports and observations (Ghauri & Grønhaug 2005). Case studies are suitable when ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions need to be answered and when the area that is being studied is from a real-life context (Ghauri & Grønhaug 2005).
Case studies are also suited when a single organization is to be studied, but it is equally feasible to apply it on several organizations out from variables that have been identified or assumed (Yin, 2012). This study approach is called comparative case study and is conducted through asking different organizations the same questions in order to draw conclusions from that (Yin, 2012). Case studies are similar to historical review in the sense that a historical review is conducted together with interviews. The difference is that in case studies the possibility of interacting and observing directly is given (Yin, 2012). In a qualitative research there are two approaches to choose between; single or multiple case studies (Runeson et al, 2012). By using multiple case studies the researcher might broaden the study. If the cases with different attributes would provide similar information about a certain topic, it would indicate a well-built and good finding (Runeson et al, 2012). The main purpose of multiple case studies is to get another set of data points that will bring light to the phenomena during the study (Runeson et al, 2012).
The table below (Table 3.2) provide the reader with an overview of five types of research strategies, what type of research questions should be included within the different strategies and if it requires control and focus on behavioral and contemporary events.
Table 3.2: Relevant Situations for Different Research Strategies Strategy Type of Research
Question Does it Require Control
of Behavioural Events? Does it Focus on Contemporary Events?
Experiment How/ Why Yes Yes
Survey Who/ What/ Where/
How Many/ How Much
No Yes
Archival Analysis Who/ What/ Where/
How Many/ How Much
No Yes/ No
History How/ Why No No
Case Study How/ Why No Yes
(Yin, 2007, p. 22)
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For this thesis, case studies will be conducted since it will answer why/how questions and the chosen subject emphasises on contemporary events. One reason for choosing case studies is, as mentioned above, that this approach is useful when the industry of interest is complex to investigate due to too many variables. Another reason why it is the desired approach for this thesis is that case studies are well-suited for new research areas. This is suitable for this study since, the current literature has not yet explored service quality within the recruitment industry (Svensson, 2004). Data will be collected by conducting multiple case studies in order to collect information from different point of views and might bring validity for the research.
3.5 Data Collection Method
In order to get a deeper insight and understanding of the chosen field of study, in-depth interviews will be conducted. In-depth interviews are used as the main method of data collection in a qualitative research. The difference between a normal conversation and an in- depth interview is the objectives of the conversations and the roles of the interviewer and interviewee (Ritchie, J. & Lewis, J, 2003). When conducting qualitative interviews, a researcher can choose between an unstructured and semi-structured format (Bryman and Bell, 2007). In a semi-structured format, the researcher has questions and topics to follow but the method also has a lot of room for the respondents to justify their answers (Bryman and Bell, 2007). However, the unstructured format may include a few topics that the researcher might ask, then later on follow up the relevant answers but is usually improvised (Bryman and Bell, 2007). In-depth interviews are intended to be a combination of structure and flexibility.
Although the interview is unstructured the researcher will need structure of the themes that are wished to be explored (Bryman and Bell, 2007). The interview is usually based on an interview guide of the key subjects and issues that should be brought up during the session.
The structure is flexible to allow issues to be brought up in an order that is most suitable for the respondent and also allows the interviewer to raise questions spontaneously (Bryman and Bell, 2007). The researcher should have an interactive nature; questions are asked with the purpose to encourage the respondent to talk freely about the topics. How the interviewer acts and in which order questions are asked is determined by the interviewees answers (Bryman and Bell, 2007). An in-depth interview will generally begin with the respondent not giving any deep answers. In order to achieve depth in the interview the researchers asks follow-up questions gradually to obtain a deeper understanding of the respondent’s opinions (Bryman and Bell, 2007). Through this the interviewer can identify reasons behind the participant’s
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beliefs and opinions and how he/she is reasoning and feeling, which is of high importance when conducting a qualitative research (Bryman and Bell, 2007). According to Merian (2009), in-depth interviews involves several steps that all should be completed before the interview session is over. In line with Merriam (2009), the different steps that will be used for this research, are explained below:
Table 3.3: Interview Process Outline
Interview Process
Step 1 - Meeting At this step the interviewer meets the interviewee. Here a relationship begin, which is crucial for the success of the interview.
The interviewer should act as a guest but still be confident and express control of his/her own territory.
Step 2 – Presentation of Research At this stage the topic as well as the purpose of the interview is presented. The interviewer asks for allowance to record and the environment should be private and quiet.
Step 3 – Beginning of the interview The interview should begin by asking the interviewee personal questions, such as age and occupation, in order to create a comfortable environment. These types of questions are asked informally and should not be asked as if they are read from an interview guideline.
Step 4 – During the interview The interviewee is being guided by the interviewer through the topics by both structured questions and questions emerging during the interview. The topics are aimed to be explored at a deep level and the interviewer aims to uncover the interviewees’ underlying feelings, beliefs and attitudes.
Step 5 – The end of the interview At the end of the interview, in order to create a more comfortable environment, the interviewer should prepare the interviewee for the last question.
Since the desire of this study is to gain a deeper understanding regarding how the chosen recruiting companies’ secure quality in their services, a qualitative approach has been chosen combined with a semi-structure format of the interview guide. As Bryman and Bell (2007) stress the quality of a semi-structured format as a method qualified to allow the respondents to justify their answers, this will bring more depth for the study. In order to gain understanding and meaning about the subject the primary source of collecting data will be through in-depth interviews since this is the purpose of case-studies (Merriam, 2009). In combination with a deductive approach this will provide richly expressive result.
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3.6 Data Collection Instrument
This section presents a justification of the choice of theories. This will show the chosen constructs from the theories that will serve as a guide for the collection of empirical material.
Further, an interview guideline has been constructed and the questions relevance for the chosen theories has been motivated.
3.6.1 Operationalization and Measurement of Variables
The section will facilitate the empirical testing which will be the basis for the operationalization of the theoretical framework. The theories in the literature review are here defined as constructs and further into items. The constructs builds on the service quality aspects; intangibility and heterogeneity, and service quality methods: gap analysis and self- service, in order to create meaning for this study and serve as a guide for the interview guideline.
The table below (Table 3.4) displays the constructs intangibility and heterogeneity, as well as the items and questions that the constructs are divided into.
Table 3.4: Aspects of Service Quality
Aspects of Service Quality
Constructs Items Questions
Intangability
(Paraguayan et al, (1988) Zeithaml et al, (1996) Bebko (2000)
Inability to access value from a service Keywords: Service risk, Uncertainty, Customer expectations
7, 8
Heterogeneity Allenby et al, (2012) Grönroos (1990) Bubkek (2000)
Variation from one service to another Keywords: Service delivery, Service design
6, 9, 10, 12
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The table below (Table 3.5) displays the constructs gap analysis and self-service, as well as the items and questions that the constructs are divided into.
Table 3.5: Service Quality Methods
Construct Items Questions
Gap Analysis Berry et al, (1985) Grönroos (1990)
Factors affecting quality problems
Keywords: Management perception, Quality specifications, Service delivery, Market
communication, Perceived service quality (See table 2.2)
1, 3, 13, 14, 11, 4
Self- Service Oghazi et al, (2012)
The process and outcome of the service Keywords: Customization, Convenience, Time efficiency
5
3.6.2 Interview Guideline
The interview guideline is a modification of the table above (Table 3.3) and the questions are based on the four different constructs. In this section the questions are presented in order to provide the reader with a clear justification of the questions construction. The interview guideline has been constructed in a way that will contribute to a clearer structure of the interview. The construct intangibility will be examining the service provider’s view of the risks and challenges with their own services. (See Appendix 1.1) Furthermore, factors contributing to the companies design and structure of their services will be investigated which is connected to the construct, heterogeneity. In order to further explore the construct heterogeneity, the interviewee will be asked about how service quality is secured. This, since Bubkek (2000) stress that services are never identical, therefore it will be interesting to find out how the recruitment companies make up for not delivering good service, if this is the case.
(See Appendix 1.2) The questions will cover the factors causing gaps since gaps occur due to the inaccurate market information. The interview will continue examining the companies’
strategy of communicating their services to the market. Customer satisfaction is another subject that will be covered in the following questions and will cover the gap analysis construct. This will investigate if the company has had any unsatisfied customers the reasons behind it in order to identify potential gaps between the indented quality and the service quality delivered. Also, the researchers will investigate the recruitment companies’ strategy of confirming customer’s expectations and ensure that a customer is satisfied. In order to
