The relationship between service quality customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in cleaning serviec industry

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in cleaning service industry.. The study found that there were si

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HOCHIMINH CITY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to record my most sincere appreciation and heartfelt thanks to individuals, of whom without, might not lead to the possibility of this research to be realized First and foremost, I wish to express my deep sincere gratitude to my supervisor Dr.Tran Ha Minh Quan for his guidance, encouragement and excellent advices throughout this study

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to assistant Prof Nguyen Dinh Tho, Dr.Nguyen Thi Mai Trang and Dr.Dinh Cong Khai for their valuable comments and constructive suggestions

I would also like to avail this opportunity to express my appreciation to Professor Nguyen Dong Phong and UEH Board of Directors for creating MBA program in English

I am also thankful to all my classmates in MBA class-Bath 16, especially Ms.Nguyen Nhu Chang, Mr.Nguyen Thanh Trung, Mr.Lam Hong Phong, for their collaboration and valuable assistance throughout my study

Gratitude also goes to Board of Management of Pan Pacific Corporation, colleagues for giving me supports Many thanks for Pan Pacific’s Clients who save value time to respond my survey questionnaire, without them my thesis could not have been done

Last but not least, the express my profound gratitude to my beloved mother,

my lover and my closest friends for being patience and never failed giving me continuous supports, spiritually and encouragement along the study

i

ABSTRACT

In the present cleaning service industry, service quality is a vital competitive policy to keep customers support and long-term cooperation Cleaning service providers are trying to win customer satisfaction and loyalty by proving enhanced quality service The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in cleaning service industry In this study, attention is paid to the measurement model of service quality in cleaning service industry based on the well-known SERVQUAL model, but with modification on the basis of focus group discussions and expert opinions to reflect the specific industry attributes and the special culture of Vietnam 158 samples were collected from Pan Pacific Corporation’s various clients in the South of Vietnam Cronbach Alpha was carried out to test the reliability of each statement and the summated scales were formulated by means of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) Then, Multiple Linear Regressions test was used to test the effect of Service Quality

on Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty, the effect of customer satisfaction

on loyalty Overall findings from this study suggest there were significant relationship between Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty The study found that there were six dimensions of cleaning service quality including affectivity, cleaner competence, supervisor competence, tangibles, service safety, empathy and all dimensions are positively related to Customer Satisfaction The regression test also found that there was a positive direction and significant relationship between customer satisfaction on customer loyalty The results indicated that the overall service quality has significantly positive effect on overall customer loyalty Among these six dimensions except Empathy, all of them have a significantly positive effect on overall customer loyalty

Keywords: cleaning service industry, service quality, customer satisfaction,

customer loyalty.

TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i

ABSTRACT ii

TABLE OF CONTENT iii

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Introduction about cleaning service industry 1

1.2 Research background: 2

1.3 Research problem 4

1.4 Research Questions 5

1.5 Objectives of the study 5

1.6 Scope of the Study 5

1.7 Research method 6

1.8 Structure of the study 6

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 8

2.1 Service quality 8

2.2.1 Definition of service quality 8

2.2.1.1 Definition of “Quality” 8

2.2.1.2 Definition of “Service” 9

2.2.1.3 Definition of “service quality” 11

2.2.2 Measurement of service quality 11

2.2.3 Cleaning service quality 16

2.2.3.1 Definition of “Cleaning” 16

2.2.3.2 Definition of cleaning service quality: 16

2.2.3.3 Determinants of cleaning service quality: 17

2.2.3.4 Cleaning quality awareness 20

2.2 Customer satisfaction 23

2.3 Customer loyalty 24

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2.4 Relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty 25

2.5.1 Relationship between Service quality and customer satisfaction 25

2.5.2 Relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty 26

2.5.3 Relationship between service quality and customer loyalty 27

Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 29

3.1 Research design 29

3.2 Item generation 31

3.3.1 Items to measure Service Quality 32

3.3.2 Items to measure customer satisfaction 33

3.3.3 Items to measure customer loyalty 35

3.3 Preliminary study 35

3.4 Theoretical Model 37

3.5 Main survey 37

3.5.1 Sampling 37

3.5.2 Sample size 38

3.5.3 Survey method and data collection 39

3.6 Data Analysis techniques 39

Chapter 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH FINDINGS 41

4.1 Descriptive statistics of sample 41

4.2 Descriptive Analysis 44

4.3 Scales assessment 44

4.4.1 Reliability Analysis Results 44

4.4.2 Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) 46

4.4.2.1 Measurement scales of cleaning service quality 46

4.4.2.2 Measurement scales of customer loyalty 51

4.4.3 Adjustment of theoretical model 54

4.4 Testing the research model and the hypotheses 55

4.4.1 Testing correlations between all constructs 55

4.4.2 Testing hypotheses 56

4.4.2.1 The relationship between Cleaning Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction 56

4.4.2.2 The relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty…………58

4.4.2.3 The relationship between cleaning service quality dimensions and customer loyalty 60

4.5 DISCUSSION AND FINDINGS 63

Chapter 5: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 65

5.1 Conclusions of the study 65

5.2 Implications of the study 66

5.2.1 Theoretical implications 66

5.2.2 Practical implications 66

5.3 Limitations and recommendations for further research 68

APPENDIX 1- CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FEEDBACK 69

Vietnamese 73

English 73

SOME ACTIVITIES OF CLEANING SERVICES FOR REFERENCE 76

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1- Measurement scales of cleaning service quality 34

Table 3.2- Measurement scales of customer loyalty 35

Table 4.1- Sample characteristics 41

Table 4.2- Descriptive Statistics 44

Table 4.3 – Reliability of the measurement instrument 46

Table 4.4 – Rotated component matrix of cleaning service quality scale 50

Table 4.5 – Total Variance Explained of customer loyal 51

Table 4.6 – EFA result for individual measurement scales 52

Table 4 7-Final construct measurement scales 52

Table 4.8- Summary of hypotheses 55

Table 4.9– Correlation matrix 56

Table 4.9a- Model Summary (cleaning service and customer satisfaction) 57

Table 4.9b – Coefficients 58

Table 4.10a-Model Summary ( customer satisfaction and customer loyalty) 58

Table 4.10b – Coefficients 60

Table 4.11a - Model Summary ( service quality and customer loyalty) 61

Table 4 11b – Coefficients 61

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1- SERVQUAL gap analysis 13

Figure 3.1-Research process 31

Figure 3.2 - Theoretical Model 38

Figure 4.1a - Position of respondents 42

Figure 4.1b-Gender of respondents 43

Figure 4.1c - Service range of respondents 43

Figure 4.2 - Adjusted theoretical model 54

Figure 4.3- Hypothesis H1 testing result 58

Figure 4.4-Hypothesis H2 testing result 60

Figure 4.5 -Hypothesis H3 testing result 62

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Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

This chapter begins with general introduction about cleaning service and the current study is provided with research background, research problem, research objectives and research questions are mentioned as the rationale for this study Also, scope of the current study are discussed and an introduction of the methodology to be used in this chapter At the end of the chapter, the structure of this study is provided

1.1 Introduction about cleaning service industry

Nowadays, cleaning service is very popular in human life Cleaning service providers is responsible for providing all necessary management, manpower, machinery, equipment, tools, chemicals (exclusive such items, which the Landlord shall provide), which were pre-approved by the Landlord to efficiently carry out the cleaning tasks of the project in accordant with the international standard and Landlord requirements They also provides uniformed, properly trained and appropriately skilled cleaners All cleaners have a yearly health check Cleaners shall at all time while on duty be dressed in full uniform, well groomed, clean-shaven, polite and helpful Service providers maintains the minimum number of contracted cleaners and provides additional cleaners as it determines necessary for full cleaning coverage during sickness, holidays, etc

Using cleaning service bring to us much advantage : high quality service, reasonable fee, the professional and well trained working force from the leading company in cleaning and property care, the modern specific cleaning equipments without any investment, maintaining the value of the property, creation a clean and beautiful working environment for both officers and visitors, avoidance from directly management to the cleaning workers and risks from its potential problems, whole hearted concentration on own business

Among of many cleaning service providers in Vietnam, Pan Pacific is one

leading company in this industry, with operating in over 20 cities and provinces

nationwide, supplying cleaning service for more than 300 customers of many

business types Pan Pacific also is among of Vietnam largest cleaning providers

with over 5000 skilled employees With more than 17 years experience in cleaning

service industry, Pan Pacific has developed various customer system including

Commercial Buildings (office buildings, service apartments), Supermarkets and

Shopping Centers, Hospitals & Medical Centers, Factories in IPs, EPZs,

International Schools Especially, Pan Pacific also have many experiences in

supplying regular cleaning service for typical projects with highest level national

security such as; International Airports, Television Station

1.2 Research background:

Going with developing real estate market and foreign investment, demand of

facility management in office buildings, shopping centers, international schools,

foreign factories are appeared These management services include security,

property maintenance, pest controls, landscape and cleaning service In which

cleaning service industry is very important to enhance quality and brand of the

building

Instead of organizing and managing a cleaning division, owners can contract

with professional cleaning company which can provide package service including

manpower, equipments, tools, chemicals A cleaning company will provide

uniformed, properly trained and appropriately skilled cleaners, all cleaners have a

yearly health check, cleaners shall at all time while on duty be dressed in full

uniform, well groomed, clean-shaven, polite and helpful Cleaning company will

provide additional cleaners as it determines necessary for full cleaning coverage

during sickness, holidays, etc Cleaning company also is responsible compensating

damage of property which cause of their employees

With lot of advantages bring to customer, industry cleaning service is first

choice for Office Buildings, Shopping Centers, Shopping Malls, Foreign Factories,

International Schools….By outsourcing, the owner can save their time to

concentrate main business fields

Therefore, cleaning service industry in Vietnam has developed rapidly in

recently year with a lot of customers in many fields such as : almost Office

Buildings with grade A-B-C have demand of using high-class cleaning service

(Bitexco Financial Tower, Saigon Centre, Metropolitan, Sunwha, Kumho…),

famous shopping centers (Diamond, Parkson,…), modern factories in electricity,

pharmacy, food (Intel, P & G, Unilever, Kimberly Clack, Sanofi, Sonion…),

international schools (VUS, VAS, ACG, RMIT, V-STAR, B c M , Vi t M ,

Saigontech …), high-class service apartments (The Manor, Saigon Pearl, Somerset,

Catavil…), Hotels ( Sheraton, Rex, Kumho, ) Number of cleaning providers also

increase quickly to meet market demand In the such competitive market,

developing and keeping customer loyalty is essentially for business survival

Customer loyalty is another way to gain the best possible customer, repeat

customers Not only do repeat customers tend to spend more money but they are

often the people who tend to provide the best word of mouth advertising possible

Especially in cleaning service industry, competition is rife Customer will not

hesitate to terminate cleaning contract in the event that their needs and expectations

are not met In cleaning service, emphasis on the quality is a vital aspect in that it

determines the level or degree of customer satisfaction A cleaning service provider

can reduce the detrimental impact of effective factors by first ensuring that its

customers are as highly satisfied with its services as possible

Cleaning service organizations are better positioned to reap the positive

outcomes associated with having a largely satisfied customer base if they have an

understanding of those factors that contribute to their customers’ satisfaction

lead to satisfied customers who, in turn, will remain loyal to the service and

recommend it to other potential customers

1.3 Research problem

To evaluate how well their companies are meeting customer needs, service

managers often use measurements of service quality and customer satisfaction

(Dabholkar, 1995) Therefore, service quality and customer satisfaction have

received much attention from service marketers and academic researchers (Spreng

& MacKoy, 1996) In addition, Taylor (1997) has noted that the two constructs

(service quality and customer satisfaction) have became very important for

marketing theory and practice

Oliver (1997) suggested that profit for a company (purchase/repurchase

behavior by the consumer) was dependent on a sequence of three factors: Quality,

satisfaction, and loyalty Quality has a direct influence on consumer satisfaction,

which can be both a cognitive and affective dimension according to Oliver

Satisfaction, in turn, has a direct influence upon the loyalty of the consumer

A review of available literature found a lot of studies regarding

interrelationship of service quality on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty

But it is lacking in studies of cleaning service, there is only one published study

(Anthony M Kyengo, April 2007) examine quality control in cleaning service

In this circumstance, not only Pan Pacific but also Vietnamese cleaning service

companies realize the necessity of empirical studying to examine specifically

influences of their service to customers’ behavior They need know that, what specific

aspects of their services influence customers in terms of their satisfaction and their

perceptions of service quality, which, in turn, lead to customer loyalty?

1.4 Research Questions

Base on the above stated research problem the following research questions have

been developed:

Q.1 What are the service quality dimensions in cleaning service industry

Q.2 How do the dimensions of service quality effect on customer satisfaction,

customer loyalty in cleaning service industry

Q.3 Is there any significant relationship between customer satisfaction and

customer loyalty in cleaning service?

1.5 Objectives of the study

The objectives of this study are to:

• Explore the relationship between the components of service quality with

customer satisfaction and customer loyalty

• Explore the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty

1.6 Scope of the Study

In general Pan Pacific Corporation provides three types of core services to

their customers such as cleaning service, pest control service and laundry service,

with activities spreading from the North, the Middle to the South of Vietnam In

which, most of current customers concentrate on cleaning service For the purpose

of this study, the study will focus particularly in the areas of cleaning service

offered by Pan Pacific which is leading company in cleaning service industry In

addition, customer information from other competitors is usually confidential and

hard to obtain The respondents of the research was categorized to those current

customers who use the services directly

1.7 Research method

This study was conducted with two stages:

• A preliminary study: in the first stage, a qualitative approach was applied

in order to explore whether the scale for measuring cleaning service

quality This step was carried out by using group discussion techniques

• The main study: A quantitative approach was used to examine research

questions Data were collected by using survey questionnaire Pan Pacific’s

customers and SPSS software version 16 was used for data analysis

Cronbach’s Alpha test was carried out to test the reliability of the

measurement scales, and then using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) The

research model and hypotheses were tested by using Multiple Linear

Regression analysis (MLR)

The methodology for this study will be come back with more detail Chapter 4

1.8 Structure of the study

• Chapter 1 will discuss on the research background, research problem,

objectives of the study, scope and method of the research Pan Pacific

Corporation are also mentioned in the chapter as a glance

• Chapter 2 describes about various reviews on past literatures which

discussed about service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty

and their relationship

• Chapter 3 explains how the research methodology, the development of the

hypotheses, data collections and the types of data analysis have been carried

out to make sure all the data are reliable and the findings are valid

• Chapter 4 will discuss on research results in detail, describes sampling and

processing data, presents analyzing the data collected and the findings of

the study

• Chapter 5 will conclude and recommend the findings The findings of the

research are expected to give guidance to cleaning service companies in

prioritized their service

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter will give an overview of literature review and models that are

related to the research problem presented in the previous chapter In this chapter the

concepts of service quality, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and relationship

of them will be introduced The aim of this review is to generate hypotheses that

will be tested in the cleaning service to answer the research questions and to

confirm the research model Additional, details of cleaning service quality literature

is also mentioned in this chapter

2.1 Service quality

2.1.1 Definition of service quality

2.1.1.1 Definition of “Quality”

To understand what “Service Quality” is, we need to understand what is

“Quality” and it’s concept as a whole Understanding the term “Quality” will reveal

that the concept has been defined in many different ways and with different

emphasis by the various quality gurus and writers on the subject Quality is an

elusive and indistinct construct Often mistaken for imprecise adjective like

“goodness, or luxury, or shininess, or weight” (Crosby 1979), quality and its

requirements are not easily articulated by consumers (Takeuchi and Quelch 1983)

Quality has been defined (Taylor and Baker, 1994) as superiority or excellence

(Zeithaml, 1988), or as the consumer’s overall impression of the relative

inferiorityor superiority of a service provider and its services (Bitner & Hubbert,

1994; Keiningham et al., 1994/1995)

Most of the efforts in defining and measuring quality are coming from the

goods sector According to the prevailing Japanese philosophy, quality is “zero

defects – doing it right the first time” However, understanding of quality in goods

and its importance is not sufficient to understand service quality

2.1.1.2 Definition of “Service”

A service is an economic activity that produces time, place, form, or

psychological utility Four well documented characteristics of services –

intangibility, heterogeneity, perishability and inseparability – must be

acknowledged for a full understanding of service quality (Parasuraman, Zeithaml

and Berry 1985) :

Intangibility

Services are activities or benefits or benefits that are essentially intangible,

cannot be prefabricated in advance and do not involve ownership of the title (York,

1993) They may include the traditional personal assistance service, for instance,

baby-sitter, gardener etc The fix it service such as mechanic, repairman, etc and

finally the value added service as the least tangible of all (Cotter, 1993) Most

services are intangible (Bateson 1977,Berry 1980, Lovelock 1981, Shostak 1977)

Because they are performances rather than objects, precise manufacturing

specifications concerning uniform quality can rarely be set Most services cannot be

counted, measured, inventoried, tested and verified in advance of sale to assure

quality (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1985) Because service is not an object

but a phenomenon, it is difficult for customers to evaluate the quality of services as

they evaluate physical goods Because of intangibility, the firm may find it difficult

to understand how consumers perceive their services and evaluate service quality

(Zeithaml 1981)

Heterogeneity

Services, especially those with high labor content, are heterogeneous; their

performance often varies from producer to producer, from customer to customer,

and from day to day (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1985) Consistency of

behavior from service personnel (ie uniform quality) is difficult to assure (Booms

and Bitner 1981) because what the firm intends to deliver may be entirely different

from what customer receives

Inseparability

Production and consumption of many services are inseparable (Carmen and

Langeared 1980, Gronroos 1978, Regan 1963, Upah 1980) Services involve

simultaneous production and consumption Inseparability implies that service is

simultaneously produced and consumed while physical goods are first produced,

then sold and finally consumed Inseparability of production and consumption often

forces the involvement of the customer in the production process Inseparability

also means that the producer and the vendor often compromise one economic entity

(York 1993) In labor intensive services for example, quality occurs during service

delivery, usually in an interaction between the client and the contact person from

the service firm (Lehtinen and Lehtinen 1982) In this situation, the customer input

becomes critical to the quality of service performance

Perishability

The inseparability of production and consumption in turn results in an

inability to store service capability Perishability means that services cannot be

produced in advance, inventoried and later made available for sale Services are

performance that cannot be stored (Zeithaml, 1998) It is often difficult to

adequately match up with demand and supply such as those corrective maintenance

works, for instance, heating and cooling repairs

In conclusion, base on the examination of those writing and other literature

reviews on services (Gronroos 1982; Lehtinen and Lehtinen 1982; Lewis and

Booms 1983; Saser, Olsen, and Wyckoff 1978) Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry in

1985 suggest three attributes of service quality:

• Service quality is more difficult for the consumer to evaluate than goods

quality

• Service quality perceptions result from a comparison of consumer

expectations with actual service performance

• Quality evaluations are not made solely on the outcome of a service; they

also involve evaluations of the process of service delivery

2.1.1.3 Definition of “service quality”

Despite of all the debates, many researchers were traditionally agreed and

accepted that service quality is a comparison between expectations with perceptions

of performance Perceived quality is the consumer’s judgment about an entity’s

overall excellence or superiority (Zeithaml 1987) It is clearly differs from objective

quality (as define by few researcher, for example, Garvin (1983) and

Hjorth-Anderson (1984)) Parasuraman et al (1985) defined service quality as “the global

evaluation or attitude of overall excellence of service” So, service quality is the

difference between customers’ expectation and perceptions of services delivered by

service firms

2.1.2 Measurement of service quality

Ducker (1991) defines service quality as “what the customer gets out and

is willing to pay for” rather than “what the supplier (of the service) puts in”

Hence, service quality is often “conceptualized as the comparison of service

expectations with actual performance perceptions” (Bloemer, Ruyter et al 1999;

Kara, Lonial et al 2005) Service science literature often relies on SERVQUAL

as an instrument to measure quality of service provided SERVQUAL scale

was developed based on a marketing perspective with the support of the Marketing

Science Institute (Parasuraman, Zeithaml et al 1986) Previous research confirms

its use as applicable to healthcare environment (Babakus 1992; Dean 1999; Arasli,

Ekiz et al 2008) For a thorough analysis of SERVQUAL see Nyeck et al

(2002) SERVQUAL principle primarily relies on a gap model (Parasuraman,

Zeithaml et al 1985) (Figure 2.2) Every gap in SERVQUAL has a unique role as

follows:

• Gap 1: difference between consumer expectations and management perceptions of

consumer expectations

• Gap 2: difference between management perceptions of consumer expectations and

service quality specifications

• Gap 3: difference between service quality specifications and the service actually

delivered

• Gap 4: difference between service delivery and what is communicated about the

service to the consumer

• Gap 5: difference between consumer expectations and perceptions

The construct of service quality as conceptualized in the service marketing

literature centers on perceived quality, defined as a consumer’s judgment about an

entity’s overall excellence or superiority (Parasuraman et al., 1988; Zeithaml, 1988;

Bitner, 1990) In other words, Service quality can be defined as a measure of how

well the service delivered matches the customer expectation of the service Gronroos

(1982) considers services as products requiring, to a large extent, the consumer’s

involvement in the process of production and consumption, during which

consumers compare their expectations about the service with what they actually

receive The result of this comparison is perceived service quality (Parasuraman et

al., 1985, 1988)

Therefore, it is how customers perceive the quality of service that should be of

key concern to managers To assist managers in understanding their customers'

perceptions of quality, Parasuraman et al (1988) devised the SERVQUAL

instrument This instrument is intended to capture the range of attributes

important to consumers of a service

Figure 2.1- SERVQUAL gap analysis

Word of mouth

comunications

Personal need

Management Perception of Customer Expectation

Service delivery (including pre and post- contacts)

Perceived Service Expected Service

Translation of Perception into Service Quality spec

External Communication to Customer

CUSTOMER

PROVIDER

GAP 4

GAP 2 GAP 3

Originally Parasuraman et al (1985) identified ten general dimensions of

service quality such as responsiveness, competence, access, courtesy,

communication, credibility, security, understanding, knowing the customer and

tangibility, but as a result of succeeding research, these were collapsed into five

dimensions (Parasuraman et al., 1988, 1991) that link specific service

characteristics to consumers’ expectations as follows:

a) Reliability : ability to perform promised service as dependably and

accurately

b) Responsiveness :Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service

c) Assurance Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to

inspire trust and confidence

d) Empathy: Ability to be approachable and also service aspect that stresses the

treatment of customers individuals

e) Tangibles : focus on the elements that represent the service physically (

physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of personnel;)

Service quality

Parasuraman et al (1988)

Reliability

RELI1 Providing services as promised

RELI2 Dependability in handling customers' service performed

RELI3 Performing the services right the first time

RELI4 Providing services at the promised time

RELI5 Keeping customers informed about when services will be performed

Responsiveness

RES1.Prompt service to customers

RES2 Willing to help customers

RES3 Readiness to respond to customers' requests

Assurance

ASS1 Employees who instill confidence in customers

ASS2 Making customers feel safe in their transaction

ASS3 Employees who are consistently courteous

ASS4 Knowledgeable employee to answer customer questions

Empathy

EMP1 Giving customers individual attention

EMP2 Employees who deal with customers in a caring fashion

EMP3 Having the customer's best interest at heart

EMP4 Employees who understand the needs of their customers

Tangibles

TANG1 Modern equipment

TANG2 Visually appealing facilities

TANG3 Employees who have a neat, professional appearance

TANG4 Visually appealing materials associated with the service

TANG5 Convenient business hour

2.1.3 Cleaning service quality

2.1.3.1 Definition of “Cleaning”

Cleaning is a part of a facility maintenance activity that aim at increasing and

maintaining the overall life cycle of the facility and, at the same provide a human

support for an effective working environment to facility’s occupiers

Cleaning is a process that is systematic in nature and aim at the removal of

unwanted matter in our environment The end result of cleaning is to ensure that

unwanted matter is cleaned and maintained to a certain safe degree zone that reduce

risk levels to human health The cleaning process then need to be achieved by using

the highest degree of monitoring system or standard available the time These

standard are controls, which are implemented in order to effectively achieve the

desired quality in the cleaning That process of implementing and monitoring cam

then be classified as quality control (Anthony M,2007, 5)

2.1.3.2 Definition of cleaning service quality:

Cleaning service quality cannot be easily measured as it perceived different

by every individual In most cases, Quality signifies excellence and reliability, but

again, this also defer from each customer’s point of view

The term quality exists in many definitions and many scholars have

endeavored to define quality as it used in different context In service operation,

quality can be defined as: “the right thing, as the right place, as the right time” (

wright 1999, 169) In management, quality is seen as “ meeting the customer

requirements” ( Oakland 1993,5)

In the cleaning industry, cleaning service quality is the ability to meet the

customer expectations and needs If the customers’ s experiences of the cleaning

service correspond with his assumptions, then he consider the overall quality good

(huilaja 1998, 22)

Cleaning quality can also be defined and described as the extent to which the

cleaning upkeep satisfied and continues satisfy the requirements specified for the

use and function of the rooms (Bound 2002,10-11) The quality is good if the user

of the room in question are satisfied and remain so This applies when the cleaning

can be carried out property, with the correct frequency and under normal conditions

2.1.3.3 Determinants of cleaning service quality:

All business point of view, will ague that the customer is always right, In this

context, it means that the customer determines the quality of work However, the

overall quality of cleaning service ( Bound 2002,10) is determined by :

• Cost (Price)

• Reliabilities of the service provider

• Responding to disasters and resolving complaints

• Customer need and expectations

• The organization’s principles and working mechanisms (the efficient of use

resources and technology, competition analysis )

• Cleaning quality

Cost/Price

In cleaning service, cost bear heavily in customer’s mind as it is used to

gauge the level of quality desired The more the customer need and expectation are

clarified the more the cost will be and vice versa When defining the level of

quality, one should compare the effect of various quality levels with the cost For

example, spaces with a low frequency use and which collect little dirt and employ

sparse cleaning are not worth the most expensive alternative Thus they reduce the

cost of cleaning

Reliability of the service provider

Reliability of the service provider means that services are provided in a

continuous consistent way Customer are assured of good quality and the delivery

system, which is the cleaning company, offers guarantee, to that effect It is

important that things are made right at the first time When cleaning agreement

have been reached and finalized, then it is up to cleaning company to fulfills the

cleaning obligation state in the contract

Responding to disaster and resolving complaints

Cleaning companies have an obligation to respond to a crisis caused during

the process of cleaning and also unforeseen customer emergencies It is up to the

cleaning company to respond to that customer’s needs by arranging that the service

be delivered and performed to meet the customer’s expectation Customer need to

build trust for the service providers Cleaning companies in turn should respond the

same way by guaranteeing and maintaining a stable relationship with the customer

The relationship should work both ways

Customer need and expectation

Cleaning company at the first introduction to a customer should avail the

need to tailor services according to the customer’s expectations, needs and

assumptions Negotiations entered should focus on finding out what the work

details entail Then in turn, the cleaning company can afford to measure and

question whether it is capable of delivering the kind of cleaning quality for the

expectations desired

The organization’s principle and working mechanisms

The organization or cleaning company take full responsibility of the quality

once an agreement has been reached and a contract signed with a client This is the

moment of trust and the company should be able to demonstrate an increased and

sustained level of quality in order to maintain its customer base and trust Broken

promises or misguided truths are time bombs that reflect negatively on the

company’s image and performance

Cleaning quality

The cleaning quality is the major concern that all customers requesting

cleaning services with fulfilled It is important that the cleaning quality meets the

requirement and expectation of the resident and customers at an affordable price

and that the process should always remain clearly defined so as to provide

satisfaction to both parties

Cleaning has a purpose and the five major reasons for cleaning are stipulated

as ( Allen 1993, 198-199):

• Prevention of the spread of infection and disease

The most important aspect of cleaning is the prevention and removal of

disease causing bacteria This lead to cleaner environment Different spaces

require different standards of hygiene and also methods of cleaning High

risk area include hospitals, operating, theatres, clinics, kitchens and sanitary

accommodations

• Dust control

Dust level have to be controlled to certain acceptable levels Not only does

this apply to industrial working environment e.g in manufacturing,

pharmaceuticals and electronics to mention a few, but also to schools,

offices, kindergartens and homes High level of dust or fumes in the

atmosphere are harmful to human health These levels must be controlled

through cleaning

• Preservation of the fabric, fixture, fittings and furnishings

The accumulation of dust, grease and other types of soils eventually lead to

the progressive deterioration of building and their furnishings Neglect of the

process of cleaning accelerates damage and the eventual costs of repairs are

higher and the methods applied to restore the facility can also cause further

damage

• Provision of a socially acceptable environment

A socially acceptable and attractive working environment enhances

productivity People working in clean environment are most likely to yield

higher productivity than their counterparts A clean environment is not only

respectable, but also offer mental comfort and employee happiness

• Safety :

The cleaning process includes the removal of obstacles and substances that

tend to obstruct The act alone allows for minor or major accident to be

controlled Standards of cleaning must be sufficient to meet health and safety

at work requirement

2.1.3.4 Cleaning quality awareness

According to john Bound (2002,12), quality experience of the customer goes

(much) further than “only the proper execution of the cleaning work.” In addition to

the work undertaken, there is also a quality expectation in relation to matters such as

( Bound 2002, 12) :

• Additional service

• Attention

• Being addressed by receptionist

• Speed of being called back

• Inspection, instruction, training

• Recruitment, selection, training and supervision

• Professionalism

• Empathy (having the customer’s interest at heat)

The SERVQUAL scale could be used in different service industries and

contexts However, in later work (Parasuraman et al., 1993), they did acknowledge

the need for context-specific tailoring of the instrument Besides, after a

comprehensive review of service quality studies, Asubonteng, McCleary, and Swan

(1996) concluded that the number of service quality dimensions varies in different

industries For example, Kettinger and Lee (1994) identified four dimensions in a

study of in formation systems (IS) quality, which did not have tangible dimension

Cronin and Taylor (1992) developed a one factor measurement instrument instead

of the five-factor measures proposed by Parasuraman et al (1988) Sureshchandar,

Rajendran, and Anantharaman in (2003) have identified five factors of service

quality from the customers’ perspective As mentioned, the overall quality of

cleaning service (Bound 2002,10) is determined by six factors In Vietnam, many

studies conducted in SERVQUAL such as: Nguyen Dinh Tho et al (2003)

identified four dimensions for outdoor entertainment service In addition, Ha Thi

Hon Tuoi (2009) conducted a study on wedding party service and the result

indicated proposed 6 dimensions of service quality in which keeping 5 dimensions

from SERVQUAL( realibility, responsiveness, assurance, tangible, empathy) and 1

additional dimension “ convenient approach” Nguyen Thi Mai Trang and Nguyen

Dinh Tho (2006) defined 5 factors of service quality in Viet Nam supermarket

service (goods, staff competence, display, space, safety,) these factor have changed

compare with SERQUAL instrument Besides, in Vietnam research on service

quality has been undertaken in many service contexts such as banking,

telecommunication, customs, education Cleaning service quality has general points

with other services, the result from study of Bound (2002) showed that some factors

of cleaning service quality including reliability, responsiveness In general, cleaning

service company provides service including manpower, tools, equipment, chemical,

and these are related to “assurance”, “tangible” factors In addition, cleaning service

is high-contact service between customer and staffs of cleaning service provider

(cleaners, supervisors), hence “assurance” and “empathy” are also main factors

cleaning service quality Overall, the results from these studies also concluded that

number of service quality dimensions is varies in different industries, therefore need

to have continuing study in specific services and markets as cleaning service in

Vietnam

In summary, the research should be apply SERQUAL instrument in

measurement cleaning service quality in Vietnam, however quality service scale in

specific-context need to be adjusted and supplemented Hence, the researcher also

assumes that there should be some adjustments of the measurement scale in order to

make the research model more suitable for the cleaning service in Vietnam

2.2 Customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is a complex construct It has been defined in various

ways Kotler (1996) defined customer satisfaction as ‘the level of the people felt

state resulting from comparing a product’s perceived performance or outcome in

violation to his/her own expectations” Oliver (1997) defines satisfaction as as “a

judgment that a product or service feature, or the product or service itself, provided

(or is providing) a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment” (p 13) and

“the consumer's fulfillment response, the degree to which the level of fulfillment is

pleasant or unpleasant” (p 28)

Customer satisfaction is the feeling you have when your needs as a customer are

fulfilled and meeting the customer's expectations for key service quality attributes

lead to overall satisfaction with service Satisfied customers will be more likely to

use the service again, or will tell other potential customers positive things about the

service (Patterson and Spreng, 1997) In turn, measuring customer satisfaction can

provide managers with relatively reliable indicators of future customer support for

their services According to Boselie, Hesselink, and Wiele (2002) satisfaction is a

positive, affective state resulting from the appraisal of all aspects of a party’s

working relationship with another

Literature has also made the distinction between overall satisfaction and

attribute satisfaction Overall satisfaction results from overall experience while

attribute satisfaction is based on assessment of performance of individual attributes

(Oliver, 1993) According to Levesque and McDougall (1996) satisfaction is

conceptualized as an overall, customer attitude towards a service provider It was

therefore, client satisfaction construct in this paper will be measured through overall

satisfaction toward the services

2.3 Customer loyalty

The conceptualization of the loyalty construct has evolved over the years In

today’s changing global environment, every organization is searching for innovative

ways to achieve competitive advantage, increase customer loyalty, and improve

efficiency without sacrificing quality of service (Javalgi and Moberg, 1997)

Service loyalty, with its final effect on repurchasing by customers, is perhaps

one of the most important constructs in service marketing Indeed, loyal customers

that indulge in repeat purchases are the base of any business (Caruana, 2002) Some

have tagged customer loyalty as a key source of competitive advantage (Bharadwaj

et al., 1993) and a key to firm survival and growth (Reichheld, 1996) However,

how “loyalty” has been conceptualized and measured has varied considerably

across studies, resulting in calls for more research into the fundamental meaning of

loyalty (Oliver, 1999)

In the services context, intangible attributes such as reliability and

confidence may play a major role in building or maintaining loyalty (Dick and

Basu, 1994) In a services context, loyalty is frequently defined as observed

behaviour (Liljander and Strandvik, 1995) Pearson (1996) has defined customer

loyalty as the mind set of the customers who hold favorable attitudes toward a

company, commit to repurchase the company’s product/service, and recommend the

product/service to others Jones and Sasser (1995) posit industry structure as an

explanation for increasing and decreasing returns of satisfaction In markets with

intense competition, satisfaction shows increasing return and any decline in

satisfaction results in rapid drop in loyalty Hence, merely satisfied and completely

satisfied customers exhibit dramatically different levels of loyalty Anderson and

Mittal (2000) suggest that increasing returns for satisfaction occurs particularly

when the company’s service performance exceeds customer expectations

2.4 Relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction and

customer loyalty

2.4.1 Relationship between Service quality and customer satisfaction

Over the past few years there has been a heightened emphasis on service

quality and customer satisfaction in business and academia alike Sureshchandar et

al, (2003) identified that strong relationships exist between service quality and

customer satisfaction while emphasizing that these two are conceptually distinct

constructs from the customers’ point of view Spreng and Mackoy (1996) also

showed that service quality leads to customer satisfaction while working on the

model developed by Oliver (1997) Bitner et al (1994) and Anderson et al (1994)

also point to this link by suggesting that improved service quality will result in a

satisfied customer and suggest that to a large extent this relationship is intuitive In a

recent study conducted by Ribbink et.al (2004) revealed that this relationship also

exists in the e-commerce industry

Moreover, after a comprehensive studies review of relationship between

service quality and customer satisfaction, the results showed that each components

of SERQUAL has positively related to customer satisfaction The important level of

each components of SERQUAL on customer satisfaction is different in every kind

of service Mohammad Suhainy Abdull Rahim (2009) concluded that “Reliability”

is as the most important dimension to customer satisfaction, next are tangible ,

assurance, empathy and responsiveness is the least important The study of Chich–

Jen Shieh (2006) in library service found that all dimensions had significantly

positive impacts on user satisfaction In addition, a result from study of Ha Thi Hon

Tuoi (2009) in wedding party service showed that all dimensions of SERQUAL

have positively related to customer satisfaction, in which “reliability” rated the best

important and “empathy” rated the least important

As mentioned in 2.2.4, all components of SERQUAL appropriate in applying

of cleaning service quality Consistent with these findings, the researcher has

hypothesized the following :

Hypothesis 1: Overall, Service quality is positively related to customer satisfaction

in cleaning service industry

H1a: “Reliability” of service quality is positively related to customer satisfaction

H1b: “Responsiveness” of service quality is positively related to customer

satisfaction

H1c: “Assurance” of service quality is positively related to customer satisfaction

H1d: “Tangible” of service quality is positively related to customer satisfaction

H1e: “Empathy” of service quality is positively related to customer satisfaction

2.4.2 Relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty

Customer satisfaction does not always lead to loyalty; however, it is

widely agreed in the literature that satisfaction is the key precursor to customer

loyalty According to Oliver (1999), “satisfaction is defined as pleasurable

fulfillment That is, the consumer senses that consumption fulfills some need,

desire, goal, or so forth and that this fulfillment is pleasurable” Several authors

have found a positive correlation between customer satisfaction and loyalty

(Anderson & Sullivan, 1993; Bolton and Drew, 1991; Fornell, 1992) In which,

Fornell (1992) argues that high customer satisfaction will result in increased loyalty

for the firm and that customers will be less prone to overtures from competition

Anderson and Fornell (1994) point out that customer loyalty is determined to a large

extent by customer satisfaction Satisfaction is thus viewed as an antecedent of

relative attitude because without satisfaction consumers will not hold a favorable

attitude towards a brand as compared to other alternatives available (Dick and Basu,

1994)

Numerous studies in the service sector have also empirically validated the

link between satisfaction and behavioral intentions such as customer retention and

word of mouth (Anderson and Sullivan, 1993; Bansal and Taylor, 1999; Cronin and

Taylor, 2000) Hart and Johnson (1999) have added that one of the conditions of

true customer loyalty is total satisfaction Hence, hypothesis 2 is proposed :

Hypothesis 2: Customer satisfaction is positively related to customer loyalty in

cleaning service industry

2.4.3 Relationship between service quality and customer loyalty

In various studies, the relationship between service quality and customer

loyalty had been examined (Boulding, Kalra, Staelin, & Zeithaml, 1993; Cronin &

Taylor, 1992) In their study Cronin and Taylor (1992) focused solely on repurchase

intentions, whereas Boulding et al (1993) focused on the elements of repurchasing

as well as the willingness to recommend In the study by Cronin and Taylor service

quality did not appear to have a significant (positive) effect on repurchase intentions

(in contrast to the significant positive impact of satisfaction on repurchase

intention), whereas Boulding et al (1993) found positive relationships between

service quality and repurchase intentions and willingness to recommend Therefore,

following hypothesis has been proposed:

Hypothesis 3: Service quality is positively related to customer loyalty in cleaning

service industry

H1a: “Reliability” of service quality is positively related to customer loyalty

H1b: “Responsiveness” of service quality is positively related to customer loyalty

H1c: “Assurance” of service quality is positively related to customer loyalty

H1d: “Tangible” of service quality is positively related to customer loyalty

H1e: “Empathy” of service quality is positively related to customer loyalty

After reviewing the literatures, main three hypotheses have been proposed

and are summarized as propose in the article 2.5.2

The methodology is conducted to test the main three hypotheses and find out

dimensions of cleaning service quality is presented in the following chapter

Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The previous chapter provides literature review of service quality, cleaning

service quality, customer satisfaction, service loyalty and relationship of them This

chapter will provide the Theoretical Model based on the literature review and a

qualitative study, it also introduces research methodology using to build and

assess the measurement scales, the statistical techniques employed to analyze

the data, and testing the research hypotheses and research model as well

3.1 Research design

The first step in business research is to determine what objectives the researcher wants to achieve Research design then enables the researcher

to select appropriate methods in order to meet the research objectives in the

most efficient way The research design provides the answers to theories and

hypotheses, which leads to the next research steps

Business research is defined “as a systematic inquiry whose objective is to provide information to solve a managerial problem” (Donald

R.C & Pamela S.S., 2003) Based on the purpose of research, researchers

often use one of the following three types

Exploratory research is useful when the research question are vague

or when there is little theory available for guide predictions or when there is

a need to clarify the understanding of a problem Exploratory research is

used to develop a better understanding( Hair, Babin, Money and Samouel

2003) There are three principle ways of conducting exploratory research :

a search of the literature, talking to experts in the subject, conducting focus

group interviews (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill 2003)

Descriptive research describes some situation General things are

described by providing measures of an event and activity The objective of

descriptive studies is “to portray an accurate profile of persons, events or

situations” (Robson, 1993) This may be an extension of an exploratory

research It is necessary to have a clear picture of the phenomena on which

researcher wish to collect data prior to the collection of the data (Saunders,

Lewis and Thornhill 2003)

Causal or Explanatory studies establish causal relationships between

variables The emphasis here is o n studying a situation or a problem in order

to explain the relationship between variables (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill

2003)

The purpose of the research is mainly descriptive and explanatory It

is descriptive because descriptive data has been collected through

questionnaire survey and it is also explanatory since we will explain the

relationship between service quality variables and customer satisfaction and

how these dimensions affect customer satisfaction In summary, a

combination of descriptive and explanatory ( causal research) is chosen for

this research It is somewhat exploratory nature since we are exploring the

relationship between service quality variables and satisfaction based on

previous theories to develop a better understanding about the research area

Business research methods can be classified on the basis of either function or technique (Zikmund 1997) In term of technique, business

research can be classified into experiments, surveys and observational

studies (Zikmund 1997)

In this study, data was collected by using a survey technique This technique “provides a quick, efficient and accurate means of assessing

information on a population, especially in the case of a lack of secondary

data” (Zikmund, 1997- cited in Quan, 2006)

The research process of this study is shown in figure 3.2

3.2 Item generation

Based on previous studies that were discussed in the literature review,

measurement scales used to measure the research concept in this study were

generated There are three constructs in the theoretical model including service

quality, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty All items of the measurement

scale are modified to be suitable to objects of the present study

Figure 3.1-Research process

EFA : Exploratory Factor Analysis

MLR

Preliminary qualitative

Study Literature review

In order to measure the constructs in the study, multi-item scales are

employed and existing measures present in the literature are used All items are

measured on a five-point Likert type scale, where 1 = strongly disagree and 5=

strongly agree

3.2.1 Items to measure Service Quality

As discussed in chapter two, The SERVQUAL scale could be used in

different service industries and contexts, especially in high contact service such as

cleaning service industry

Besides, as mentioned in this study, overall of cleaning service quality

(Bound,2002) is determined by cost (Price), reliabilities of the service provider,

responding to disasters and resolving complaints, customer need and expectations,

the organization’s principles and working mechanisms (the efficient of use

resources and technology, competition analysis ), cleaning quality However, after

a comprehensive review of service quality studies, number and content of service

quality dimensions varies in different industries, services and markets

Therefore, to do research in a specific market, some amendment and

complement might be needed Cleaning service quality in this study is measured by

mainly adapting SERQUAL scale, contents of cleaning service quality developing

by Bound, 2002

After carrying out preliminary study by using group discussion approach, as

a result customer of cleaning service is interest in six main factors as follows :

1 Reliability of the service provider: services are provided in a continuous

consistent way and the cleaning company to fulfill the cleaning obligation

stated in the contract

2 Responsiveness : responding to customer requests and solving complaints