Purpose - In a global economy, marketers are required to understand service quality from an international consumer viewpoint. Despite the increased need for cross-cultural research, few studies have developed service quality research international in scope. The present research aims to shed light on variations in airline service quality among international consumers. Research design, data, and methodology - Conducting crosscultural research, this study compares airline service quality variations, investigating an international consumer group and a Korean consumer group. T-test and factor analyses are applied to examine mean scores and factor structure of the airline service dimensions. Results - The results indicate there are significant differences in mean comparisons between the groups. The international consumers indicate significantly higher service perception scores than the Koreans. Further, we find that the factor structure of airline service quality diverges between the groups. The international group considers airline service quality in four dimensions, while Koreans consider it in two. Conclusions - The study sheds new light on international service variations and suggests that the field of airline service quality may differ by nations and/or cultures.
Aksoy, S., Atilgan, E., & Akinci, S. (2003). Airline service marketing by domestic and foreign firms: Differences from the customers’ view point. Journal of Air Transport Management, 9, 343-351.
Babakus, E., & Boller, G. W. (1992). An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale. Journal of Business Research, 24, 253-268.
Bond, M. H. (1988). Finding universal dimensions of individual variation in multicultural studies of values: The Research and Chinese value surveys. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 1009-1015.
Brown, T. J., Churchill, G. A., & Peter, J. P. (1993). Improving the measurement of service quality, Journal of Retailing, 69 (1), Spring, 127-39.
Buttle, F. (1996). SERVQUAL: Review, critique, research Agenda. European Journal of Marketing. 30(1), 8-32
Carman, J. M. (1990). Consumer perceptions of service quality:An assessment of the SERVQUAL dimensions. Journal of Retailing, 66, 35-55.
Cote, J. A., & Tansuhaj, P. S. (1989). Culture bound assumptions in behavior intention models. Advances in Consumer Research, 16, 105-109.
Cronin, J. J., & Taylor, S. A. (1992). Measuring service quality:A re-examination and extension. Journal of Marketing, 56, 55-68.
Cunningham, L. F., Young, C. E., & Lee, M. K. (2002). Cross-cultural perspectives of service quality and risk in air transportation. Journal of Air Transportation, 17, 3-24.
DeMooij, M. (2000). The future is predictable for international markers: Converging incomes lead to diverging consumer behavior. International Marketing Review, 17, 103-113.
Field, A. (2005). Discovering statistics using SPSS (2nd eFd.), London; Thousand Oaks, CA; New Delhi: Sage.
Gourdin, K. N. (1988). Bringing quality back to commercial air travel. Transportation Journal, 27 (3), 23-29.
Hair, J. F., Black, B., Babin, B., Anderson, R. E. & Tatham, R. M. (2005). Multivariate data analysis(6th ed.), Prentice-Hall.
Hirschman, E. C. (1983). Cognitive structure across consumer ethic subcultures: A comparative analysis. Advances in Consumer Research, 10, 197-202.
Hofstede, G. (1993). Cultural constraints in management theories. Academy of Management Executive, 7, 81-94.
Jiang. H. (2013). An investigation of airline service quality and passenger satisfaction – The case of China Eastern Airline in Wuhan region. International Aviation Management, 2, 54-63.
Jepperson, R. N. (1991). Institutions, institutional effects, and institutionalism, In Powel, W.W., & DiMaggio, P. J. (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis (pp. 143-163). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kim. H. K. (2013). Service quality with satisfaction and loyalty in the airline industry. Tourism Science Society of Korea. 13, 31-50.
Lee, M.-H. (2010). The study on the effect of airline service quality on value, satisfaction and loyalty. Korean Journal of Tourism Research. 25(5), 101-122.
Nam, S. J. (2013). Airline service quality development. Korea Research Academy of Distribution and Management Review. 16(5), 45-54.
Newman, K. (2001). Interrogating SERVQUAL: A critical assessment of service quality measurement in a high street retail bank, International Journal of Bank Marketing, 19(3),126 – 139.
Parsuraman. A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1985). A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research, Journal of Marketing, 4, 41-50.
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple-idem scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64, 12-40.
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1994). Alternative scales for measuring service quality: A comparative assessment based on psychometric and diagnostic criteria. Journal of Retailing, 70, 201-230.
Seo, Y. S., & Lee, S. S. (2011). A consumer evaluation for a service quality for LCC (Low Cost Carrier), Korea Consumption Culture Association. 14(3).46-68.
Sultan, F., & Simpson, M. C., (2000). International service variants:Airline passenger expectations and perceptions of service quality. Journal of Service Marketing. 14 (3), 188-216.
Schwartz, S. H., & Davis, S. (1981). Matching corporate culture and business strategy. Organizational Dynamics, 10, 30-48.
Wilkie, W. (1990). Consumer Behavior(2nd ed). New York, NY:John Wiley & Sons.
Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L., & Parasuraman, A. (1990). Delivering quality service. Balancing customer perceptions and expectations. New York, NY: The Free Press.