Bank Service Quality Empirical Evidence from Greek & Bulgarian
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IJQRM 24,6
Bank service quality: empirical evidence from Greek and Bulgarian retail customers
Eugenia Petridou, Charalambos Spathis and Niki Glaveli
Department of Economics, Division of Business Administration, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece, and
568
Received September 2005 Revised February 2006 Accepted May 2006
Chris Liassides
City Liberal Studies, Thessaloniki, Greece (Affiliated Institution of the University of Sheffield, UK)
Abstract
Purpose – Despite the rapid growth and internationalisation of the services sector, particularly financial services, managers today realize that to successfully leverage service quality as a global competitive tool, they first need to correctly identify the antecedents of what the international consumer perceives as service quality. This paper aims to assess and compare the level of bank service quality provided in Greece and Bulgaria and to identify the dimensions of quality service in the two countries. Design/methodology/approach – In 2000 Bahia and Nantel proposed a specific scale, the BSQ, (Bank Service Quality) for measuring perceived service quality in retail banking consisting of six dimensions: effectiveness and assurance; access; price; tangibles; service portfolio; and reliability. This tool was used for the collection of data related to the banking services provided in the two countries (Greece and Bulgaria). Statistical methods, such as the t-test, chi-square, Cronbach’s-alpha and factor analysis, were then employed to answer the research questions. Findings – The results suggest that the Greek customers’ perception was that they received higher quality services compared to the perception of the Bulgarian clients. Differences between the countries were also reported regarding the dimensionality of quality service. Practical implications – The results have significant
IJQRM 24,6
Bank service quality: empirical evidence from Greek and Bulgarian retail customers
Eugenia Petridou, Charalambos Spathis and Niki Glaveli
Department of Economics, Division of Business Administration, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece, and
568
Received September 2005 Revised February 2006 Accepted May 2006
Chris Liassides
City Liberal Studies, Thessaloniki, Greece (Affiliated Institution of the University of Sheffield, UK)
Abstract
Purpose – Despite the rapid growth and internationalisation of the services sector, particularly financial services, managers today realize that to successfully leverage service quality as a global competitive tool, they first need to correctly identify the antecedents of what the international consumer perceives as service quality. This paper aims to assess and compare the level of bank service quality provided in Greece and Bulgaria and to identify the dimensions of quality service in the two countries. Design/methodology/approach – In 2000 Bahia and Nantel proposed a specific scale, the BSQ, (Bank Service Quality) for measuring perceived service quality in retail banking consisting of six dimensions: effectiveness and assurance; access; price; tangibles; service portfolio; and reliability. This tool was used for the collection of data related to the banking services provided in the two countries (Greece and Bulgaria). Statistical methods, such as the t-test, chi-square, Cronbach’s-alpha and factor analysis, were then employed to answer the research questions. Findings – The results suggest that the Greek customers’ perception was that they received higher quality services compared to the perception of the Bulgarian clients. Differences between the countries were also reported regarding the dimensionality of quality service. Practical implications – The results have significant