Comparative Study of Islamic Banking 45

Technology’s Impact on the Gaps Model of
Service Quality
Mary Jo Bitner
W. P. Carey School of Business
Arizona State University

Valarie A. Zeithaml
Kenan-Flagler School of Business
University of North Carolina

Dwayne D. Gremler
College of Business Administration
Bowling Green State University

This chapter presents a foundational framework for service science – the Gaps
Model of Service Quality. For over two decades the model has been used across industries and worldwide to help companies formulate strategies to deliver quality service, to integrate customer focus across functions, and to provide a foundation for service as a competitive strategy. It was developed at a time when most services were delivered interpersonally and in real time without the advantages (and sometimes disadvantages) of technology infusion. In the intervening years, technology has profoundly changed the nature of service(s) and at the same time it has influenced strategies for closing each of the service quality gaps. Thus, this chapter has a dual purpose: to provide a general overview of the Gaps Model of Service Quality and to demonstrate how key aspects of the model have changed and evolved due to advances in technologies. We begin with background on the Gaps
Model and a discussion of the role of technology and services in general. We then discuss strategies for closing each gap in the model and illustrate the influence of technologies on these fundamental management strategies.

P.P. Maglio et al. (eds.), Handbook of Service Science, Service Science: Research and Innovations in the Service Economy, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-1628-0_10,
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010

198

M.J. Bitner et al.

Introduction
Few would argue with the fact that services dominate the economies of the world’s most advanced nations. In the U.S., services represent over eighty percent of our GDP and labor force. Further, it is apparent that services are increasing

References: Arnould, E. J. and Price, L. L. (1993), “River Magic: Extraordinary Experience and the Extended Service Encounter,” Journal of Consumer Research, 20 (June), 24-45. Barber, F. and Strack, R. (2005), “The Surprising Economics of a ‘People Business’,” Harvard Business Review, 83 (June), 80–91. Berry, L. L. and Parasuraman, A. (1991), Marketing Services. New York: The Free Press. Berry, L. L. and Seltman, K. D. (2007), “Building a Strong Services Brand: Lessons from Mayo Clinic,” Business Horizons, 50 (May–June), 199–209. Bitner, M. J. (2001), “Service and Technology: Opportunities and Paradoxes,” Managing Service Quality, 11 (6), 375-379. Bitner, M. J. and Brown S. W. (2008), “The Service Imperative,” Business Horizons 50th Anniversary Issue, 51 (January-February), 39-47. Bitner, M. J., Booms, B. H. and Tetreault, M. S. (1990), "The Service Encounter: Diagnosing Favorable and Unfavorable Incidents," Journal of Marketing, 54 (January), 71-84. Bitner, M. J., Ostrom, A. L. and Morgan, F. N. (2008), “Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation,” California Management Review, Spring 2008, 66-94. Boulding, W., Kalra, A., Staelin, R. and Zeithaml, V. A. (1993), "A Dynamic Process Model of Service Quality: From Expectations to Behavioral Intentions," Journal of Marketing Research, 30 (Winter), 7-27. Cooper, R. G. and Edgett, S. J. (1999), Product Development for the Service Sector, Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. Edvardsson, B., Gustafsson, A, Johnson, M. D. and Sanden, B. (2000), New Service Development and Innovation in the New Economy, Lund, Sweden: Studentlitteratur AB. Fornell, C., Mithas, S., Morgeson, F. V. III, and Krishnan, M. S. (2006), “Customer Satisfaction and Stock Prices: High Returns, Low Risk,” Journal of Marketing, 70 (January) 3-14. Henard, D. H. and Szymanski, D. M. (2001), “Why Some New Products Are More Successful than Others,” Journal of Marketing, 28 (August), 362-375. Heskett, J. L., Sasser, W. E., Jr. and Schlesinger, L. A. (1997), The Service-Profit Chain, New York: The Free Press. IfM and IBM (2007), Succeeding Through Service Innovation: A Discussion Paper, Cambridge, United Kingdom: University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing. Li, C. and Van Boskirk, S. (2005), “U.S. Online Marketing Forecast: 2005-2010,” forrester.com, May 2. Loveman, G. (2003), “Diamonds in the Data Mine,” Harvard Business Review, 81 (May), 109112. Meuter, M. L., Bitner, M. J., Ostrom, A. L. and Brown, S. W. (2005), “Choosing among Alternative Service Delivery Modes: An Investigation of Customer Trial of Self-Service Technologies,” Journal of Marketing, 69 (April), 61–83. Mick, D. G. and Fournier, S. (2001), “Paradoxes of Technology: Consumer Cognizance, Emotions, and Coping Strategies,” Journal of Consumer Research, 25 (September), 123-47. Oliver, R. L. (1997), Satisfaction: A Behavioral Perspective on the Consumer, New York: McGraw-Hill. Parasuraman, A. and Colby, C. L. (2001), Techno-Ready Marketing: How and Why Your Customers Adopt Technology, New York: The Free Press. Parasuraman, A, Zeithaml, V. A. and Berry, L. L. (1985),” A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Future Research,” Journal of Marketing, 49 (4), 41-50. Parasuraman A., Zeithaml, V. A. and Berry, L. L. (1988), “SERVQUAL: A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality,” Journal of Retailing, 64 (Spring), Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A. and Malhotra, A. (2005), “E-S-QUAL: A Multiple-Item Scale for Assessing Electronic Service Quality,” Journal of Service Research, 7 (February), 213233. Rust, R.T. and Oliver, R. L. (2000), “Should We Delight the Customer?” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 28 (Winter), 86-94. Rust, R. T., Moorman, C. and Dickson, P. R. (2002), “Getting a Return on Quality: Revenue Expansion, Cost Reduction, or Both?” Journal of Marketing, 66 (October), 7-24. Schneider, B. and Bowen, D. E. (1995), Winning the Service Game. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Schneider, B. and Schechter, D. (1991), “Development of a Personnel Selection System for Service Jobs,” in Service Quality: Multidisciplinary and Multinational Perspectives, S. W. Tax, S., Brown S. and Chandrashekaran, M. (1998), “Customer Evaluations of Service Complaint Experiences: Implications for Relationship Marketing,” Journal of Marketing, 62 (April), 60-76. Vargo, S. L. and Lusch, R. F. (2004), “Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing,” Journal of Marketing, 68 (January), 1–17. Verhoef, P. C., Antonides, G. and de Hoog, A. N. (2004), “Service Encounters as a Sequence of Events: The Importance of Peak Experiences,” Journal of Service Research, 7 (August), 5364. Ward, J. C. and Ostrom, A. L. (2006), “Complaining to the Masses: The Role of Protest Framing in Customer-Created Complaint Web Sites,” Journal of Consumer Research, 33 (September), 220-230. Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L. and Parasuraman, A. (1993), “The Nature and Determinants of Customer Expectations of Service,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 21 (Winter), 1-12. Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L. and Parasuraman, A. (1996), “The Behavioral Consequences of Service Quality,” Journal of Marketing, 60 (April), 31-46. Zeithaml, V. A., Bitner, M. J. and Gremler, D. D. (2009), Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm, 5th edition, New York: McGraw-Hill. Zeithaml, V. A., Parasuraman, A. and Berry, L. L. (1990), Delivering Quality Service: Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations, New York: The Free Press.