Defining the effect of service quality measurement on service design procedures: mixed method analysis of four performing arts festivals in Catalonia, Spain
- Autores: Camilo Alfredo Arévalo Montealegre
- Directores de la Tesis: Dolors Vidal Casellas (dir. tes.)
- Lectura: En la Universitat de Girona ( España ) en 2023
- Idioma: español
- Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Luis Bonet Agusti (presid.), Daissy Hatblathy Moya Sánchez (secret.), Laura Fuentes Moraleda (voc.)
- Programa de doctorado: Programa de Doctorado en Turismo por la Universidad de Girona y la Universidad de las Illes Balears
- Materias:
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
- Resumen
Evidence suggests that customer satisfaction relates directly to engagement, loyalty, and word-of-mouth. Moreover, a growing body of literature in the cultural tourism sector recognises the importance of guaranteeing high service quality standards. Consequently, extensive research has been carried out on service quality measurement techniques, generating a prominent debate around the appropriateness of the tools used to gather and standardise scores. Most studies focused on implementing post-service surveys resulting in detailed statistical reports. However, such approaches have failed to critically analyse their outcomes by contrasting them with an insight into the perception that organisations’ managers and employees hold towards the features questioned to the audience. Few published studies have addressed service quality management through a mixed-methods methodology that include managers, employees, and customers. Furthermore, there has been no detailed investigation on how the customer satisfaction scores obtained are applied in strategic management decisions. To address such gap of knowledge, this investigation aimed to define a conceptual model that explains the relationship between service design, service delivery, and service quality measurement in the setting of cultural events. The central thesis of this paper is that customer satisfaction measurements should be used as input data frames for service design procedures. This study used a mixed-methods approach to analyse four performing arts festivals in Catalonia, Spain. First, the research implemented a qualitative analysis from a constructivist-interpretive logic, complementing a post-positivism stance. Data for this investigation were collected using semi-structured interviews of 43 items. The study registered 24 professionals from 4 cultural organisations following a purposeful sampling. There were no significant differences in the notion of service delivery among employees. Moreover, they expressed similar apprehensions about communication, environment, effectiveness, and customisation features. Secondly, the study applied quantitative analysis to online surveys based on our proposed Performing Arts Festival Model. The questionnaires were composed of 34 items; in total, 208 festival attendants completed them successfully. Statistical tests revealed an influence of sociodemographic variables on attributes´ scores. Similarly, the tests correlated attributes´ scores and overall customer satisfaction. Finally, results displayed a correlation between overall customer satisfaction and loyalty. We could conclusively establish that service quality measures must be used as input data frames for service design procedures to improve customer experience in service delivery touchpoints. The main implication of these results in the field is that the event management process should be cyclical and requires to connect all stages i.e., pre-service, in-service, post-service, and improvement. Correspondingly, every stakeholder must be actively involved with a clearly defined role. Results from this research are limited to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in charge of cultural events celebrated annually. Future research in this area should employ digital tools that allow for a close observance and precise measurement of interactions during service delivery encounters.
