A structural equations approach to assessing alternative service quality metrics within an extended service quality, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty model

This study contributes to the setting/industry specific metrics vs. the SERVQUAL metric debate. It also revisits the causality of relationships between customer loyalty dimensions and the effects of customer satisfaction on the latter. Evidence drawn from Greek banking, was analysed under a structural equations approach. Though generic, SERVQUAL was found to outperform all other metrics in terms of both grasping the particularities of the research setting and reflecting service quality's effects. The banking specific BANQUAL-R and BSQ metrics failed in all above respects. SERVQUAL is capable of providing reliable service quality measurement in banking. Proposed industry specific metrics should be used with extreme caution. Customer satisfaction's effects among loyalty's dimensions were found unequal. The causality of relationships between loyalty dimensions runs from word-of-mouth to business extension passing through business retention. Customer satisfaction campaigns should better be targeted at attitudinal rather than behavioural loyalty.