Cultural influences on service quality and customer satisfaction: Evidence from Greek insurance

Purpose - The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of culture on service quality and customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach - By extending GIQUAL, an instrument developed for measuring service quality in Greek Insurance, to measure the culture of individuals, hypotheses on all 25 possible relationships between the dimensions of culture and of service quality are determined and tested. The relationships between the dimensions of service quality and customer satisfaction, in the light of culture, are further examined. Findings - Of the 25 hypothesized relationships between the dimensions of culture and of service quality, 23 are confirmed and the remaining two are directionally supported. The hypothesized importance of the service quality dimensions is also confirmed. However, the expected association between the importance of quality dimensions and the strength of their relationships with customer satisfaction is only directionally supported. Although the typology of Hofstede is used in the study, a culture different from the one specified for Greece by Hofstede's scores is exposed. Research limitations/implications - The main limitations of this study are first, that it is based on a single service industry and secondly, that convenience sampling is used. However, its methodology and conclusions provide a solid basis for future research. Practical implications - Insight on using culture for directing resources where quality investments are needed most is provided to managers. Although weak, the directional support for the hypothesized effect of the importance of quality dimensions on their relationships with customer satisfaction enhances the value of the findings. Different sub-cultures that may be found in varying market segments can be used for determining quality investment priorities. Originality/value - This study explores the effects of culture on service quality and customer satisfaction drawing evidence from Greek Insurance.