International Services Marketing

Introduction Quality in general, and service quality in particular, is a difficult construct to explicate and measure (Monroe and Krishnan, 1983). Evaluation of service quality becomes difficult owing to three characteristics that are inherent in services - intangibility, heterogeneity, and inseparability (Berry and Parasuraman, 1991). Despite the challenges posed, a conceptual framework of the determinants of service quality has been introduced and widely accepted (for further detailed discussion, see Parasuraman et al., 1985). This framework consists of ten …

…formation about service providers from fellow ethnic consumers who are more knowledgeable about the marketplace. This factor, too, tends to cause ethnic consumers to maintain long term-relationships with service providers. There may, indeed, be social pressure on an individual member of a minority ethnic community to patronise a given service provider. A good quality of service must, however, be maintained. If it is not, ethnic minority consumers are likely to defect to other service providers.