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An assessment of customer service in business-to-business relationships

Judy Zolkiewski and Barbara Lewis

Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK, and

Fang Yuan and Jing Yuan The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, Manchester, UK

Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a deeper understanding of customer service/service quality in business-to-business contexts. Design/methodology/approach – An in-depth case study was used to discover the perceptions of both key individuals in the supplying company and key customers. Findings – The paper shows that that customer service/service quality in a business-to-business context is a complex and multifaceted issue, the different parties in a relationship have differing perceptions of what constitutes service quality and that actors from the wider network can have an impact on perceptions of service quality. Research limitations/implications – This work is tentative in nature so it is not possible to generalise the findings to a wider context. However, it suggests that this area needs much more detailed and in-depth investigation. Practical implications – Managers need to be aware of the complexity of customers’ service quality perceptions in a business-to-business context. They must consider dynamics, actions of other actors and how best to demonstrate their expertise and experience. Originality/value – The findings of this research, although only exploratory, are significant because they are one of the few pieces of research into business-to-business service quality in which perceptions of quality from both sides of the dyad are collected and analysed.

Keywords Business-to-business marketing, Customer services quality, Customer service management

Paper type Research paper

An executive summary for managers and executive

readers can be found at the end of this issue.

Introduction

Early research in business-to-business markets indicated the importance of customer service (e.g. Cunningham and Roberts, 1974). More recently, customer service appears to be an implicit assumption within the notion of relationships, be it from an interaction or other relationship perspective: feedback takes place through the interactions that occur between customer and

supplier (Håkansson, 1982; Turnbull and Valla, 1986; Ford, 2002). However, this feedback will often be informal in nature and may well be given to technical personnel. The question of how this can be best collated and used for strategic purposes then becomes vital. Some researchers suggest that the collection of such market intelligence is the role of the sales engineers although, in practice, this can be fraught with problems such as pressure to achieve new sales and failures in management information systems (Donaldson, 1998). Little explicit attention seems to be given to this issue in either the business-to-business marketing or the sales management literature. Indeed, Parasuraman (1998) has remarked upon the paucity of research into customer service in business-to-business markets.

Additionally, Homburg and Garbe (1999) believe that quality

should be seen as a key issue in business-to-business services. On the other hand, within consumer service markets, the

collection of customer feedback appears to have become

integral to the service process itself. A number of tools have

been proposed and are widely discussed within the service

quality literature, e.g. Grönroos (1984, 1988) and Zeithaml

et al. (1988). This research project provides an exploratory investigation

of perceptions of service quality within a business-to-business

setting that covers a range of diverse business interfaces (e.g.

from a four-hour service visit to a major hotel chain, to the

complete installation of a multi-million pound fire protection

system) and customers (e.g. the end user, an architect, a

prime contractor or a combination of these). The remainder of this paper is structured as follows. Firstly,

we review the different streams of literature that are

appropriate to our research, starting with an overview of

customer service and service quality in consumer markets.

Then we consider the extant literature relating to customer

service and satisfaction in business-to-business markets. We

then describe the methodology utilised for the research,

present our tentative findings and discuss the managerial and

theoretical implications they suggest. Finally, we discuss how

the research can be developed.

Customer service and service quality in consumer markets

There is substantial research evidence on customer service,

service quality and customer relationships in consumer

markets. This has focused primarily, but not exclusively, in

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/0887-6045.htm

Journal of Services Marketing

21/5 (2007) 313–325

q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 0887-6045]

[DOI 10.1108/08876040710773624]

313Business to Business Services - Multiple Markets and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century : Multiple Markets and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century, edited by Katherine Tyler, et al., Emerald Publishing Limited, 2007. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/harrisburg-ebooks/detail.action?docID=320647. Created from harrisburg-ebooks on 2020-12-01 07:20:23.

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service industries and the findings are largely applicable in

product markets. Research has been fuelled by a number of concerns, a key

issue being the role of people in service production, delivery and consumption such that quality control in the traditional way is not possible as people become integral to service quality (Bitner et al., 1994; Glynn and Lehtinen, 1995; Schneider et al., 1998). This issue remains pertinent, although perhaps to a lesser extent today, with the prevalence of e-commerce and e-service. Increasing inter- personal interactions and relationships have been evident and of significance in a number of consumer markets, and a further set of research evidence deals with links between customer service, satisfaction, customer loyalty and retention, and profitability. For example, one can consider the costs and benefits of retained customers vis-à-vis new customers, the lifetime value of customers and the links between loyalty, revenue growth and profitability. Zeithaml (2000) has reviewed the evidence on the profit consequences of service

quality. Further, there is research that considers the impact of employee performance, loyalty and retention on customer satisfaction and retention, and organisational success (e.g. Heskett et al., 1994). The well-known major contributions to understanding

service quality in consumer markets have related to

definitions, dimensions and measurement issues. Early definitions were offered by Grönroos (1984), Berry et al. (1985, 1988) and Zeithaml et al. (1988). More recently, Bitner et al. (2002) have examined the ability of technology to effectively customise service offerings, and recover from service failures, and discussed the infusion of technology as an enabler of both employees and customers in efforts to achieve these goals. Early discussions on dimensions of service quality focused

on outcome and process (e.g. Grönroos, 1988; Lehtinen and Lehtinen, 1982); design, production, delivery and relational dimensions (Gummesson and Grönroos, 1987); and technical, integrative, functional and outcome (Edvardsson et al., 1989). The most widely reported set of service quality determinants, proposed by Parasuraman et al. (1985, 1988), has been used in a host of studies in varying industries and cultures in which the factor structure is frequently not replicated. Further, Johnston et al. (1990) and Silvestro and Johnston (1990) provide a framework of hygiene, enhancing and dual threshold factors. When measuring service quality, most research attention

has been given to SERVQUAL and, to a lesser extent, SERVPERF and similar tools, and discussion surrounding their use. Tools of this nature are used widely by consumer

market researchers and by practitioners. However, a number of authors believe that SERVQUAL cannot be easily applied in a business-to-business context, see Homburg and Garbe (1999), for example. Thus, it is necessary to consider how service quality can be understood in a business-to-business context.

Customer service and satisfaction in business-to-business markets

Customer service/service quality

Within the antecedents of business-to-business marketing there is evidence of explicit focus on customer service. For example, Cunningham and Roberts (1974) investigated the

role of customer service in engineering and found two

categories of customer service. Convenience factors, that add value to the product and include: technical advice to help in

search; quotations; availability of manufacturing facilities; ease of contact with supplier; and financial services.

Reliability factors, that help to decrease uncertainty and are: quality control; replacement guarantees; delivery reliability;

repair/maintenance services; and operator training assistance. Service was found to be one of several important variables

influencing choice of supplier, and it may be a qualifying factor – i.e. to be sufficiently high for a supplier to be

considered, or a determining factor – in the final decision. Convenience factors simplified work and reliability factors

reduced risk. In a business-to-business context, customer service and

quality comes from the product/service, the physical environment, personnel (their attitudes and behaviour) and service encounters. Some research has been reported which

pertains to assessment of customer satisfaction to embrace both product related and service variables. Other work is

focused, more specifically, on customer service. Both these streams of research are considered below. Arnaud (1987) (cited in Michel et al., 2003) offered four

dimensions of service that form a system in which the

elements can reinforce one another or weaken them. The technical dimension is the heart of the service offer, the

technical solution, in which some variables are more visible than others. The relational dimension impacts on the

maintenance of credibility over time, and the functional dimension concerns how service is delivered and the added

value. The institutional dimension is a result of the other three dimensions. Szmigin (1993) makes the point that different elements of

service quality may well come into play at different times in

the relationship cycle; the elements she identifies are hard, soft and outcome aspects of service quality. She also suggests that clients’ changing priorities over time need to be

considered when assessing perceptions of service quality. These dimensions are similar to those developed and tested

by Homburg and Garbe (1999), who believe that service quality in a business-to-business setting encompasses three

dimensions: structural quality, process-related quality and outcome-related quality. Their empirical data also suggest

that process-related quality in particular has a strong effect upon trust, satisfaction and commitment. All these approaches are in keeping with the key elements of

the interaction approach (the process of ongoing exchange,

including mutual adaptation, the experience of the participants and relationship development (Håkansson,

1982)) and are important because they acknowledge the temporal aspects of the process and the dynamics that

underlie the service quality process. Lewis and Craven (1995) considered the relationship

between a major industrial supplier and its business customers. They investigated the importance of 40 criteria

in choice of a supplier and 18 criteria that would influence the replacement of an existing supplier. They found dimensions of service quality relating to product, the organisation and its

personnel, and also operations/systems. These were classified as: reliability services which reduce the uncertainty/perceived

risk of a buying decision; convenience services which add value to the product by adapting it to individual customer

needs and simplify the work of the buyer; and interaction

An assessment of customer service in business-to-business relationships

Judy Zolkiewski, Barbara Lewis, Fang Yuan and Jing Yuan

Journal of Services Marketing

Volume 21 · Number 5 · 2007 · 313 – 325

314Business to Business Services - Multiple Markets and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century : Multiple Markets and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century, edited by Katherine Tyler, et al., Emerald Publishing Limited, 2007. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/harrisburg-ebooks/detail.action?docID=320647. Created from harrisburg-ebooks on 2020-12-01 07:20:23.

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services – i.e. to develop and enhance successful buyer-seller

relationships. These dimensions were seen to play a significant role in developing and maintaining relationships. Wouters (2001) considered the role of customer service in

vendor selection criteria when it can be either an order qualifier – i.e. a set of requirements that a supplier has to

meet, or an order winner – i.e. a set of performance specifications that are important but not automatically

expected by the customer. He delineated Reliability services (availability, delivery reliability, quality of deliveries) and

Responsiveness services (communication skills, commercial flexibility). His fieldwork indicated that critical to achieving

customers’ service objectives were supplier performance with respect to production flexibility, complaints handling and

order processing. Problems were found to be related to keeping to delivery times, order processing and

communications. His conclusions were that customer service is still seen mainly as an order qualifier. The order

winning potential lies in the responsiveness of organisations, i.e. the communication and information aspects regarding the

supply process. So, customer service is important during the

buying process but its order winning capability is often not addressed explicitly. Gounaris and Venetis (2002), although having a primary

focus on the development of trust, looked at the role of service

quality as an antecedent to trust and found that different dimensions of trust become more important as a relationship

develops. For instance, they found that in the early stages of a relationship, potential quality (the cues the company uses to

signal its ability to handle the project) is the most important dimension. While in more mature relationships, soft process

quality (related to interpersonal interactions) and immediate outcome quality are also influential. On the other hand, Svensson (2001, 2002) reminds us that

service quality should not be seen as a unidirectional

construct; the perspectives of both the provider and user need to be considered, as do other actors in the network who

have the potential to affect service quality in a given

encounter. Svensson (2001, 2002) uses Parasuraman et al.’s (1985) service quality dimensions to assess the quality

perceptions of matched pairs of users and providers. He finds significant imbalances in these perceptions and suggests

that balancing these perceptions should be a management priority. Woo and Ennew (2005) believe that the interaction

approach (Håkansson, 1982) provides the framework for

business-to-business service quality measurement and their empirical research supports their views. They find

cooperation and social exchange to be the most influential dimensions in this context. However, it could be argued that

they need to develop more detailed measures for their dimensions and to include the views of both sides of the

interaction before they can confirm the utility of their dimensions. They also see these dimensions as antecedents to

customer satisfaction, which leads us into a discussion of the

role of customer satisfaction in business-to-business markets.

Customer satisfaction

Research into satisfaction in business-to-business contexts has also come up with a variety of findings, as discussed below.

Geyskens et al. (1999) note that despite a significant focus on satisfaction in the channels literature, there is no consensus as

to how satisfaction should be conceptualised or measured.

For example, Schellhase et al. (2000) considered

satisfaction of companies as a result of complex processing

of information, a key of which was an evaluation of the

business relationship based on a target performance

comparison (like expectations – perceptions). They asked

various employees within the buying centres in food retailing

to assess their satisfaction with elements that included the

organisation of the interface between the manufacturer and

the retail trade. Their findings emphasised the importance of

suppliers’ contact personnel (e.g. the need to be competent,

their product/market knowledge, and reliability), and the

degree of co-operation between companies (e.g. availability of

contact people, problem free processing of orders, availability

of information). In a substantive study, Homburg and Rudolph (2001)

developed a measure and assessed seven satisfaction

dimensions across 12 countries among three roles in the

buying centres – involving departments with different

interests and different criteria in judging suppliers. Overall,

order handling, to include speed of confirmation and delivery

times, and salesperson interaction were the most influential

criteria, and differences were found between different

members of the buying centre. Additionally, some researchers have considered customer

service and satisfaction from a network perspective (e.g.

Holmund and Kock, 1995; Tikkanen et al., 2000). Holmund

and Koch posit the importance of three dimensions of service

quality in this context: economic, functional and technical.

Another interesting model is that of Tikkanen et al. (2000)

who look at both the relational and contextual aspects of

customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction in business-to-

business markets. They observe that customer satisfaction

occurs within a buyer-seller relationship within a network

context and that satisfaction of both parties is prerequisite for

relationship formation. They draw attention to the inner

context of an industrial buyer-seller relationship which

impacts on the relationship between organisations, e.g.

within an organisation the structures which influence co-

operation, interaction and relationships and the process

involved in buying-selling; also the different departments

involved; and the key roles in buying and selling. So, one

needs to understand the complex network of internal

relationships as well as the actions of other actors in the

immediate and wider network. A summary of all the empirical studies that we have

identified is included in the Appendix (Table AI) along with a

list of the dimensions proposed for either service quality or

satisfaction. The above discussion illustrates that there is no clear

consensus on which dimensions of service are applicable in a

business-to-business context nor whether both parties in a

relationship agree on which dimensions of service quality are

important. Hence our research questions: . Which dimensions of customer service/service quality

(from existing models) are applicable in a business-to-

business context? . Can any new dimensions of customer service/service

quality be identified? . Is there consensus within relationships as to the important

dimensions of customer service/service quality?

An assessment of customer service in business-to-business relationships

Judy Zolkiewski, Barbara Lewis, Fang Yuan and Jing Yuan

Journal of Services Marketing

Volume 21 · Number 5 · 2007 · 313 – 325

315Business to Business Services - Multiple Markets and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century : Multiple Markets and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century, edited by Katherine Tyler, et al., Emerald Publishing Limited, 2007. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/harrisburg-ebooks/detail.action?docID=320647. Created from harrisburg-ebooks on 2020-12-01 07:20:23.

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Setting the research context

Who to collect data from?

In a business-to-business context it is important to consider not only designated buying centres and associated roles, but also key individuals in supplier firms and even in intermediary organisations. For example, in supplier organisations – sales departments, salesmen, service engineers, customer service, IT staff: and in customer buying centres – purchasing agents, users, IT personnel, engineers and managers. This issue can be considered in the context of the interaction model and network theory, whereupon the complexities of interaction and/or relationships that impact on buyer-seller relationships and expectations and perceptions of customer service become apparent. Collecting perceptions from both sides of a relationship is too often neglected, especially in the extant business-to-business services marketing literature.

How to ask questions? What to ask?

In consumer markets, SERVQUAL and other, similar, measurement tools have been used extensively. Attempts to replicate such techniques in business-to-business markets are in evidence. However, Szmigin (1993) notes that, because of the nature of business-to-business services, it may be more appropriate to investigate subjective perspectives of service quality at different stages in the business-to-business relationship. Additionally, the complex interactions that take place at many different levels in inter-organisational relationships mean that a single perception of service quality collected through a one-off administration of a questionnaire may not give real insight into the complex nature and perceptions of the quality of service being provided. Yet this is the insight that managers and researchers need to ensure that they can meet customer needs in the most efficient and effective manner.

When to ask for information/feedback?

Key research issues to address here pertain to stages in the buying process or, in service terminology, the position in the cycle of business relationships. Szmigin (1993) proposes a relationship cycle that suggests the likely path that typical relationships may follow. Various people from a service provider organisation may be involved at different stages of the cycle, and various people from the buyer’s DMU involved at different stages of the buying process. During the life cycle of a relationship, customer requirements, expectations and satisfaction change, and the experience of clients can grow which may lead to declining needs for support. Vandermerwe (1990) refers to this as an activity cycle within which critical points relating to hard or soft quality may be more in evidence.

Pilot fieldwork

The preceding sections demonstrate that there is no accepted consensus as to what to collect, who to collect it from, when and how to collect it. Hence, we use an in-depth pilot case study of one business-to-business service firm as an exploratory platform. As Yin (1994) states, case studies are appropriate for how, why, when and what questions; the findings of Tikkanen et al. (2000) illustrate the benefits of taking this approach. A manufacturer and service provider that is part of a

multinational company, situated in the North West of the UK,

was the focus of this pilot study: they identified service quality

as a key performance indicator in their desire to maintain

market leadership. The company is the UK’s largest provider

of fire protection, safety systems and specialist control

technology engineering. They provide a multitude of

products/services and serve a diverse range of industries,

with their customers ranging from large retail chains to

petrochemical and electricity generating industries, facilities

management companies and consultants and architects.

Service interactions range from a four-hour service visit to a

hotel or retail outlet, to the complete installation of a multi-

million pound fire protection system. Further, the initial

customer may often not be the end user, adding an additional

complication to the challenge of collecting, analysing and

acting upon service quality/customer satisfaction data. In the pilot case study, we utilised multiple forms of data

collection. These included: semi-structured in-depth

interviews, observation within the company and its

customer organisations, as well as collecting appropriate

secondary data. Two interview guides were developed, one for

customers and one for the company’s employees: questions

were designed to determine what people’s perceptions of

service quality were in the context of this company and the

services they provide. All the interviews were recorded and

subsequently transcribed[1]. The interviewees included:

. Company personnel: e.g. senior management, sales

engineers, support engineers, site engineers, service

engineers, quality managers and service desk personnel. . Subcontractors working for the company. . Customer personnel: e.g. end users (managers and users);

consultants and architects; and facilities management

personnel and their customers.

A total of 13 interviews were conducted within the company

and its subcontractors and 12 with their customers. Of the 12

customers, three of them were contractors and nine were end-

users. Eight of the customers had long-term relationships with

the company (i.e. lasting more than ten years and one had

been working with the company for more than 50 years). Two research students, who worked in the company for

three months on this project, undertook the observation; all

the observation was overt. Field notes were made during the

observation and subsequently used as part of the data

analysis.

Analysis

The data were analysed using principles outlined by Miles and

Huberman (1994): pattern matching and thematic

development were utilised. The coding was cross-checked

amongst the researchers to ensure consistency of findings.

The analysis involved both inductive and deductive coding,

with the researchers using codes developed from the extant

literature as well as defining new codes as they explored the

data collected.

Findings

The research supported much of the extant research with

respect to the factors that were identified as components of

service quality. These are discussed below and summarised in

Table I.

An assessment of customer service in business-to-business relationships

Judy Zolkiewski, Barbara Lewis, Fang Yuan and Jing Yuan

Journal of Services Marketing

Volume 21 · Number 5 · 2007 · 313 – 325

316Business to Business Services - Multiple Markets and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century : Multiple Markets and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century, edited by Katherine Tyler, et al., Emerald Publishing Limited, 2007. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/harrisburg-ebooks/detail.action?docID=320647. Created from harrisburg-ebooks on 2020-12-01 07:20:23.

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Factors identified by both customers and the selling

company

Five factors from existing models can be identified in the data collected from both the case study company and its customers. These were communication, invoice accuracy, installation, price and responsiveness.

Communication Informants from both the selling company and the customers identified two elements to communication: internal and external. Although, many researchers (e.g. Parasuraman, 1985, 1988), Wouters (2001) stress the importance of external communication with customers, they do not explicitly recognise the importance of internal communication. However, informants reported many problems with internal communication, often relating to messages not being passed to the person who they were intended for or leaving messages for people who were on annual leave that resulted in customers perceiving that their queries had not been dealt with. One customer noted a particular problem with respect to

the type of wiring to be used in his installation. He included a particular wiring type in his specification, but this was not included in the initial drawings that he received, so he discussed this with the people involved and got it changed; then, when the system was installed on site he found the installation engineers were not using his specification but their

usual one, so he had to get this corrected again. He summed

this up as follows:

I had meetings with Company W’s people, I said you should do this, should not do that. But the point is, it does not get through to the guy actually installing it.

Installation The significance of installation as a component of service was

noted by one engineer in the selling company “a good service

means a good, organised installation. A clean installation, very

neat and tidy.” This supports the findings of Sharma et al. (1999). This is supported by the data collected from the

customers, eight of whom mentioned on-time installation as

being an important element of the service offering. Although

this factor is not prominent in the other research noted above,

it may well be because of industry differences, where not all

products require installation.

Invoice accuracy Invoice accuracy/clarity of written material was also noted as a

source of customer dissatisfaction by a manager in the selling

company. He was aware of a number of customer complaints

regarding the clarity of information on invoices. This was

confirmed by the data from the customers where a number

noted the importance of accurate invoices. This supports the

findings of Morris and Davis (1992) and Sharma et al.

(1999).

Price Price was mentioned by six customers, and a number of the

selling company’s personnel, confirming its inclusion as a

factor by Perkins (1993). However, there was no consensus as

to what aspects of price were important. Senior management

in the selling company perceived contractors to be more price-

conscious than end-users. Opinions amongst customers

varied: one noted that they had chosen the vendor simply

because they had the lowest price, while others, although

believing that the price was competitive, did not see it as the

most important aspect of the service. One customer noted:

I suppose you could put a value to customer service. If you give customers the product or service they want . . . they actually will pay a higher price.

This confirms Cunningham and Roberts (1974) findings that

price does not always play the main role. These different

attitudes towards price cannot be related or linked to any

other factors identified in the data gathered as part of this

research. This suggests that they should, perhaps, be

attributed to variability of customer requirements.

Responsiveness Responsiveness was mentioned by many of the selling

company personnel and they indicated its importance to the

company by noting that it was a key performance indicator

used by the company to judge engineers’ performance.

Additionally, five of the customers interviewed included a

quick response as an important element of service, supporting

the views of the selling company’s engineers. This factor is

mentioned either implicitly or explicitly in nearly all the extant

research into services quality (see appendix) and these

findings clearly support its importance. Interestingly, these

findings may also support a trend identified by Peterson et al.

(2005) of the higher importance of responsiveness in

business-to-business contexts.

Table I Customer service/satisfaction factors identified

Dimension Existing New Buyer Seller

Communication * * *

Installation * * *

Invoice accuracy/clarity of written

material * * *

Price * * *

Responsiveness * * *

After sales service * *

Competence * *

Complaint handling * *

Courtesy * *

Efficient office work * *

Good safety and environmental

record * *

Meeting requirements * *

Performance of employees * *

Product performance * *

Product related information * *

Quality of technical service * *

Solution development * *

Technical advantage * *

Training * *

Trust * *

Understanding * *

Wide range of products and

services * *

Experience * *

Minimum disruption * *

Peace of mind * *

Performance of subcontractors * *

Problem handling * *

An assessment of customer service in business-to-business relationships

Judy Zolkiewski, Barbara Lewis, Fang Yuan and Jing Yuan

Journal of Services Marketing

Volume 21 · Number 5 · 2007 · 313 – 325

317Business to Business Services - Multiple Markets and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century : Multiple Markets and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century, edited by Katherine Tyler, et al., Emerald Publishing Limited, 2007. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/harrisburg-ebooks/detail.action?docID=320647. Created from harrisburg-ebooks on 2020-12-01 07:20:23.

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Other factors from the existing models

A number of customers mentioned after sales service or follow up services, meaning follow-up visits and service reports and post-installation site audits. This supports the inclusion of this factor by Cunningham and Roberts (1974) and Banting (1976).

Competence Competence or “Offering knowledge and expertise on fire protection systems” was believed to be the company’s strongest area of customer service by many of the selling company’s personnel. This is supported by many of the earlier research findings about customer perceptions of customer service, e.g. Cunningham and Roberts (1974), Banting (1976) Parasuraman (1985, 1988), Morris and Davis (1992), Lewis and Craven (1995), Sharma et al. (1999).

Complaint handling Complaint handling was discussed by a quarter of the customers interviewed and all were very dissatisfied with the procedures that the selling company have in place. This can be summarised by the following quotation from a contractor:

We complained so many times! But nothing has been changed at all! We left the message that asked them to call us back, but received no response at all!

This supports its specific inclusion in the work of Homburg and Rudolph (2001).

Courtesy Courtesy with respect to telephone manner was mentioned by a number of the selling company’s personnel, supporting the findings of Parasuraman (1985, 1988) and Morris and Davis (1992).

Efficiency of office personnel Efficiency of office personnel was noted as significant by Lewis and Craven (1995). This finding is supported by the quotation below from an engineer in the selling company:

Speaking to some customers, the problem seems to lie more in the office rather than out in the field. It seems that in a lot of cases, they are not happy with the people in the office rather than the engineers.

Good safety and environmental record Lewis and Craven (1995) also included a good safety and environmental record in their service quality factors. This is supported by the research reported here, where health and safety issues were mentioned by a third of customers.

Meeting requirements Two-thirds of the customers interviewed mentioned ability to meet their requirements as an important factor, confirming the findings of Morris and Davis (1992). For example, one customer said:

I have not any knowledge in this area. The insurance company set a standard. I just hope that they [the products] meet the insurance company’s requirements. Since the insurance company said they are OK, they must be OK.

This factor also reflects the complexity of business-to-business markets and the factors that impact upon service quality in this area.

Performance of employees Another widely mentioned factor is the performance of employees. Two-thirds of customers said that they expected that employees would be professional. Performance included both the knowledge and performance of the engineers and the manner in which installation was conducted. Personal

competence was identified as a component of service quality

by Gordon et al. (1993) and product knowledge was identified

by Morris and Davis (1992). However, although other

researchers such as Banting (1976) and Homburg and

Rudolph (2001) also saw employees’ performance as an

influential factor, they focused more on sales representatives’

performance than others. In this research, most customers

think that the engineers’ performances are far more

important. As one customer noted:

Who’s working on site? Who’s talking with us, communicating with us

everyday? Who’s actually getting the job done? The engineers! No matter how good the sales said the product would be, we could not see it until the

engineers have the job done.

Product performance The majority of the customers discussed product

performance. It could be suggested that this is a basic

expectation of any product. Many researchers have discussed

this, for instance, Parasuraman et al. (1985), Sharma et al.

(1999) and Homburg and Rudolph (2001). However, in this

case, almost everyone reported that this is an expectation that

is hard to measure:

It’s a product that you wish you never use.

As mentioned by many customers, it is impossible to know

whether or not the product performance matches your

expectation until you have a fire. Only one customer had any

experience of this. In his case, he previously had two

buildings, one with a sprinkler system supplied by the selling

company and one without. When a fire broke out, only the

building with the sprinkler system in place was saved. This

experience was a major factor in his subsequent purchasing

decisions.

Product-related information Almost every customer mentioned the need for product-

related information, as suggested by many other researchers,

e.g. Lewis and Craven (1995), Schellhase et al. (2000) and

Homburg and Rudolph (2001).

Quality of technical service Although the interviewees from the selling company did not

explicitly mention quality of technical service, it was implicit

in many of the anecdotes they provided. For example, the

description of how they solved a problem relating to the

specification of a valve set for a customer (even though this

was not part of their original brief). The nature of the work

undertaken by the company is technically complex and we

believe that it is taken as a given, so when they talk about

“quality of work” implicit within this is an understanding of

the technical competence needed to achieve this. Technical

issues have been identified in much of the extant research

(Cunningham and Roberts, 1974; Banting, 1976; Gordon

et al., 1993; Perkins, 1993; Lewis and Craven, 1995; Sharma

et al., 1999; Homburg and Rudolph, 2001).

Solution development Sharma et al. (1999) include business solution development

as a factor in service quality/satisfaction. Two respondents

from the selling company also believed that the ability to offer

a total solution to the customer was an important element of

service quality. However, this factor was not noted in the

customer responses.

An assessment of customer service in business-to-business relationships

Judy Zolkiewski, Barbara Lewis, Fang Yuan and Jing Yuan

Journal of Services Marketing

Volume 21 · Number 5 · 2007 · 313 – 325

318Business to Business Services - Multiple Markets and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century : Multiple Markets and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century, edited by Katherine Tyler, et al., Emerald Publishing Limited, 2007. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/harrisburg-ebooks/detail.action?docID=320647. Created from harrisburg-ebooks on 2020-12-01 07:20:23.

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Technical advantage Technical advantage was explicitly mentioned by customers. However, it may be that the technical advantages that the selling company possesses are taken as given by its personnel. Nonetheless, its inclusion in the factors mentioned supports

the findings of Gordon et al. (1993).

Training Training is considered to be an important element of service by many researchers such as Lewis and Craven (1995), and Sharma et al. (1999). However, only one customer mentioned this aspect of customer service. This could be because the

systems are simple to use and do not require extensive training for users.

Trust Trust was an important factor mentioned many times during interviews with the selling company’s personnel. Lewis and Craven (1995) were the only researchers to explicitly mention

trust as a factor, when they included trustworthy contact personnel as a factor within service quality. Interestingly, trust is a factor which is much more likely to be discussed as an element of relationship success, see for instance Håkansson (1982) and Ford (2002).

Understanding Understanding of customers’ needs and responding to them was identified as being important by the informants in the selling company. This supports the findings of Parasuraman (1985, 1988), Morris and Davis (1992) and Lewis and Craven (1995).

Wide range of products and services Respondents from the selling company also believed that possessing a wide range of products and services, along with the ability to manufacture a wide range of products, was important with respect to service quality. This supports the findings of Cunningham and Roberts (1974), Banting (1976),

Perkins (1993), Lewis and Craven (1995) and Schellhase et al. (2000).

New factors emerging from the research

Five new factors can be identified in the data collected from

both the buying and selling companies: these are discussed below.

Experience Experience was mentioned by many customers. Two main aspects to experience can be identified. Firstly, it relates to the supplier’s knowledge or/and experience with its own products

and industry. It is recognised that this is similar to knowledge or product related knowledge, which have been identified as factors impacting service quality. However, when the context of the supplier’s experience and/or knowledge within their customers’ industry and/or particular environments is included, it can be suggested that this is a separate factor. It

means that customers are not only looking for suppliers who are knowledgeable and experienced within their own industry, but also have experience in customers’ industries.

Minimum disruption Two customers believed that minimum disruption during installation of the system was very important. This factor does

not appear to have been reported in any other research. This could be because most previous research has looked at raw materials or components. However, it can be suggested that

lack of disruption will certainly be a very important element in many business-to-business situations and clearly needs careful consideration by both managers and researchers.

Peace of mind Peace of mind was a recurrent theme in the interviews with the selling company’s personnel. It was described variously as “reducing his [the customer’s] risk and his effort”, “giving them assurance”. It is possible that this may be an industry- specific dimension relating to fire protection. A fire protection system is one that customers buy because they need it but hope they will never have to use; it is something they need assurance about.

Performance of subcontractors It appears that performance of subcontractors has not been identified in any previous research. This is somewhat surprising given the increasing prevalence of outsourcing and franchising. In the case under examination, the company employs subcontractors to perform some aspects of the work. These subcontractors wear the company’s uniform and customers are not usually aware of the different employment status of the staff who they interact with. Performance factors identified included lack of subcontractor knowledge about wider issues (such as technical design, financial information, personnel within the contracting company etc.). Clearly, implications relating to service quality need to be taken into account when managers are developing a service or supply network.

Problem handling Problem handling with respect to being able to sort out customers’ problems there and then was also raised a number of times. Although various elements in the extant research do implicitly include problem handling such as in the case of technical advice (see for instance Cunningham and Roberts, 1974) it is not included as a separate entity. The fact that a number of personnel in the selling company explicitly raised it, along with the growing body of research into service recovery (Bitner et al., 2002) suggests that this factor should perhaps be considered in its own right with respect to the contribution it makes to service quality.

Differences between buyers and sellers

The dimensions mentioned by only buyers or sellers show some interesting differences in perceptions of service quality between the different parties involved. Table II provides a

Table II Factors mentioned either by buyers or sellers

Buyer perceptions Seller perceptions

After sales service Competence

Complaint handling Courtesy

Good safety and environmental

record

Efficient office work

Meeting requirements Quality of technical service

Performance of employees Solution development

Product performance Trust

Product related information Understanding

Technical advantage Wide range of products and services

Training Peace of mind

Experience Performance of subcontractors

Minimum disruption Problem handling

An assessment of customer service in business-to-business relationships

Judy Zolkiewski, Barbara Lewis, Fang Yuan and Jing Yuan

Journal of Services Marketing

Volume 21 · Number 5 · 2007 · 313 – 325

319Business to Business Services - Multiple Markets and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century : Multiple Markets and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century, edited by Katherine Tyler, et al., Emerald Publishing Limited, 2007. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/harrisburg-ebooks/detail.action?docID=320647. Created from harrisburg-ebooks on 2020-12-01 07:20:23.

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summary of these dimensions. Clearly these differences could

be explained because of the relatively small sample size and

exploratory nature of the data collected. However, it could also be suggested that these indicate the different perceptions

of the service itself and what is considered important by the

two sides of the interaction. These different perceptions are important simply because they suggest that there is not a

universal understanding of what is meant by service quality

and they illustrate the central tenet of services and business- to-business marketing – the need to understand the

interaction between all the parties involved. Nonetheless,

they also indicate the need for further research to clarify the existence and significance of such differences.

Managerial implications

This research supports our contention that service quality in a

business-to-business context is a complex and multifaceted issue. Customers and suppliers appear to have some similar

perceptions of quality and some very different expectations.

This provides a number of challenges for managers: . The dynamic and interactive nature of service quality.

Managers need to recognise the dynamic nature of

service quality and the role of both provider and user and make sure they develop strategies that cater for this

complexity, e.g. by ensuring that employees are aware of

the factors that their customers deem to be significant in service quality and how these requirements may change

over time. Collecting meaningful data about service

quality perceptions managers need to find mechanisms for collecting perceptions about service quality both

internally and externally (including perceptions of actors

from their wider network, such as subcontractors). The lack of consensus in our findings suggests that instead of

using measures of service quality and satisfaction that have

been transferred from consumer markets, managers need to take time to consider the most appropriate method of

gaining feedback on aspects of quality in the context of the industries in which they operate.

. Importance of internal communication. Managers must be aware of the significance of the role of internal communication in service quality and ensure that

procedures are in place to ensure effective internal

communication (especially when it relates to customers) as well as for effective external communication.

Implementing internal marketing concepts may be a

useful aid to achieving improved communication. . Technical expertise and experience of a customer’s business/

industry. The importance of the central marketing tenet of being aware of the customer’s needs and businesses is

emphasised by these findings. Managers must ensure that

they utilise the experience of their employees to the full in this context and be aware that this factor may well provide

them with competitive advantage and bring them repeat

business. . Problem solving capability. Managers should empower

personnel and give them appropriate technical training

to enable them to solve problems before they escalate and become sources of real dissatisfaction.

. Minimum disruption. The concept of “minimum disruption” as a dimension of service quality also has

wide ranging implications. Once managers are aware that

such a factor is of central importance to customers, they

should be able to offer solutions that explicitly focus on

this aspect of their service. It can also be suggested that

this notion does not just apply to aspects such as

installation; it may well apply in maintenance and other

consultancy visits, even in the context of making sales

appointments to visit a customer. . Impact of the wider network on service quality requirements.

Managers must also be aware of the influence of other

actors in the network, e.g. the requirements that insurance

companies place upon purchasers and that the selling

company needs to have the expertise to implement. . Impact of subcontractors on service quality perceptions.

Managers need to be aware of the impact that

subcontractors may have on customer perceptions of

service quality. In this context, it may well be pertinent to

suggest that managers consider including performance

indicators that relate to service quality in any contracts

they set up with subcontractors. . External communication. The findings highlight the

importance of external communication. Customers need

to receive accurate, appropriate and timely information

about products and services: such material is at the core of

excellent service quality. . Quality of employees. Comments by the buyers emphasise

the criticality of the employee to service success. Skills

including knowledge, courtesy and understanding of

customer requirements should be high priority in the

recruitment and development of all employees (both front

and back office).

Conclusions

The variety of service quality dimensions identified above

confirms Szmigin’s (1993) assertion that it is necessary to

investigate subjective measures in specific contexts. Our

research suggests that it may not be feasible to produce one all

embracing measure of service quality in a business-to-

business context. Rather, managers and researchers alike

must be aware of the components that appear to be able to be

generalised across industries and those which are specific to

the context in which they are operating. Additionally, our findings show that personnel from both

sides of a relationship have different perceptions/

understanding of service quality and that service quality is

also affected by actions in the wider network of actors that

surround a company. Further research is needed to determine

if these differences persist across a larger sample and different

contexts. However, it does support Svensson’s (2001, 2002,

2004) findings regarding imbalance in dyadic perceptions of

service quality and suggests that managers need to pay

attention to these factors. Clearly our work is only exploratory and undertaken in a

specific context, a UK provider of fire protection and safety

systems, and it is not possible to come up with any definitive

models or explanations. However, we believe that it is

essential for further research to investigate how dyadic service

quality perceptions change over time and how this relates to

other dimensions such as trust, commitment, customer

profitability and retention. For example, we would suggest

that this could be achieved by: . developing research in different industries and contexts,

e.g. do different companies, industries and/or cultures

An assessment of customer service in business-to-business relationships

Judy Zolkiewski, Barbara Lewis, Fang Yuan and Jing Yuan

Journal of Services Marketing

Volume 21 · Number 5 · 2007 · 313 – 325

320Business to Business Services - Multiple Markets and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century : Multiple Markets and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century, edited by Katherine Tyler, et al., Emerald Publishing Limited, 2007. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/harrisburg-ebooks/detail.action?docID=320647. Created from harrisburg-ebooks on 2020-12-01 07:20:23.

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value different aspects of service and therefore evaluate

service quality differently; . how dyadic perceptions of quality change/develop over

time and how these perceptions relate to other

relationship dimensions, e.g. trust, commitment etc.; and . developing possible models that illustrate the dynamics of

the service quality.

Note

1 In one case the customer asked for the recorder to be

switched off. He then provided very interesting insight

into the operation of the company; in this interview the

researcher took notes, which were subsequently included

in the data analysis.

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Judy Zolkiewski, Barbara Lewis, Fang Yuan and Jing Yuan

Journal of Services Marketing

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