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History of the Gaps Model
The gaps model of service quality was first developed by a group of authors, Parasuraman, Zeithaml, Berry, at Texas A&M and North Carolina Universities, in 1985 (Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry). Based on exploratory studies of service such as executive interviews and focus groups in four different service businesses the authors proposed a conceptual model of service quality indicating that consumers’ perception toward a service quality depends on the four gaps existing in organization – consumer environments. They further developed in-depth measurement scales for service quality in a later year (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, Berry, 1988).
Theory of the Gaps Model
Perceived service quality can be defined as, according to the model, the difference between consumers’ expectation and perceptions which eventually depends on the size and the direction of the four gaps concerning the delivery of service quality on the company’s side (Fig. 1; Parasuraman, Zeithaml, Berry, 1985).
Customer Gap = f (Gap 1, Gap 2, Gap 3, Gap 4)
The magnitude and the direction of each gap will affect the service quality. For instance, Gap 3 will be favourable if the delivery of a service exceeds the standards of service required by the organization, and it will be unfavourable when the specifications of the service delivered are not met.
Fig. 1: The Integrated Gaps Model of Service Quality
(Parasuraman, Zeithaml, Berry 1985)
The key points for each gap can be summarized as follows:
· Customer gap: The difference between customer expectations and perceptions – the
service quality gap.
· Gap 1: The difference between what customers expected and what
management
perceived about the expectation of customers.
· Gap 2: The difference between management’s perceptions of customer
expectations and the translation of those perceptions into service
quality specifications and designs.
· Gap 3: The difference between specifications or standards of service quality
and the actual service delivered to customers.
· Gap 4: The difference between the service delivered to customers and the
promise of the firm to customers about its service quality
Applications of the Gaps Model
First of all the model clearly determines the two different types of gaps in service marketing, namely the customer gap and the provider gaps. The latter is considered as internal gaps within a service firm. This model really views the services as a structured, integrated model which connects external customers to internal services between the different functions in a service organization. Important applications of the model are as follows:
Fig. 2: The 10 determinants of service quality (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, Berry, 1985).
1. The gaps model of service quality gives insights and propositions regarding customers’ perceptions of service quality.
2. Customers always use 10 dimensions to form the expectation and perceptions of service quality (Fig. 2).
3. The model helps predict, generate and identify key factors that cause the gap to be unfavourable to the service firm in meeting customer expectations.
The model provides a conceptual framework for academic and business researchers to study the service quality in marketing.
Key Citations
Berry L., Parasuraman A. & Zeithaml V. (1988), The Service-Quality Puzzle, Business Horizons, Sep-Oct, pp 35-43.
Parasuraman A., Zeithaml V. & Berry L. (1985), A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research, Journal of Marketing, Vol 49, pp 41-50.
Parasuraman A., Zeithaml V. & Berry L. (1988), SERVQUAL: A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality, Journal of Retailing; Vol. 64 Issue 1, pp12-40
Zeithaml V., Berry L. & Parasuraman A., (1988), Communication and control processes in the delivery of service quality, Journal of Marketing, Vol 52, pp 35-48.
Application Areas
Management, service marketing, consumer behaviour
Contribution by: Phuong Nguyen
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