Effects Of Service Quality On Performance Of Liberty Life Assurance Kenya Limited

Abstract

Service quality is key in sustainability of business in a competitive market place. In order to survive in the highly competitive service environment, it is imperative for service industries to provide high quality services to customers. Most service organisations are now shifting from product-based view to customer centric in order to differentiate themselves against the competition. Customers know what to expect from a quality service (Kandampully, 1998). Service industries are increasingly focused on obtaining a sustainable competitive edge in a competitive and turbulent business environment (Collins, 2002). The main determinant of performance currently is ensuring the delivery of quality services across the company’s supply chains (Sum, Teo & Ng, 2001). High demand for high quality services by customers has caused more organizations to acknowledge that they will have to offer high quality services and products so as to successfully compete in the business environment. This study will be anchored on Service Quality Theory, which focuses on quality of service as perceived by customers based on their expectations. This was conceptualized by Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry (1985) by adopting the of Churchill’s (1979) framework in which measures of marketing constructs were developed. The study opines that the firm’s service quality can be assessed by clients through comparison of their perceptions of service against their own expectations. However, Gronroos pointed out that the service quality by Parasuraman does not describe the following aspects; technical, functional and image. Gronroos (1984) defined technical quality as dimensions of service that are comparatively quantified by customers in their endeavors 2 with a service company. The study also utilizes the Technical and Functional Quality Theory which argues that technical quality is an accepted index for assessing service quality since it can be measured easily (Palmer, 2014).