Measuring Service Quality with Instrument Variation in an SEM Framework

The purpose of this study is to refine the real estate service quality scale, called RESERV, developed by Nelson and Nelson (1995). RESERV is examined for scale parsimony and for items measuring service expectations. This study is the first to simultaneously compare the three types of service quality items, 1) perceptions of service quality, 2) the gap between perceived service quality and service expectations, and 3) perceived service quality given expectations. It is found that the 7-dimension RESERV scale has slightly better predictive power but poorer parsimonious fit compared to the single dimension ‘Professionalism.’ Because of the length and complexity of the purchasing process in real estate, the version of the scale measuring only perceptions of service quality is better suited to real estate than versions which try to incorporate service expectations.

[1]  R. Teas,et al.  Expectations, Performance Evaluation, and Consumers’ Perceptions of Quality , 1993 .

[2]  David J. Ketchen,et al.  AN ASSESSMENT OF THE USE OF STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT RESEARCH , 2004 .

[3]  S. Nelson,et al.  RESERV: An Instrument for Measuring Real Estate Brokerage Service Quality , 2009 .

[4]  Richard P. Bagozzi,et al.  Assessing Construct Validity in Organizational Research , 1991 .

[5]  M. Crask,et al.  MAIL SURVEY RESPONSE RATE A META-ANALYSIS OF SELECTED TECHNIQUES FOR INDUCING RESPONSE , 1988 .

[6]  Michael J. Dotson,et al.  Service Quality Determinants and Effectiveness in the Real Estate Brokerage Industry , 1988 .

[7]  R. Teas,et al.  Expectations as a Comparison Standard in Measuring Service Quality: An Assessment of a Reassessment , 1994 .

[8]  David S. Evans,et al.  Retrospective Bias in the Displaced Worker Surveys , 1995 .

[9]  J. Carman.  Consumer perceptions of service quality: an assessment of the SERVQUAL dimensions , 1990 .

[10]  L. Zumpano,et al.  Buyer Brokers: Do They Make a Difference? Their Influence on Selling Price and Search Duration , 2000 .

[11]  James R. Webb,et al.  Impact of Homebuyer Characteristics on Service Quality in Real Estate Brokerage , 2006 .

[12]  B. R. Klemz.  Assessing contact personnel/ customer interaction in a small town: differences between large and small retail districts , 1999 .

[13]  Stephen W. Brown,et al.  A Gap Analysis of Professional Service Quality , 1989 .

[14]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  Reassessment of expectations as a comparison standard in measuring service quality: Implications , 1994 .

[15]  William J. Kettinger,et al.  Perceived Service Quality and User Satisfaction with the Information Services Function , 1994 .

[16]  Ko de Ruyter,et al.  Customer expectation dimensions of voice‐to‐voice service encounters: a scale‐development study , 2000 .

[17]  Service quality dimensions in residential real estate brokerage , 2008 .

[18]  Adversarial Brokerage in Residential Real Estate Transactions: The Impact of Separate Buyer Representation , 1997 .

[19]  Barry M. Staw,et al.  What Theory is Not , 1995 .

[20]  James R. Coyle,et al.  Reconsidering Models of Influence: The Relationship between Consumer Social Networks and Word-of-Mouth Effectiveness , 2007, Journal of Advertising Research.

[21]  Steven A. Taylor,et al.  Measuring Service Quality: A Reexamination and Extension , 1992 .

[22]  Don Scott,et al.  Service Quality Components and Group Criteria in Local Government , 1993 .

[23]  Martin Wetzels,et al.  Response Rate and Response Quality of Internet-Based Surveys: An Experimental Study , 2004 .

[24]  Steven A. Taylor,et al.  Recreational Service Quality in the International Setting , 1993 .

[25]  L. Zumpano,et al.  Buyer Search Duration in the Residential Real Estate Market: The Role of the Real Estate Agent , 1995 .

[26]  Scott B. MacKenzie,et al.  Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[27]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. , 1988 .

[28]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  Alternative scales for measuring service quality: A comparative assessment based on psychometric and diagnostic criteria , 1994 .

[29]  R. Reidenbach,et al.  Exploring perceptions of hospital operations by a modified SERVQUAL approach. , 1990, Journal of health care marketing.

[30]  James R. Webb,et al.  Assessment of Real Estate Brokerage Service Quality with a Practicing Professional's Instrument , 2000 .

[31]  James C. Anderson,et al.  An approach for confirmatory measurement and structural equation modeling of organizational properties , 1987 .

[32]  J. Baker,et al.  The effects of appropriateness of service contact personnel dress on customer expectations of service quality and purchase intention: The moderating influences of involvement and gender , 2004 .

[33]  Terry S. Overton,et al.  Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys , 1977 .

[34]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. , 1981 .

[35]  James C. Anderson,et al.  STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING IN PRACTICE: A REVIEW AND RECOMMENDED TWO-STEP APPROACH , 1988 .

[36]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  Refinement and reassessment of the SERVQUAL scale. , 1991 .