Integration of IPA and QFD to assess the service quality and to identify after sales service strategies to improve customer satisfaction – a case study

Abstract Customer satisfaction is considered very essential nowadays as it shows how firms are dedicated to afford quality products or services to their customers. Retaining the existing customer and acquiring the new customers are the basic objectives of any organisation and after sales service (ASS) has acquired a strategic role as a mean to achieve customer satisfaction. Importance–performance analysis (IPA) and quality function deployment (QFD) are the powerful tools successfully applied in many fields. However, studies on application of these tools in investigating the ASS quality and customer satisfaction seems to be scarce. This article investigates linking of IPA, which is a simple and effective customer satisfaction tool and QFD in the improvement of ASS attributes in an effort to determine the appropriate ASS strategic action plans to be adopted with the objective of enhancing customer satisfaction. In this study, a customer-driven model is proposed to examine the importance of the various ASS attributes and the performance of the organisation via questionnaire survey, and through the IP analysis, the areas to be focused are identified to help the decision makers in devising suitable policies, to improve the ASS performance. This is achieved through the employment of QFD that will help decision makers in the strategic planning to attain better customer satisfaction. A case study is carried out to exhibit the effectiveness of the developed model in a firm involved in manufacturing the home appliances.

[1]  T. J. Breen,et al.  Biostatistical Analysis (2nd ed.). , 1986 .

[2]  Kampan Mukherjee,et al.  A QFD Approach to Addressing the Impacts of Tourism Development , 2008 .

[3]  Chun-Lang Chang,et al.  Application of quality function deployment launches to enhancing nursing home service quality , 2006 .

[4]  R. Radharamanan,et al.  Quality function deployment as applied to a health care system , 1996 .

[5]  Taiwen Feng,et al.  Incorporating human resource management initiatives into customer services: Empirical evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms , 2014 .

[6]  V. Adlakha,et al.  Attributes of Service Quality: The Consumers′ Perspective , 1992 .

[7]  F. Miranda,et al.  An Importance-Performance Analysis of Primary Health Care Services: Managers vs. Patients Perceptions , 2010 .

[8]  Mu-Chen Chen,et al.  Applying the Kano model and QFD to explore customers' brand contacts in the hotel business: A study of a hot spring hotel , 2011 .

[9]  Frank R. Kardes,et al.  Overestimating the Importance of the Given Information in Multiattribute Consumer Judgment , 2002 .

[10]  Martin Wetzels,et al.  Customer evaluations of after-sales service contact modes : an empirical analysis of national culture's consequences , 2002 .

[11]  Nicola Saccani,et al.  The after-sales service for durable consumer goods. Methods for process analysis and empirical application to industrial cases. , 2004 .

[12]  X. Zheng,et al.  Improving Mobile Services Design: A QFD Approach , 2007, Comput. Informatics.

[13]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Future Research , 1985 .

[14]  Kye-Sung Chon,et al.  Formulating and Evaluating Tou Rism Policy Using Importance-Performance Analysis , 1989 .

[15]  M. Hossain,et al.  QFD for utility services: a case study of electricity distribution company DESCO , 2010 .

[16]  Mary Jo Bitner,et al.  Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm , 1996 .

[17]  Fatima Silva,et al.  Using importance-performance analysis in evaluating institutions of higher education: A case study , 2010, 2010 International Conference on Education and Management Technology.

[18]  Philip Dearden,et al.  But are tourists satisfied? Importance-performance analysis of the whale shark tourism industry on Isla Holbox, Mexico. , 2012 .

[19]  G. Pezzotta,et al.  A framework for an integrated management of After Sales service , 2008, 2008 IEEE International Technology Management Conference (ICE).

[20]  Xuening Chu,et al.  A new importance-performance analysis approach for customer satisfaction evaluation supporting PSS design , 2012, Expert Syst. Appl..

[21]  David J. Ortinau,et al.  The Use of Importance-Performance Analysis for Improving the Quality of Marketing Education: Interpreting Faculty-Course Evaluations , 1989 .

[22]  Tat Y. Choi,et al.  An importance-performance analysis of hotel selection factors in the Hong Kong hotel industry: a comparison of business and leisure travellers , 2000 .

[23]  Jesús A. Varela,et al.  Importance values for Importance–Performance Analysis: A formula for spreading out values derived from preference rankings , 2007 .

[24]  John Haywood-Farmer,et al.  A Conceptual Model of Service Quality , 1988 .

[25]  Uday Kumar,et al.  Design and development of product support and maintenance concepts for industrial systems , 2003 .

[26]  Chih-Hung Hsu,et al.  Integrating Kano's model into quality function deployment to facilitate decision analysis for service quality , 2007 .

[27]  Paolo Gaiardelli,et al.  Aligning strategic profiles with operational metrics in after‐sales service , 2007 .

[28]  Charles R. Duke,et al.  Performance-importance analysis of escorted tour evaluations. , 1996 .

[29]  Hannah Koo,et al.  Holistic approach for diagnosing, prioritising, implementing and monitoring effective strategies through synergetic fusion of SWOT, Balanced Scorecard and QFD , 2007 .

[30]  Amélia Silveira,et al.  Identification of satisfaction attributes using competitive analysis of the improvement gap , 2007 .

[31]  Shinhong Kim,et al.  A knowledge-based approach to the quality function deployment , 1998 .

[32]  N. Saccani,et al.  Investigating the linkages between service types and supplier relationships in servitized environments , 2014 .

[33]  Michael J. Showalter,et al.  The Performance-Importance Response Function: Observations and Implications , 1999 .

[34]  Jon M. Hawes,et al.  Using importance-performance analysis to develop health care marketing strategies. , 1985, Journal of health care marketing.

[35]  Lori B. Shelby,et al.  Using action-grids in tourism management. , 2002 .

[36]  Sulaiman Ainin,et al.  Applying Importance-Performance Analysis to Information Systems: An Exploratory Case Study , 2008 .

[37]  Robert A Hunt,et al.  The leading edge in strategic QFD , 2003 .

[38]  Mathew Joseph,et al.  Importance-performance analysis of UK and US bank customer perceptions of service delivery technologies , 2005 .

[39]  Andrew Sai On Ko,et al.  Building balanced scorecard with SWOT analysis, and implementing “Sun Tzu’s The Art of Business Management Strategies” on QFD methodology , 2000 .

[40]  Nigel Slack,et al.  Quality Function Deployment , 2015 .

[41]  Alexandra Coghlan,et al.  Facilitating reef tourism management through an innovative importance-performance analysis method , 2012 .

[42]  C. Ennew,et al.  Importance‐Performance Analysis and the Measurement of Service Quality , 1993 .

[43]  S. Deshmukh,et al.  SSQSC: a tool to measure supplier service quality in supply chain , 2006 .

[44]  S. F. Lee,et al.  Implementing the strategic formulation framework for the banking industry of Hong Kong , 2000 .

[45]  Stephen S. Tax,et al.  Planning for service quality: an integrative approach , 1996 .

[46]  Raid Al-Aomar,et al.  Quality Function Deployment for Service : A Case Study of Enhancing the Planning Statement of a Utility Company , 2012 .

[47]  Kay C. Tan,et al.  Tourist satisfaction in Singapore – a perspective from Indonesian tourists , 2003 .

[48]  Krisana Kitcharoen,et al.  The Importance-Performance Analysis of Service Quality in Administrative Departments of Private Universities in Thailand , 2004 .

[49]  A. Dolinsky,et al.  Considering the competition in strategy development: an extension of importance-performance analysis. , 1991, Journal of health care marketing.

[50]  Hanquin Q. Zhang,et al.  Application of importance-performance model in tour guides’ performance: evidence from mainland Chinese outbound visitors in Hong Kong , 2004 .

[51]  U. Yavas,et al.  Modified importance-performance analysis: an application to hospitals. , 2001, International journal of health care quality assurance incorporating Leadership in health services.

[52]  M. Enright,et al.  Tourism destination competitiveness: a quantitative approach , 2004 .

[53]  Mohd Rizaimy Shaharudin,et al.  Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction in After-Sales Service of Malaysian Electronic Business Market , 2010 .

[54]  Y. H. Hung,et al.  A Performance Evaluation of the After-Sales Service Information Systems Provided by the Taiwanese Machine Tool Industry , 2005 .

[55]  Brian J. Mihalik,et al.  The Use of Importance-Performance Analysis as an Evaluative Technique in Adult Education , 1989 .

[56]  H. Kurata,et al.  After-sales service competition in a supply chain: Optimization of customer satisfaction level or profit or both? , 2010 .

[57]  Mike Walker,et al.  Customer‐driven breakthroughs using QFD and policy deployment , 2002 .

[58]  Ian Richardson,et al.  Diagnosing information systems success: importance-performance maps in the health club industry , 2001, Inf. Manag..

[59]  Chao-Ton Su,et al.  Using the QFD concept to resolve customer satisfaction strategy decisions , 2003 .

[60]  Simha R. Magal,et al.  Applying Importance-Performance Analysis to Evaluate E-Business Strategies among Small Firms , 2004 .

[61]  Ugur Yavas,et al.  Importance‐Performance Analysis: : A Case Study in Restaurant Positioning , 1994 .

[62]  John B. Ford,et al.  Importance‐performance analysis as a strategic tool for service marketers: the case of service quality perceptions of business students in New Zealand and the USA , 1999 .

[63]  A. Dolinsky,et al.  Adding a competitive dimension to importance-performance analysis: an application to traditional health care systems. , 1991, Health marketing quarterly.

[64]  Ronald W. McQuaid,et al.  Entrepreneurship, Management, and Sustainable Development , 2005 .

[65]  S. Pugazhendhi,et al.  An integrated model to identify and rank the after sales service strategies of firms engaged in household appliances business , 2016 .

[66]  Peter W. Hom,et al.  SERV∗OR: A managerial measure of organizational service-orientation , 1998 .

[67]  Martin O'Neill,et al.  Importance‐performance analysis: a useful tool for directing continuous quality improvement in higher education , 2004 .

[68]  Sergio Cavalieri,et al.  A framework for the configuration of after-sales service processes , 2009 .

[69]  Fatma Pakdil,et al.  A quality function deployment application using qualitative and quantitative analysis in after sales services , 2012 .

[70]  Laurette Dubé Michael,et al.  ADAPTING THE QFD APPROACH TO EXTENDED SERVICE TRANSACTIONS , 1999 .

[71]  Paolo Gaiardelli,et al.  A SPIRAL PROCESS MODEL TO ENGINEER A PRODUCT SERVICE SYSTEM: AN EXPLORATIVE ANALYSIS THROUGH CASE STUDIES , 2012 .

[72]  S. Hollenhorst,et al.  Use of importance-performance analysis to evaluate state park cabins: the case of the West Virginia state park system. , 1992 .

[73]  So Young Sohn,et al.  Customer pattern search for after-sales service in manufacturing , 2009, Expert Syst. Appl..

[74]  Nicola Saccani,et al.  Managing the after-sales logistic network–a simulation study , 2009 .

[75]  Ceyda Güngör Sen,et al.  Fuzzy quality function deployment based methodology for acquiring enterprise software selection requirements , 2010, Expert Syst. Appl..

[76]  Shuki Dror,et al.  A strategic service quality framework using QFD , 2011 .

[77]  William P Charteris,et al.  Quality function deployment: a quality engineering technology for the food industry , 1993 .

[78]  S. Hudson,et al.  The Measurement of Service Quality in the Tour Operating Sector: A Methodological Comparison , 2004 .

[79]  D. Bacon.  A Comparison of Approaches to Importance-Performance Analysis , 2003 .

[80]  Jos Lemmink,et al.  After sales service quality: Views between industrial customers and service managers , 1989 .

[81]  Peter B. Barr,et al.  An exploratory look at the use of importance‐performance analysis as a curricular assessment tool in a school of business , 2000 .

[82]  Magnus Söderlund,et al.  The happy versus unhappy service worker in the service encounter:Assessing the impact on customer satisfaction , 2010 .

[83]  Kurt Matzler,et al.  Importance-performance analysis revisited: the role of the factor structure of customer satisfaction , 2003 .