Shu - Te University College of Management Graduate School of Business Administration Master A Study on the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in Hanoi’s tourism Student: Tran Hong Hanh Advisors: Dr. Jau-Shyong Wang Dr. Sheng-Jung Li Co-advisor: Dr. Dao Thi Thu Giang May, 2014 1 2 Shu-Te University Graduate School of Business Administration Thesis A Study on the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in Hanoi’s tourism Tran Hong Hanh May, 2014 A Study on the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in Hanoi’s tourism Student: Tran Hong Hanh 3 Advisor: Dr. Jau-Shyong Wang Dr. Sheng-Jung Li Co-Advisor: Dr. Dao Thi Thu Giang A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School of Business Administration College of Management Shu-Te University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master in Business Administration May, 2014 Graduate Student of Shu-Te University Recommendation Letter from Thesis Adviser 4 This Student Tran Hong Hanh, whose thesis entitled “A Study on the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in Hanoi’s tourism”, is under my advisory and agree to submit for examination. Adviser : Co-Adviser : Date : / / 　 5 Graduate School of Business Administration, Shu-Te University A Study on the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in Hanoi’s tourism Student: Tran Hong Hanh Adviser: Dr. Jau-Shyong Wang Dr. Sheng-Jung Li Co-adviser: Dr. Dao Thi Thu Giang ABSTRACT The main purpose of this study is to test the level of factors of service quality and the impact of them on customer satisfaction in Hanoi’s tourism. The research method used in this study is quantitative method with multivariate statistical analysis steps such as: testing by Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient, explore descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis. From 206 valid answered questionnaires, the research results show that there are four main factors affecting tourist satisfaction including (1) core tourism experience, (2) fairness of price, (3) value for money, and (4) security. In which, the factor “value for money” has biggest impact intensity, next is the factor “security”, “fairness of price” and the last is the factor “core tourism experience”. Moreover, the research results also show conclusion, limitations as well as directions for further researches in the future. Keywords: Customer Satisfaction, tourist satisfaction, tourist destination, SERVQUAL, SERVPERF i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS During the implementation of this thesis, I have received much help from the people who have helped me. Without them I could not have completed this thesis, so I wanted to express my deep gratitude to those who helped me. First, I would like to express our gratitude to the teachers of the University SHU-TE and the University of Foreign Trade who taught me and helped me throughout the course. Special thanks to Dr. Jau-Shyong Wang, Dr. Sheng-Jung Li, University of SHU-TE and Dr. Dao Thi Thu Giang, Vice President of Foreign Trade University who provided constant guidance and very useful advice for me to complete this thesis. Next, I would like to thank to my classmates who share and help me during the study at the University of SHU-TE. I also thank the colleagues in Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism who have helped me in the process of surveying and data collection in this thesis. Finally I really thank my family and friends who have shared, encouraged me during the learning process and the implementation of this thesis. Thank you very much. Tran Hong Hanh MBA student, Shu-Te University ii TABLE OF CONTENT ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii TABLE OF CONTENT iii LIST OF FIGURE v LIST OF TABLE vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. Research background 1 1.2. Research motives 1 1.3. Research objective 3 1.4. Research questions 3 1.5. Research procedure 4 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 5 2.1. Service and TRUST AND CUSTO M ER SA TISFA CTIO N IN ONLINE SHOPPING: A STUDY IN V IETN A M Nguyen Tlti Tuyet M - Nil am Phong Tuan Introduction The appearance o f the Internet has being paving the way for the rapid growth of electronic commerce (e-commerce) The economy and transaction methods turn to the new paee since the high-technology systems are exploited into applications Finding partners and customers is not limited by the borders o f countries and therefore the choices o f products/services increase due to more suppliers in all over thí world that are available on the Internet Beside more opportunities, the competition among electric vendors (e-vendors) has been also stronger and stronger, especially for the emerging markets in which there are many international giants Hence marketers have tried to keep customer intention by raisins customer satisfaction mainly through improving trust One approach online companies can is to ensure distributive fairness and procedural fairness Distributive and procedural fairness will trigger the feelinss of equity o f outputs (what is received) departed from inputs (what is invested) (Adams, 1963, p 347, 1965) and o f outcome-determining procedures (Folger & Greenberg, 1985) From then, trust and customer satisfaction will be maintained (Chiu Lin, Sun, & Hsu, 2009) Other aspects are customer interface quality, perceived security and perceived usefulness In the offline commerce, face-to-face interaction may directly satisfy buyers through supporting services In e-commerce, salespeople interact via interface o f the websites The challenges facingCP the online sellers are to alleviate the uncertainty and incomplete or distorted information (Ba & Pavlou, 2002) as well as ensure the security for sensitive contents and transactions Moreover, in the errerging markets, the belief o f customer on the virtual transactions is not strong Therefore, the mission o f designers is creating the attractive interface, updating latest information, and security systems, thus enhancing the perception of usefulness o f customers However,7 few studies investigate the above mentioned o cognition related to determinants o f trust and satisfaction in online context The TS Đại học Hiroshima - Nhật Bản 462 TRUST AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION above reasons motivate our work to profoundly understand the impacting factors on trust and customer satisfaction Research m odel and hypotheses developm ent The proposed model is shown in Figure Figure Research model Distributive fairness Distributive fairness, also called as perceived fairness o f outcomes, was startỉd by Adams (1963) Adams emphasized that there are correlations between inputs aad expected outcomes The expectation departs from the contributions to the exchange, for which the fair return will be hopefully gained There are many previous studies that mention the relationship betwein distributive fairness and trust Pilai, Williams, & Tan (2001) had their strong argument on high levels o f trust ensuing fair outcomes distributions Particularly in the case ofecommerce, Chiu et al (2009) added the ideas that when customers get the products equal with their expectation, the level o f their trust in the vendor will raise On the other hand, distributive fairness is also found to be correlated with customer satisfaction Distributive fairness is traditionally explored as a predictor for customer satisfaction (Huppertz, Arenson, & Evans, 1978) In e-commerce context, Chiu, et al (2009) also tested successfully the im pacts o f distributive fairness on customer satisfaction Thus, based on the above discussion, we propose the following hypotheses: Hypothesis I (H I): Distributive fairness positively influences trust in online shopping Hypothesis (H2): Distributive fairness positively influences custoixer satisfaction in online shopping Procedural fairness Another stream o f fairness is procedural fairness which refers to the equity of the process o f how outcomes are determined (Folger & Greenberg, 1985) The relationship between procedural fairness and trust is found in many studiỉs According to Pearce, Biglev, & Branyiczki (1998), trust as well as organizational commitment results from procedural fairness in coworkers In online shopping context particularly, Chiu, et al (2009) argued that the perceived fairness o f polices and procedures o f shopping in the virtual markets has the influences on trust 463 VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TẾ LẦN T H Ử T On the other side, the coưelation between procedural fairness and customer satisfaction has been estimated Prior scholars emphasized the importance of procedural process in which the receivers not feel satisfied even though they set favorable returns In contrast, they are happy with fair procedures even if the outcomes are not proportional (Lind & Tyler, 1988) M any researches also find the positive influence o f procedure on customer satisfaction in service encounters (Bolton, 1998), in service quality (Smith, Bolton, ...1 Page ABSTRACT This study empirically examines the effects of Perceived Tuition on University Service Quality and Student Satisfaction as well as the impact of University Service Quality on Student Satisfaction toward higher education service. The research also explores the moderating role of University Type variable on these relationships. Whereby, it provides a comparison of these impacts extent between two types of universities, Public universities and Non-public universities. Structural equation modeling was used to test these impacts, utilizing a sample of 612 students in two Public universities and two Non-public universities. The results indicate that both University Service Quality and Perceived Tuition play significant role in predicting Student Satisfaction. In addition, Perceived Tuition not only has a direct impact on Student Satisfaction, but also an indirect influence through University Service Quality. The findings of this research also provide evidence of the differences between Public sector and Non- public sector in the influence of Perceived Tuition on University Service Quality, Student Satisfaction, and University Service Quality on Student Satisfaction. Particularly, the effect of Perceived Tuition and University Service Quality on Student Satisfaction is much greater in Non-public universities compared to that in Public universities. Indeed, the current context of higher education in Vietnam reveals that Non-public universities setting a much higher tuition fee compared to Public- universities, but not have an assurance in service quality. Hence, an increase in University service quality or Perceived tuition leads to a higher increase in Student satisfaction extent in Non-public universities compared to Public sector. It implies that university managers have to pay attention to improve their service quality and consider the approach in pricing the service in other to satisfy their students. The students are persuaded by the fitness between service quality they receive and the tuition they have to pay for university compared to other similar tertiary institutions. The research findings also engage with some limitations in the strength of measurement scale, the sampling method as well as the fitness between the research model and data. It results in the valuable directions for further researches in future. 2 Page Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1. Higher education in Vietnam According to the Vietnamese Education Law in 2012, higher education covers undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Undergraduate studies can lead to diploma or bachelor degrees while postgraduate studies can lead to master degrees and doctorate degrees. In Vietnam higher education system, higher education institutions are structured including: Colleges can offer college programs and other lower level programs; Universities can offer college, undergraduate, master and doctorate programs as assigned by the Prime Minister; Research institutes can offer doctorate programs and in cooperating with universities can offer master programs subject to permission from the Prime Minister. In the tertiary education institutes system, Vietnam has two forms: public universities and colleges which are funded by the Government and non-public institutes which including semi- State, self-funded or private universities and colleges, regarding to Decision 9/2001/QD- BGD&DT of the Ministry of Education and Training dated 28 August, year 2001. There is a fundamental difference in managerial perspective of the Government between these two sectors. The public sector has to follow strictly the regulations of the Government in tuition policies and financial aspects, according to Decree 49/2010/ND-CP of the Government dated 14 May, year 2010, while the non-public sector has more self-control. Over the past 10 years, higher education in Vietnam has experienced many changes, consisting of expansion as UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY International School of Business Le Thi Diem Ngan SERVICE CONVENIENCE AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN VIETNAMESE BANKING SECTOR MASTER OF BUSINESS Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2014 ii UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY International School of Business Le Thi Diem Ngan SERVICE CONVENIENCE AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN VIETNAMESE BANKING SECTOR ID: 22120058 Master of Business – MBUS 3.2 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Le Nguyen Hau Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2014 Abstract In this era of mature and intense competitive pressures, how to maintain current customers and attract new customers has become a critical problem for firms It is especially true in banking sector, where going along with the open market policy, many internationals banks have come to operate In this circumstance, increasing customer satisfaction has become an important strategy for many banks Besides impact of the traditional factor is service quality, there is also the impact of service convenience on customer satisfaction Purpose – The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between service convenience and customer satisfaction in Vietnamese banking sectors This study also considers the affect of each dimension of service convenience on customer satisfaction Method – Research data was collected from 201 retail banking customers A five point Likert scale was used to measure five items of service convenience – which include decision convenience, access convenience, transaction convenience, benefit convenience, post-benefit convenience; and customer satisfaction Findings – The research indicates that service convenience is the most important factor that affect to customer satisfaction in banking field Decision convenience, access convenience, performance convenience, and post- benefit convenience are four components of service convenience in Vietnamese banking sector All these components have positive impact on customer satisfaction with different intensity Post-benefit convenience has a strongest affect to customer satisfaction while decision convenience has a weakest affect in compare to others factors These effects are also different between groups of customers Research limitations – This study ignores the impact of other factors on customer satisfaction such as service quality, price … Just a specific retail retail banking customers are interviewed is another limitation of the study Practical implication – Each stage on consumption process can please customers differently Banks should pay attention to them to design services and invest resources ii CONTENTS CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research background 1.2 Research problem 1.3 Research objective 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Research scope 1.6 Structure of the thesis CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW, HYPOTHESES AND CONCEPTUAL MODEL 2.1 Theoretical background 2.1.1 Service convenience 2.1.2 Service convenience in banking industry 2.1.3 Customer satisfaction 2.1.4 The relationship between service convenience and customer satisfaction 2.2 Research model and hypotheses 10 2.2.1 Service convenience construct 10 2.2.2 Research model 13 CHAPTER RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 15 3.1 Research process 15 3.2 Measurement 16 3.2.1 Measurement of service convenience 17 3.2.2 Measurement of customer satisfaction 18 3.3 Draft questionnaire 19 3.4 Pilot study 19 3.5 Sample selection 20 3.6 Data analysis method 21 CHAPTER DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 23 4.1 Descriptive analysis 23 4.1.1 Respondents’ demographics 23 4.1.2 Descriptive statistics 24 4.2 Reliability analysis 26 iii 4.3 Testing unidimensionality 27 UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY International School of Business -Đinh Thiên Phúc FACTORS AFFECTING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ON RETAILER’S WEBSITE: A STUDY OF VIETNAM ELECTRONICS AND APPLIANCES INDUSTRY MASTER OF BUSINESS (Honours) HO CHI MINH City - Year 2015 UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY International School of Business -Đinh Thiên Phúc FACTORS AFFECTING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ON RETAILER’S WEBSITE: A STUDY OF VIETNAM ELECTRONICS AND APPLIANCES INDUSTRY ID: 22120097 MASTER OF BUSINESS (Honours) SUPERVISOR: Dr PHAM NGOC THUY HO CHI MINH City - Year 2015 i ABSTRACT Vietnam ranks 18/20 countries with the largest number of Internet users in the world, ranking eighth Asia and ranks third in Southeast Asia Online shopping is the strategic direction in 2015 of electronics and appliances retail industry This research aims to identify the influence of the website elements to customer satisfaction on electronics and appliances retailers’ websites This research will find out that specific information, care taking, general information, billing and payment are factors that affecting customer satisfaction with specific information is the most important factor Keywords: customer satisfaction, electronics and appliances, retailers’ website, online shopping ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .i TABLE OF CONTENTS ii LIST OF FIGURES iv LIST OF TABLES v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research Background 1.2 Research Problems 1.3 Research Objectives 1.4 Research Significance 1.5 Research Scope CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Theoritical Background 2.2 Customer satisfaction 10 2.3 Factors affecting customer satisfaction on retailers’ website 10 2.3.1 Website elements related to information influence on customer satisfaction .11 2.3.2 Website elements related to service influence on customer satisfaction 13 2.3.3 Website elements related to system influence on customer satisfaction .14 2.4 UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY International School of Business Le Thi Diem Ngan SERVICE CONVENIENCE AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN VIETNAMESE BANKING SECTOR MASTER OF BUSINESS Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2014 ii UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY International School of Business Le Thi Diem Ngan SERVICE CONVENIENCE AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN VIETNAMESE BANKING SECTOR ID: 22120058 Master of Business – MBUS 3.2 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Le Nguyen Hau Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2014 Abstract In this era of mature and intense competitive pressures, how to maintain current customers and attract new customers has become a critical problem for firms It is especially true in banking sector, where going along with the open market policy, many internationals banks have come to operate In this circumstance, increasing customer satisfaction has become an important strategy for many banks Besides impact of the traditional factor is service quality, there is also the impact of service convenience on customer satisfaction Purpose – The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between service convenience and customer satisfaction in Vietnamese banking sectors This study also considers the affect of each dimension of service convenience on customer satisfaction Method – Research data was collected from 201 retail banking customers A five point Likert scale was used to measure five items of service convenience – which include decision convenience, access convenience, transaction convenience, benefit convenience, post-benefit convenience; and customer satisfaction Findings – The research indicates that service convenience is the most important factor that affect to customer satisfaction in banking field Decision convenience, access convenience, performance convenience, and post- benefit convenience are four components of service convenience in Vietnamese banking sector All these components have positive impact on customer satisfaction with different intensity Post-benefit convenience has a strongest affect to customer satisfaction while decision convenience has a weakest affect in compare to others factors These effects are also different between groups of customers Research limitations – This study ignores the impact of other factors on customer satisfaction such as service quality, price … Just a specific retail retail banking customers are interviewed is another limitation of the study Practical implication – Each stage on consumption process can please customers differently Banks should pay attention to them to design services and invest resources ii CONTENTS CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research background 1.2 Research problem 1.3 Research objective 1.4 ... (2006) argued that accumulated trust will impact on overall satisfaction In terms of ecommerce, Chiu, et al (2009) proved that trust is the strongest variable that have impacts on customer satisfaction. .. information The trustful 464 TRUST AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION relationship between customer and e-vendor alliance o f information technology, financial 2000) In line with the discussion above, Jin.. .TRUST AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION above reasons motivate our work to profoundly understand the impacting factors on trust and customer satisfaction Research m odel and hypotheses