Title: Improving service excellence on passenger ships in Indonesia

Authors: Adenanthera L. Dewa; Izza Mafruhah; Nugroho S.B. Maria; Mudjahirin Thohir; Indah Susilowati

Addresses: Faculty of Economics and Business, Diponegoro University, Semarang, 50241, Indonesia ' Faculty of Economics and Business, SebelasMaret University, 57126, Indonesia ' Faculty of Economics and Business, Diponegoro University, Semarang, 50241, Indonesia ' Faculty of Humanities, Diponegoro University, Semarang, 50241, Indonesia ' Faculty of Economics and Business, Diponegoro University, Semarang, 50241, Indonesia

Abstract: This study aims to 1) analyse ship passengers' profiles and their perceptions of service excellence from sea transportation services; 2) analyse the efficiency of passenger ship routes; and 3) measure willingness to accept (WTA) of ship passengers. This research uses sequential mixed methods with ATLAS.ti, data envelopment analysis (DEA) and WTA as the analytical instruments. The results show that the majority of ship passengers were from low economic groups, who chose sea transportation for their convenience and facilities. DEA calculations show that six ship routes were efficient whereas the other 14 routes were inefficient. WTA of multimodal users reached 14.3%. It can be concluded that the improvement of service excellence for ship passengers is highly dependent on passenger profiles, ship service and facilities, ship efficiency and affordable ticket prices.

Keywords: service excellence; sea transportation; WTA; willingness to accept; DEA; data envelopment analysis; ATLAS.ti.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTGM.2019.100345

International Journal of Trade and Global Markets, 2019 Vol.12 No.2, pp.130 - 145

Received: 14 Aug 2018
Accepted: 23 Nov 2018

Published online: 26 Jun 2019 *

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