Title: CouQual: assessing overall service quality in courier service industry and the moderating impact of age, gender and ethnicity

Authors: Naser Valaei; Sajad Rezaei; Milad Kalantari Shahijan

Addresses: Sunway University Business School, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia ' Taylor's Business School, Taylor's University Lakeside Campus, Subang Jaya, Malaysia ' UTM Razak School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstract: Considering the moderating impact of age, gender and ethnicity on consumer behaviour, the purpose of this study is to investigate courier service quality elements and the impact of perceived service quality on overall service quality. A total of 561 valid questionnaires were collected to empirically assess measurement and structural model using partial least square (PLS) path modelling approach. Our results imply that promptness, safety and convenience are the main contributors while accuracy and tangibility do not positively contribute to perceived service quality. In addition, perceived service quality positively influences overall service quality and ethnicity moderates overall service quality but age and gender do not moderate overall service quality. This study is among a few attempts to examine courier service quality elements in Malaysia. Contributions, practical implications and limitations are discussed.

Keywords: quality attributes; perceived service quality; overall service quality; courier services; partial least squares; PLS; demographics; moderation analysis; age; gender; ethnicity; consumer behaviour; Malaysia; promptness; safety; convenience; accuracy; tangibility.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMCP.2016.077770

International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy, 2016 Vol.9 No.2, pp.144 - 169

Received: 18 Apr 2016
Accepted: 10 May 2016
Published online: 14 Jul 2016 *

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