Title: The impact of after sale service and service quality on word of mouth, mediating role of customer satisfaction

Authors: Najeeb Ullah; Mustansar Hussain Ranjha; Muhammad Rehan

Addresses: Faculty of Management Sciences, Department of Business Administration, International Islamic University, P.O. Box 1243, Sector H-10, Islamabad, Pakistan ' Faculty of Management Sciences, Department of Business Administration, International Islamic University, P.O. Box 1243, Sector H-10, Islamabad, Pakistan ' Faculty of Management Sciences, Department of Business Administration, International Islamic University, P.O. Box 1243, Sector H-10, Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract: The purpose of the paper is to investigate the effect of after sale service and service quality on word of mouth as well as testing the mediating role of customer satisfaction. Data were collected through a survey among telecom users in Pakistan. Two groups were sampled: customers who have experienced good or bad customer service. After sale service and customer satisfaction effect on WOM, the customer satisfaction fully mediates between after sale service, service quality and WOM. Hence, after sale service and service quality has significantly positive impact on WOM, overall effect the quality of relationship with customers. The paper has only tested the model and hypotheses in on telecom industry. Future researchers should test the same model using different industries reflecting different customer involvement levels. From this study, service managers can learn that investing in customer service in ongoing customer relations is 'the right thing to do' as it is linked to customer equity through customers' commitment to the firm.

Keywords: after sale service; ASS; services quality; SQ; customer satisfaction; CS; word of mouth; WOM; telecom sector; TS; research project; Islamabad city; capital of Pakistan.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2018.096170

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2018 Vol.31 No.4, pp.494 - 512

Received: 13 May 2016
Accepted: 22 Dec 2016

Published online: 15 Nov 2018 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article