Internal marketing: service quality in leisure services

Yang, Hua and Coates, Nigel (2010) Internal marketing: service quality in leisure services. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 28 (6). pp. 754-769. ISSN 0263-4503

Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)

Abstract

Purpose – It has been accepted that enhancing the satisfaction of employees, especially customer-contact employees is important as they can significantly and positively influence customers' satisfaction. In order to improve satisfaction of customer contact employees – caddies in Chinese golf clubs, this paper explores the internal service quality of caddy managers' encounters with caddies from a dyadic perspective (the view of caddy managers and of caddies).

Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative multiple-case study methodology was adopted; using critical incident interviews to collect the data. In order to make sense of the data, narrative analysis is used to interpret favourable and unfavourable stories that are related by participants and why the storytellers told the stories in such a way.

Findings – Nine dimensions were found to construct the internal service quality of caddy mangers in internal service encounters between caddies and caddy managers. They are reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, communication, consideration, fairness, recognition and flexibility.

Practical implications – The outcome of this research can help the management team to better manage the internal service encounters between managers and caddies in order to improve caddies' satisfaction during service encounters. It can assist Chinese golf clubs in recruiting and training caddy managers.

Originality/value – This research extended the service quality framework to the Chinese golf industry. There have been no previous studies conducted in this sector.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	employees, production services, service quality assurance
Subjects:	N500 Marketing N900 Others in Business and Administrative studies
Department:	Faculties > Business and Law > Newcastle Business School
Depositing User:	Helen Pattison
Date Deposited:	05 Sep 2012 10:51
Last Modified:	19 Nov 2019 09:53
URI:	http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/8622

Downloads