Service Quality and Passenger Satisfaction in Air Transportation in a Developing Economy: Evidence from Nigeria

This study investigates the quality of service provided for air travel in Nigeria and the level of satisfaction of passengers with the service encountered. It does so by focusing on both the airports and the airlines as service providers. In that way, the study captures much of the effects of the organizational culture, employee behavior, and general norms which influence passenger attitudes. The SERVQUAL model was used in measuring the five dimensions of service. Domestic travel only was studied, with data obtained from well-structured questionnaires to evaluate perception–expectation gaps in airports as well as in airlines. The overall gap score of the Nigerian airports shows an average airport quality of service with a value of 21.8179. This reveals that the perceived service quality is less than passengers’ expectations in Nigerian airport service operations. In the same vein, the gap score of the Nigerian airlines shows an average airline quality-of-service gap with a value of 21.32, which is generally low. This means that the passengers or customers of the airlines during the response period were expecting more service quality from the airlines in the country. The level of service at Nigerian airports needs to be improved so as to encourage passengers to use the airports and as well reduce many queues at baggage collection areas. The air travel industry is currently challenged in a recessed economy resulting in lower service standards, lower patronage, increased missed trips, flight cancellations, passenger complaints, and faltering loyalty. The findings of the study will, therefore, be useful to the managers of airports and airlines, the economic regulator of the aviation industry, and other stakeholders

AWARENESS, ADOPTION AND PERCEPTION OF WHATSAPP CUSTOMER SERVICE CHATBOTS IN THE BANKING SECTOR: PERSPECTIVES FROM UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

In an attempt to accentuate the role of chatbots in customer service, this study investigates awareness, use, and perceived usefulness of WhatsApp chatbots in banking operations and their performance outcome. The study participants consisted of 362 undergraduate students purposively selected from three tertiary institutions in Lagos state, Nigeria. Results of the cross-sectional survey suggested inadequate awareness and little usage of WhatsApp chatbot services among the study population. Specifically, there is a widespread negative perception of WhatsApp chatbot as a viable alternative to traditional customer service delivery. This was reflected in the low level of perceived usefulness of the chatbots (50%). These results raise concerns over human resources, time, and cost reduction in banking operations through digital customer service. Based on these findings, we recommend a substantial public awareness campaign to educate existing and potential customers about the existence and the benefits of using chatbot/virtual customer assistants and incentives as motivation for the customers to use the virtual customer support option

Estimation of inter-city travel demand for public road transport in Nigeria

This research develops an urban travel demand model for 19 directional O-D city-pair from Owerri Urban. Using revealed preference data from the period of 2014 to 2016 operated by sixteen transport companies in Owerri, Imo State. Other empirical findings include that; overall fares elasticities are low, so that increases in fare levels will almost always lead to increases in revenue. An empirical model to assess the viability of intercity passenger transport operation in Nigeria was formulated. This study will help the operators in business to do a sensitivity analysis based of changes in the intercity passenger travel markets in Nigeria

ANALYSIS OF DETERMINANTS OF AIRLINES PRODUCTIVITY IN NIGERIA DOMESTIC NETWORK

This study set out to ascertain the determinants of the productivity of the Nigerian airline industry. The study superficially examined the extent of these determinant factors on airline productivity. In the study, quantitative techniques such as one simple t-test and Friedman’s rank test and were employed. The data used in the study were both secondary and primary data collected from the airline employees and customers (passengers) in selected airlines of MMA and Port Harcourt International airport in Nigeria, using structured questionnaires and oral interviews. The critical factor affecting airline productivity in Nigeria is Sincere and responsive attitude to passenger complaints, with a mean rank of 26.79. This is closely followed by Age of aircraft, with a mean rank of 26.09, and Technical qualities/success to complete a trip, with a mean rank of 24.68. The least factor in order of importance is prompt response of employees of the airline to your request or complaints, with a mean rank of 13.74. Hence certain factors are more critical to airline productivity in Nigeria

How family caregivers of persons with advanced cancer assist with upstream healthcare decision-making: A qualitative study.

AimsNumerous healthcare decisions are faced by persons with advanced cancer from diagnosis to end-of-life. The family caregiver role in these decisions has focused on being a surrogate decision-maker, however, little is known about the caregiver's role in supporting upstream patient decision-making. We aimed to describe the roles of family caregivers in assisting community-dwelling advanced cancer patients with healthcare decision-making across settings and contexts.MethodsQualitative study using one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with community-dwelling persons with metastatic cancer (n = 18) and their family caregivers (n = 20) recruited from outpatient oncology clinics of a large tertiary care academic medical center, between October 2016 and October 2017. Transcribed interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach.FindingsCaregivers averaged 56 years and were mostly female (95%), white (85%), and the patient's partner/spouse (70%). Patients averaged 58 years and were mostly male (67%) in self-reported "fair" or "poor" health (50%) with genitourinary (33%), lung (17%), and hematologic (17%) cancers. Themes describing family member roles in supporting patients' upstream healthcare decision-making were: 1) seeking information about the cancer, its trajectory, and treatments options; 2) ensuring family and healthcare clinicians have a common understanding of the patient's treatment plan and condition; 3) facilitating discussions with patients about their values and the framing of their illness; 5) posing "what if" scenarios about current and potential future health states and treatments; 6) addressing collateral decisions (e.g., work arrangements) resulting from medical treatment choices; 6) originating healthcare-related decision points, including decisions about seeking emergency care; and 7) making healthcare decisions for patients who preferred to delegate healthcare decisions to their family caregivers.ConclusionsThese findings highlight a previously unreported and understudied set of critical decision partnering roles that cancer family caregivers play in patient healthcare decision-making. Optimizing these roles may represent novel targets for early decision support interventions for family caregivers