The vast majority of Malaysian air passenger have competitive choices among airlines and different service options. Customer satisfaction is what guarantees the survival of airlines and it is achievable only by matching the passengers needs with the services. Assessment of service quality and its subsequent management is of utmost importance for them to be competitive and successful in this industry. Thus, the purpose of this study was set to determine the relationship between service quality (SERVQUAL) and customer satisfaction of Malaysian air passenger. An adopted SERVQUAL instrument including five service quality constructs: empathy, tangibles, responsiveness, reliability and assurance were employed to measure the passengers perceptions about the service quality of airlines. Data were collected from 187 respondents using convenience sampling. The outcome of multiple regression analysis showed that responsiveness, reliability and assurance have a positive significant impact on customer satisfaction. However, empathy and tangible variables recorded an insignificant relationship with customer satisfaction. Conclusion and recommendation were discussed.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Keywords: service quality, customer satisfaction, air passenge

Erfani Abd Ghani, A

Halim Mahphoth, M

Ismail, S

Koe, W-L

Krishnan, R

English

KnE Publishing Platform

ICE-BEES 2018International Conference on Economics, Business and Economic Education 2018Volume 2018Conference PaperAn Empirical Study of Service Quality andCustomer Satisfaction of Malaysian AirPassengerMohdHalimMahphoth,Wei-LoonKoe, RameshKrishnan, Alia Erfani AbdGhaniand Shafinar IsmailFaculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Melaka City Campus, 75300Melaka, MalaysiaAbstractThe vast majority of Malaysian air passenger have competitive choices amongairlines and different service options. Customer satisfaction is what guarantees thesurvival of airlines and it is achievable only by matching the passengers needswith the services. Assessment of service quality and its subsequent managementis of utmost importance for them to be competitive and successful in this industry.Thus, the purpose of this study was set to determine the relationship betweenservice quality (SERVQUAL) and customer satisfaction of Malaysian air passenger.An adopted SERVQUAL instrument including five service quality constructs: empathy,tangibles, responsiveness, reliability and assurance were employed to measure thepassengers perceptions about the service quality of airlines. Data were collected from187 respondents using convenience sampling. The outcome of multiple regressionanalysis showed that responsiveness, reliability and assurance have a positivesignificant impact on customer satisfaction. However, empathy and tangible variablesrecorded an insignificant relationship with customer satisfaction. Conclusion andrecommendation were discussed.Keywords: service quality, customer satisfaction, air passenger1. IntroductionTravel and tourism is an important economic activity and key sources of income inmostcountries around the world [1]. As more domestic and foreign tourist travelled abroadand low-cost carriers provided more flights on international routes, a total of 8.99 mil-lion air passenger travelled through the airports in Malaysia was recorded in December2017, compared with 8.89 million in 2016 [2]. As the number of air passenger traffichas grown significantly in Malaysia has caused the competition in the country’s airlinemarket, therefore, each flight operator has to offer high service quality to passengerHow to cite this article: Mohd Halim Mahphoth, Wei-Loon Koe, Ramesh Krishnan, Alia Erfani Abd Ghani and Shafinar Ismail, (2018), “An EmpiricalStudy of Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction of Malaysian Air Passenger” in International Conference on Economics, Business and EconomicEducation 2018, KnE Social Sciences, pages 1106–1115. DOI 10.18502/kss.v3i10.3196Page 1106Corresponding Author:Mohd Halim Mahphothmohdhalim282@bdrmelaka.uitm.edu.myReceived: 7 August 2018Accepted: 15 September 2018Published: 22 October 2018Publishing services provided byKnowledge EMohd Halim Mahphothet al. This article is distributedunder the terms of the CreativeCommons Attribution License,which permits unrestricted useand redistribution provided thatthe original author and sourceare credited.Selection and Peer-reviewunder the responsibility of theICE-BEES 2018 ConferenceCommittee.ICE-BEES 2018so as to strive for bigger market identification and survival in airline industry [3]. Thus,this research investigates service quality elements towards customer satisfaction ofMalaysian air passengers.2. Literature ReviewMarketing literature has emphasized that every airline organization has to focus onthe airline service quality in order to increase the level of passenger satisfaction [4].Previous study has defined customer satisfaction as the service or product that meetcustomers’ desires with the customers’ evaluation on the consumption or purchasesexperience [5]. Moreover, the customer satisfaction level with a service or product thatcustomer purchase is viewed based on theworth of the benefits that they received andthe overall interaction of the customers with the organization which is by customersown subjective evaluation [6]. Moreover, [7] stated that the customers will have theintention to repeat purchase if only they are satisfied with the product or service.The dimension of service quality have also been debated in the literature. Forinstance, [8] proposed two critical dimensions of service quality which are techni-cal and functional. The technical refer to the tangible aspects of service deliverywhile functional refer to the expressive performance of the services. In contrast,[9] presented a ten dimensions including understanding the customers, tangible,access, reliability, communication, credibility, responsiveness, security, competence,and courtesy. However, after they reviewed their model, the ten dimension hadbeen reduced to five dimension which namely, empathy, tangibles, responsiveness,reliability, and assurance, which broadly used in numerous organization and was nameSERVQUAL [10]. The SERVQUAL scale has been widely applied by both academics andpractitioners across industries in diverse countries [11]. It provides a comprehensivemeasurement scale for perceived service quality and has practical implications [12].Not only that, [13] developed a three-component dimensional model and decidedthat the service environment, service product which is technical quality, and servicedelivery which is functional quality acted as critical dimensions in service quality. Con-sequently, [14] propose models of service quality elements that are focused on airlineindustry. On the other hand, model represented by [14] have categorized airline servicequality into three aspects which are timeliness, safety, and price.DOI 10.18502/kss.v3i10.3196 Page 1107ICE-BEES 2018Thus, this paper will employed [10] on service quality dimensions model SERVQUALnamely empathy, tangible, responsiveness, reliability, and assurance which con-structed with customer satisfaction as illustrated in Figure 1.Figure 1: Theoretical framework of the study.3. FindingsThis section showed the result of data analyzed using quantitativemethod. It is dividedinto three major sections namely demographic profile, reliability analysis and hypoth-esis testing. Results of the analysis illustrated the list of findings on relationship of ser-vice quality towards customer satisfaction of Malaysian air passenger. By running thedata through SPSS version 20, mean value of each of variables indicated the responseof air passenger on service quality. Correlation and multiple regression analysis wereused on variables in order to test the listed hypotheses.Respondents were sampled as they were experienced using inbound and outboundof Malaysian airlines. Their feedback on each of questions recorded in questionnairebooklet. They were also engaged in respond of their views on satisfaction and servicequality provided by the airlines. Thus, their data to the issues raised in the givenquestionnaires have credibility for analysis.A total of 187 respondents replied the questionnaires in a complete feedbackthrough convenient sampling. The demographic characteristics of the respondentsare shown in Table 1.DOI 10.18502/kss.v3i10.3196 Page 1108ICE-BEES 20183.1. Demographic information of air passengerT 1: Demographic information of air passenger.Variables Item(s) %Frequency using airlines from/toMalaysia1- 2 times 48.73 - 4 times 22.55 - 6 times 10.77 times and more 18.2Purpose of using airlines Academic 23.0Business 5.9Holiday 61.0Others 10.2Numbers of air passenger were selected to response their satisfaction on servicequality in the airlines. Most of the passenger were experienced from one to two timesof using airlines service inbound/ outbound Malaysia (48.7%), followed by passengerusing three to four times (22.5%) and seven times andmore (18.2%). The least respon-dents came from passenger using five to six times, which represented by 10.7%.Most of the air passenger (61.0%) reported holiday as their purpose of using airlines,whereas 23.0% of the passenger responded for academic purposes. Balanced 10.2%and 5.9% of the passenger stated using airlines for others and business purposesrespectively.3.2. Reliability analysisTo address reliability, Cronbach’s Alpha were calculated for each independent anddependant variable. This test was applied to verify consistency of variables beforeproceed to further analysis.As shown in Table 2, all three variables achieved score above 0.7 for their Cron-bach’s Alpha with the highest value represented by Customer Satisfaction (0.90) fordependent variable and Assurance (0.86) for independent variable. This followed byResponsiveness variable results 0.85, Empathy (0.84) and Reliability (0.82). Tangiblevariable (0.78) was the lowest among all variables. In conclusion, all variables abovewere reliable and proceeded to hypothesis testing.DOI 10.18502/kss.v3i10.3196 Page 1109ICE-BEES 2018T 2: Reliability analysis.Variables RealibilityCoefficient AlphaMean StandardDeviationIndependent VariableEmpathy 0.84 3.69 0.65Tangible 0.78 3.93 0.64Responsiveness 0.85 3.85 0.61Reliability 0.82 3.67 0.62Assurance 0.86 3.88 0.62Dependent VariableCustomer Satisfaction 0.90 3.99 0.653.3. Hypotheses testingBased on the framework of this study, five hypotheses were proposed. Each hypoth-esis was reiterated below and then the result of statistical analysis for testing themwere reported. All hypotheses were tested by using correlation analysis and multiplelinear regression analysis.3.4. Correlation analysisA correlation coefficient measured the strength of a linear between two variables. Inthis study, a Pearson correlation coefficient measured the strength of a linear betweenthe Customer Satisfaction and five service quality dimensions (Empathy, Tangible,Responsiveness, Reliability and Assurance). From Table 3, the correlation betweenoverall independent and dependant variables were positive and significant at 0.01level (2-tailed), with all values represented in between of 0.6 to 0.8, which meansmoderately strong association. The highest association represented by Assurance, thecorrelation was 0.741 (p=0.000) followed by Responsiveness (r=0.710, p=0.000) andReliability (r=0.701, p=0.000). Tangible and Empathy resulted r value below 0.7, withvalue (r=0.633, p=0.000) and (r=0.627, p=0.000) respectively. Therefore, the studyindicated that therewere associations among service quality dimensions and customersatisfaction of Malaysian air passenger.DOI 10.18502/kss.v3i10.3196 Page 1110ICE-BEES 2018T 3: Correlation among service quality dimensions and customer satisfaction of Malaysian airpassenger.Service QualityDimensionsCustomerSatisfactionEmpathy 0.627**Tangible 0.633**Responsiveness 0.710**Reliability 0.701**Assurance 0.741**3.5. Multiple Linear Regression AnalysisMultiple linear regression analysis is a statistical analysis that used to examine rela-tionship between independent variables and a dependent variable. There were fivehypotheses tested, namely;H1: There is a relationship between empathy towards customer satisfaction ofMalaysian air passenger.H2: There is a relationship between tangible towards customer satisfaction of Malaysianair passenger.H3: There is a relationship between responsiveness towards customer satisfaction ofMalaysian air passenger.H4: There is a relationship between reliability towards customer satisfaction ofMalaysian air passenger.H5: There is a relationship between assurance towards customer satisfaction ofMalaysian air passenger.In this standard multiple linear regression analysis, enter method was applied totest relationship between Customer Satisfaction, which is considered as aggregatedvariable when Empathy, Tangible, Responsiveness, Reliability and Assurance act asindependent variables. As a result in Table 4, the independent variables (Empathy,Tangible, Responsiveness, Reliability and Assurance) explained 63.6% of the total vari-ances in the dependent variable (Customer Satisfaction) with R-Square 0.636. Thus, therelationship between Service Quality Dimensions towards Customer Satisfaction wasstrong.DOI 10.18502/kss.v3i10.3196 Page 1111ICE-BEES 2018T 4: Relationship between service quality dimensions towards customer satisfaction of Malaysian airpassenger.Dimensions B Beta Sig.Empathy 0.114 0.114 0.085Tangible 0.106 0.105 0.117Responsiveness 0.200 0.190 0.019*Reliability 0.173 0.165 0.036*Assurance 0.347 0.334 0.000**R-Square 0.636R-Square 0.636 ∗∗ significantAdjusted R-Square 0.626 p < 0.010Method: Enter ∗ significantp < 0.050Three dimensions emerged as significant factors in explaining the Customer Satis-faction with Assurance received p-value of 0.000 reported as highly, positively andsignificantly related to the dependant variable at 1% level of significant. The othersignificant factors were Responsiveness and Reliability which showed significant at5% level of significant. However, Empathy and Tangible showed insignificant towardscustomer satisfaction. Thus, this findings fail to reject H3, H4 and H5 of the study.Otherwise, H1 and H2 were rejected.4. Conclusion and RecommendationBased on the study, it can be concluded that there are three independent variables hadrelationship with customer satisfaction of air passengers which are responsiveness,reliability, and assurance. The other independent variables which are empathy andtangible have no significant relationship with satisfaction of air passengers.As for recommendation, firstly, employee’s skills need to be enhanced. Airlineoperators are responsible in deciding what type of training need to be given totheir employees. By this way, employers know they have responsibility for providingquality in their service, no matter their role in the company. Furthermore, all of theemployees should involve in service quality seminar, online, or in person, as a part of aperformance improvement requirement. Besides, employers should organize trainingsessions that target specific issue such as how to interact with the passengers in theflight or at the counter. For instance, training session can be targeted on the serviceimprovement during the operations, like the flight attendant should be polite, act quickand prompt service, always smile to customer, and have knowledge. Not only that,DOI 10.18502/kss.v3i10.3196 Page 1112ICE-BEES 2018they have to train employees to see the connection between their actions and, morebroadly, their work ethic, and the airline’s overall performance.Secondly, airlines should improve the quality of food and beverage that is servedto air passengers. The food should be properly prepared and the service should beprompt and courteous. The food and beverages should fulfil the specifications. Thisis because the customer expects the food to be what is promised on the menu, tobe cooked and prepared properly, to be clean and to have the correct flavour. This isconsidered as quality food. Therefore, it is a good quality of food and beverage if it isconsistent with what is advertised.Thirdly, the airlines should constantly measure, monitor and improve their in-flightentertainment. Service quality can be improved if they take passenger enjoyment seri-ously. Passengers will enjoy if the in-flight entertainment is improved. For instances,airlines should provide more regional and international movies, famous TV shows,video games, music, and magazine to suit every mood and taste. The movies, TVshows, music, and magazine should be covered from all genre because every cus-tomer have their own taste and preferences. This will directly increase passengers’satisfaction as they can choose what they favour the most. Besides, passengers canplay a variety of games and even linking up with other customers in the same flight.Additionally, the airlines should improve the in-flight entertainment by providing newstreaming in-flight entertainment (Wi-Fi). This is for customers who favours to watchmovies, listen to music, or play games through their own smartphone, tablet or laptop.This in-flight entertainment is a very important especially for a long haul flight.By this way, airlines can gaining consumer, retaining consumer, and gaining profit.By having a high quality in-flight entertainment, it make the airline more desirable.Thus, this will help bring in new passengers and retain the existing passengers as thelevel of satisfaction increase due to high quality of services.AcknowledgmentsThe authors would like to thank the management of Universiti Teknologi MARA,Melaka City Campus for their support in making this project possible.DOI 10.18502/kss.v3i10.3196 Page 1113ICE-BEES 2018References[1] World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). (2017). Travel and Tourism: GlobalEconomic Impact and Issues, 2017. Retrieved 14 July, 2018, from https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic-impact...2017/world2017.pdf[2] Theedgemarketscom. (2017), Theedgemarketscom. Retrieved 14 July, 2018,from http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/malaysian-air-passenger-traffic-4-march-says-mahb[3] Wang, R., Lin, Y. H., & Tseng, M. L. (2011). Evaluation of Customer Perceptions OnAirline Service Quality in Uncertainty. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol.25, pp. 419-437.[4] Kalaiarasan, K., Appannan, S., & Doraisamy, B. (2015). A Study on Service Quality onCustomer Satisfaction in Low Cost Airline Industries. International Journal of Science,Environment and Technology, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 1126-1138.[5] Chen, Y. H., Tseng, M. L., & Lin, R. J. (2011). Evaluating The Customer Perceptions onIn-Flight Service Quality. African Journal of Business Management, vol. 5, no. 7, pp.2854-2864.[6] Szczepańska, K., & Gawron, P. (2011). Loyalty Programs Effectiveness. Foundationsof Management, vol. 3, no.2, pp. 89-102.[7] Zekiri, J. (2011). Applying Servqual Model And Factor Analysis in Assessing CustomerSatisfaction with Service Quality: The Case of Mobile Telecommunications inMacedonia. International Bulletin of Business Administration, vol.11, pp. 86-101.[8] Grönroos, C. (1982). An Applied Service Marketing Theory. European Journal ofMarketing, vol. 16, no.7, pp. 30-41.[9] Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1985). A Conceptual Model of ServiceQuality And Its Implications For Future Research. The Journal of Marketing, pp. 41-50.[10] Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality. Journal ofRetailing, vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 12.[11] Ali, F., Khan, A. S., & Rehman, F. A. M. S. (2012). An Assessment of The ServiceQuality Using Gap Analysis: A Study Conducted at Chitral, Pakistan. InterdisciplinaryJournal Of Contemporary Research In Business, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 259-266.[12] Rust, R. T., & Verhoef, P. C. (2005). Optimizing The Marketing Interventions Mix inIntermediate-Term CRM. Marketing Science, vol. 24, no. 3, 477-489.DOI 10.18502/kss.v3i10.3196 Page 1114ICE-BEES 2018[13] Oliver, R. L. (1994). Conceptual Issues in The Structural Analysis of ConsumptionEmotion, Satisfaction, and Quality: Evidence in a Service Setting. Advances inConsumer Research, Vol. 21, pp. 16-22.[14] Gourdin, K. N. (1988). Bringing Quality Back to Commercial Air Travel. TransportationJournal, pp. 23-29.DOI 10.18502/kss.v3i10.3196 Page 1115

An Empirical Study of Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction of Malaysian Air Passenger

Mahphoth, M. H. (M)

Koe, W. (W-L)

Krishnan, R. (R)

Ghani, A. E. (A)

Ismail, S. (S)

Neliti

https://www.neliti.com/publications/510722/an-empirical-study-of-service-quality-and-customer-satisfaction-of-malaysian-air

An Empirical Study of Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction of Malaysian Air Passenger

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

KnE Publishing Platform

Neliti