[Service Quality in Cruise Industry]

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Abstract

The services marketing literature focuses on the measurement of service quality and its impact and consequences on businesses. How service quality affects behavioural outcomes such as repeat purchases and loyalty continues to be debated. This study examines how service quality operates in the cruise liner industry, an industry that is now facing overcapacity. Based on data collected from travellers of a luxury cruise liner in Singapore, this study analysed relevant dimensions of service quality and their relationships on overall satisfaction level. Additionally, it investigated details of cruise travellers' behavioural outcomes. The analysis revealed gaps in several service quality attributes. Overall customer satisfaction had a relatively strong relationship with all the three variables of behavioural intentions.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction3

Introduction3

Cruise Industry4

Research Problem6

Chapter 2: Literature Review8

Service quality8

Customer Satisfaction11

Service quality in the hospitality and tourism industry12

Policy Communities in the Cruise Ship Industry14

Environmental Policy-making in the Cruise Ship Industry15

Cruise Ship Discharges16

Environmental Effects of Sewage17

Chapter 3: Methodology17

Measures19

Sample20

References22

Chapter 1: Introduction

Introduction

The management buzzword “quality” continues to be in the limelight. The last decade has witnessed the emergence of a wide variety of academic concepts on quality such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Service Quality, Relationship Marketing, and Total Quality Control (TQC). A characteristic feature of all these programs is that they are customer focused, and the satisfaction and loyalty created as a result offer a potential competitive advantage for the firm.

Superiority of the offering depends on customer's perception of service quality and not on the product's technical excellence or the service provider's perception of the offering. There is a general convergence of findings that delivering customer quality and value are fundamental bases of marketing activities and an effective source of competitive advantage (Back, 2003, 419). Enhancing service quality has a potentially enormous impact on profitability, through reducing an organisation's operating cost and improving its market position. Service quality is increasingly being embraced as the strategy for organisations to position themselves in the marketplace (Bojanic 1996, 22).

Over the last two decades, the cruise liner industry has evolved dramatically. The transformation of the industry began in the 1970s when vacationers began to appreciate the relaxing experience of an ocean cruise in contrast to inconveniences and hurriedness of air travel (Buzzel, 1991, 27). A new generation of vessels has appeared in the last decade that seeks to make cruise ships more like “floating cities”. Cruise liner companies are desperately trying to understand how to differentiate their offering so as to compete more profitably as capacity continues to increase. Marketing and financial experts assert that hospitality operations such as cruise liners should rely on factors such as service quality in addition to competing on price. For example, Cranage (2004, 3) argued that the hospitality industry in general should concentrate on improving their products and services in order to create a competitive advantage.

Service providers are keen to maximise favourable customer intentions particularly customer loyalty. Considerable emphasis has focused on the impact of service quality in determining repeat purchase and customer loyalty (Back, 2005; Cranage & Sujan, 2004; ...