Analyze the influence of quality in retail banking, in particular its emergence as a source of competitive advantage in personal banking

by

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My thanks go out to all who have helped me complete this study and with whom this project may have not been possible. In particular, my gratitude goes out to friends, facilitator and family for extensive and helpful comments on early drafts. I am also deeply indebted to the authors who have shared my interest and preceded me. Their works provided me with a host of information to learn from and build upon, also served as examples to emulate.

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names & surname here], declare that this dissertation represents my own work, except where due acknowledge made, and that it has not been previously included in a thesis, dissertation or report submitted to the University or any other institution for a degree, diploma or other qualification.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

ABSTRACT

The main theme of this study is to analyze the influence of quality in retail banking, in particular its emergence as a source of competitive advantage in personal banking. Parasuraman et al. (1990) service performance gap model was used to examine the quality of service and service performance in this particular study. In the UK retail banking industry the factors of the gap of service performance and the dimensions of the quality of service can be examine by collecting the perception of both the employees of the bank and the customers. This study analyzes the difference among the perception of bankers as well as customers and then links the findings of this study with the quality of service and the service performance. This study also focus to determine the differences among the retail bank service performance within the category of government owned, privately owned, local and the foreign banks which is operated in UK. The findings of this study are quite useful to improve the service performance of UK retail banking industry.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER # 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Problem Statement3

Aim and objectives4

Research hypothesis5

Rationale of the Study5

Research Questions6

Significance of the Study6

CHAPTER # 2: LITERATURE REVIEW9

Relationship Marketing9

Models in Service Quality11

Service and Quality12

Concept of Customer Satisfaction14

Disconfirmation Theory16

Service Performance Gap Model18

The Link in Service Performance and Service Quality27

Summary28

CHAPTER # 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY30

Research design30

Measurable Variables31

Independent Variables31

Teamwork31

Employee-Job Fit32

Technology-Job Fit32

Perceived Control33

Dependent Variables33

Customers Perceived Specification33

Bankers' Perceived Specification34

Sample35

Setting36

Instrumentation/Measures36

Data Collection37

Data Analysis38

Validity and Reliability38

Validity39

Reliability39

CHAPTER # 4: RESEARCH FINDINGS40

Introduction40

Questionnaire Analysis41

Analyses Related to Research Question57

Research question 157

Hypothesis Testing58

Summary59

CHAPTER # 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION61

Discussion on Research Question61

Conclusion62

REFERENCES64

APPENDIX71

Questionnaire71

CHAPTER # 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The banking industry has increasingly become crucial to the development of the global economy. For this reason, over the last two decades, the governments of developing economies have deregulated their banking sectors to incentivize the entry of foreign banks in anticipation it will ignite accelerated economic development by enhancing local competition, reducing interest rates, and bringing a variety of quality services to customers. In addition, in developing economies where there is normally less developed financial intermediation, banks serve as crucial financial agents (Karjaluoto 2002 ...