Impact of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction in Islamic Banks of Qatar

Abstract

Setting a consistent norm to satisfy consumers is incredibly challenging in the service sector. As customers become increasingly aware of the services banks provide, their expectations f or service quality rise as well. Due to the specialization of services, customers are loyal to a particular company rather than a particular service, making it difficult to retain customers (Milan, 2004). Customer satisfaction is the basis for ensuring customer loyalty, which in turn ensures future customer retention (Đukić & Kijevčanin, 2012). In the banking sector, evaluating a bank's performance is highly dependent on the quality of its services. Therefore, this research aims to study the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction in Islamic banks of Qatar using the CARTER model. A structured questionnaire is the survey method adopted to collect the data. The data will be analyzed using SPSS software to test the hypothesis about the association of each variable. Data were collected from 162 respondents of five Islamic banks in Qatar. The findings revealed that only two of the components of CARTER, assurance, and responsiveness, proved to be positive and significant and four of the other components, i.e., compliance, tangibles, empathy, and reliability were positive but insignificant to customer satisfaction. The findings of this study will lead to a better understanding of the areas of emphasis for the provision of high-quality service by Islamic banks in Qatar.