Measuring quality perception of public services: customer-oriented approach

Abstract

The focus of this research is on assessing the perception of public service quality through a customer-centred approach. Public service quality comprises multiple factors that are prioritised differently by customers. Therefore, the study aims to conduct a literature review to identify the primary quality dimensions of public services and evaluate the heterogeneity of their perception within the context of Lithuania. The research measures the user perceptions of public service quality. The literature review allowed for identifying service quality indicators and grouping them into dimensions based on unifying characteristics. Such identification of service quality dimensions grounded the research methodology. An adapted SERVQUAL model was used to analyse data collected by a survey to interview customers of Lithuanian public service organisations. Logit and probit models were applied to examine the effect of socio-demographic characteristics and the type of service on customer perceptions of different quality aspects of the provided public services. Explored heterogeneity of attitudes and detailed analysis of socio-demographic factors revealed that women with higher education are the most satisfied users of public services, while less educated men usually have a negative attitude towards the quality of public services. The study confirmed that marital status and income level are not related to customer satisfaction with service quality. Although gender, age, family size, education level, and employment status explain heterogeneity in customer satisfaction, they still account for only a small amount of variance compared to the place of residence and type of service. The study is a significant contribution to the field of service engineering as it introduces a systematic approach to the development of service quality, incorporating models and methods that enable the assessment of service quality and efficiency. The literature review has identified several research gaps related to public service quality, including a lack of research on general public services and areas such as tourism, real estate management, fire protection and rescue.

PUBLICSERV: Quality assessment scale for public services

“…Recently, Butkus et al (2023), in a specific study for the context of public services, found that (1) there is no unified, systematic, and standardized approach to evaluating the quality of public services;…”

“…Furthermore, in several attempts to apply SERVQUAL or SERV-PERF to the public service context, the need for adaptation and creation of items is clearly observed (Akdere et al, 2020;Butkus et al, 2023;Dung, 2021;Jou et al, 2023;Maagi & Mwakalobo, 2023;Moura e Sá et al, 2021;Sharma & Al Sinawi, 2021;Sohail & Hasan, 2021). Some examples among the various proposed indicators are those related to transparency (Lim & Lee, 2021;López-Lemus, 2023;Tanny & Zafarullah, 2023;Witesman et al, 2022), doing the right thing for the country (Ali AlShehail et al, 2022;Bucaite Vilke & Vilkas, 2018;Chien & Thanh, 2022;López-Lemus, 2023;Tanny & Zafarullah, 2023), and civil servants' ethics and capacity (Chien & Thanh, 2022;López-Lemus, 2023;Tanny & Zafarullah, 2023).…”

“…Recently, Butkus et al (2023), in a specific study for the context of public services, found that (1) there is no unified, systematic, and standardized approach to evaluating the quality of public services; (2) the 5‐component SERVQUAL model is insufficient to assess the quality of public services; (3) standardized approaches to quality assessment are inadequate, requiring the construction of an individualized approach; and (4) variations in the quality of public services in different sectors and sociodemographic groups indicate the need to develop models that meet the specific needs and preferences of users.…”