Third-Party Payer Exchanges: The Case for an Enhanced Model of Service Quality for Nonprofit Organizations

CSR and service quality in nonprofit organizations: the case of a performing arts association

“…The current research offers some managerial implications by providing insights and stimuli especially for NPOs operating in the performing arts and entertainment sector. The sector as a whole is struggling to cope with drastic reductions in funding that threaten many organizations' existence and compel actors to adopt more customer‐oriented values (Haley & Grant, ; Hume et al , , ; Scott, ).…”

“…The literature on the perceived quality of services provided by NPOs is scant—certainly when compared with that on for‐profit organizations (Haley & Grant, )—and the few studies available to date are principally focused on people donating to charities (Haley & Grant, ; Sargeant, ; Sargeant & Woodliffe, ), whereas a few works have focused on other paying customers, that is, the individuals who pay to acquire and use the services offered by NPOs such as visitors to a museum (Bhattacharya, Rao, & Glynn, ), or the audience at a theatre (Voss, Cable, & Voss, ) or at a concert venue (Jobst & Boerner, ). In the specific context of NPOs operating in the performing arts sector, researchers have underscored how important it is to assess customer perceived service quality because of its role in predicting customer satisfaction, loyalty, and repurchase intention (Hume et al ., , ; Jobst & Boerner, ).…”

“…In recent decades, nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have struggled with persistently dwindling public funding and grants. Consequently, many NPOs have been forced to search for alternative forms of financing, which has brought them into competition with other NPOs and for‐profit organizations (Haley & Grant, ; Rentschler, Radbourne, Carr, & Rickard, ; Salamon, ). That competition has in turn forced NPOs to embrace market‐oriented business values such as competition, diversification, and customer orientation (Haley & Grant, ; Hume, Mort, Liesch, & Winzar, ; Hume, Mort, & Winzar, ; Scott, ).…”

“…Consequently, many NPOs have been forced to search for alternative forms of financing, which has brought them into competition with other NPOs and for‐profit organizations (Haley & Grant, ; Rentschler, Radbourne, Carr, & Rickard, ; Salamon, ). That competition has in turn forced NPOs to embrace market‐oriented business values such as competition, diversification, and customer orientation (Haley & Grant, ; Hume, Mort, Liesch, & Winzar, ; Hume, Mort, & Winzar, ; Scott, ). As a result, the ability to attract and maintain paying customers (Bennett & Barkensjo, ; LeRoux & Wright, )—identified as private donors, users of services, and purchasers of services and goods—is becoming a primary challenge for many NPOs (Sargeant, ).…”

“…In this emergent market scenario, NPOs need to assess and measure customers' perceptions of service quality to serve them in the best possible way and to maintain the virtuous circle of quality–satisfaction–loyalty (Bennett & Barkensjo, ; Brady & Robertson, ; Cronin & Taylor, ; Du, Bhattacharya, & Sen, ; Fornell et al , ; Gotlieb, Grewal, & Brown, ; Sargeant, ; Sargeant & Woodliffe, ). Although the way in which donors perceive quality has already been investigated in nonprofit contexts (Haley & Grant, ; Sargeant, ; Sargeant & Woodliffe, ), there are few contributions focused on other paying customers, such as visitors to exhibitions or museums, or theatre and concert audiences.…”