A Gap Analysis of Professional Service Quality

The authors explore the concept of professional services quality and its evaluation from both the provider and client perspectives and use gap analysis as an appropriate approach for examining the evaluation of a professional service.

Abstract

Providers of professional services recently have awakened to consumer challenges, competition, and the realities of marketing. With these changes, a related and equally important issue has emerged—service quality and evaluating the service encounter. Using medical services as the primary study setting, the authors explore the concept of professional services quality and its evaluation from both the provider and client perspectives. They use gap analysis as an appropriate approach for examining the evaluation of a professional service. The findings provide special empirical insights on the gaps that can arise from inconsistent perceptions of expectations and experiences between patients and physicians. Finally, both managerial and research implications are presented.