The Effect of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction in the Telecom Industry in Belize: A Study of Belize Telemedia Limited

This dissertation primary focus is to expand the current knowledge of service quality dimensions by the creation of a comprehensive conceptual framework of its effect on service quality on customer satisfaction and behavioural intention within the Telecom service industry. The title of this dissertation is The Effect of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction in the Telecom Industry in Belize: A study of Belize Telemedia Limited. This dissertation used a modified SERVQUAL model for the measurement of customer satisfaction and its effect on the service quality dimensions such as reliability, responsiveness, empathy, assurance, tangibles, technical quality, network quality, and image. Along with perceived performance, desires congruency and expectation disconfirmation. Telecom providers must ensure that their customers’ needs are met in order to provide the best end-to-end experience to their customers for customer retention. This dissertation comes from the expectancy-disconfirmation theory delineated by (Parasuraman et al., 1985), along with the equity theory (Oh, 2003). This doctoral research concentrated on the real-life context within a contemporary phenomenon. Examination of the conceptual model details service quality its antecedents, customer satisfaction, and behavioural intention as it relates to the telecom industry. This research is significant even though service quality and customer satisfaction have been known as being significant within the area of research in the service industry. Other studies lack the connection between desired congruency and expectations and service quality in the telecom industry. As such, this dissertation contributes to a holistic approach to connection service quality dimensions along with desired congruency and expectations disconfirmation. A survey instrument for data collection was used in this research. In addition, with the literature and conceptual framework. The conceptual framework was examined with the assistance of 619 questionnaires. The data were analyzed statistically by conducting an analysis using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using the Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) program, along with the Structural equation modelling (SEM) using SmartPls utilized to gain insight into the relationship that exists between service quality dimensions, behavioral intention, and customer satisfaction. All of the hypotheses supporting the conceptual framework were confirmed with the relationships that exist between service quality, behavioral intention, and customer satisfaction. Along with the three research questions were proven within this research. The two major constructs of service quality that were ranked high were Reliability followed by Assurance. The research also shows that regardless of the service quality provided, they will not switch from one service provider to the next. There is a positive impact between all constructs and respondents responded positively to the questionnaire.