Express yourself everywhere you go because the power is yours: an assessment of the service quality provided by Ghana’s telecommunications industry

Date

2013-04

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Abstract

Service quality is a measure of how well the service level delivered by the company matches customer expectations. It is a major predictor of both customer satisfaction and loyalty, and it increases profitability, reduces cost, and leads to higher customer retention for the company. Increased competition in the telecommunications industry coupled with the newly introduced Mobile Number Portability system has made providing superior service quality to customers an imperative differentiation strategy. The purpose of this study therefore was to assess and identify the hypothesized gap that exists between the service quality telecommunications companies provide to its customers, and the service quality its customers expect. The data gathered from MTN and its customers via the use of questionnaires suggests that there is a gap between the service quality provided by MTN and the service quality its customers expect. Additionally, the satisfaction rate of customers stands at 65 percent; the remaining 45 percent are either dissatisfied or strongly dissatisfied with the service quality they receive. Although MTN conducts market research about consumer preferences and implements exactly what their customers want, the customers still remain dissatisfied. The service quality criteria generated by this study is meant to serve as a platform for further research into what exactly consumers want out of service quality, in order to bridge the Knowing-Doing gap.

Description

Thesis submitted to the Department of Business Administration, Ashesi University College, in partial fulfillment of Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, April 2013

Keywords

Ghana, telecommunications, service quality, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, knowing-doing gap, mobile number portability, mobile service provider, MTN

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