FACTORS INFLUENCING SERVICE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN THE NIGERIAN BANKING SECTOR: A DISCOURSE

Abstract

Service quality standardization and improvement are necessary in attracting and retaining profitable bank customers. However, bank service quality is not only a function of SERVQUAL as commonly argued in service marketing literature, but of other organizational and environmental forces yet to be accorded rightful academic discourse. Thus, this paper is devoted to discussing forces other than SERVQUAL that can influence service quality of bank offerings. This conceptual paper was written through library research rather than field research. The study identified eleven forces that could influence service quality of bank offerings, namely government regulations, customer expectations/needs, customers’ purchasing power, competition, companies’ financial capacity, company’s marketing orientation, staff training and development, level of research and development support, extent of technological adoption, economic condition, and SERVQUAL/SERVPERF survey.