A study using the grey system theory to evaluate the importance of various service quality factors

Abstract

Although the applications of grey system theory have been prosperous in the engineering field, there are very few applications to the management field. We argue that this theory is worthy of promotion to the management field. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to demonstrate the application of grey relation analysis, one part of the grey system theory, by analyzing the topic of service quality and customer satisfaction. Customers of the auto repair industry were chosen to find out the grey relation order of Parasuraman et al .’s ten factors. Tries to prove whether or not service quality and customer satisfaction are two different constructs. Finally, tries to verify the relative importance of technical quality and functional quality on service quality and customer satisfaction. The following is an enumeration of the important conclusions: each quality factor has a different effect upon service quality; each quality factor has a different effect upon customer satisfaction; service quality and customer satisfaction are different constructs in the minds of the consumers; technical quality and functional quality are of equal importance to service quality and customer satisfaction.