Alternative Measures Of Bank Service Quality: An Extended Review

The main purpose of this paper is to review the literature on bank service quality (hereafter SQ) measurement instruments and present a critical appraisal of the methodological process undertaken by researchers in their endeavour to develop new SQ scales for the banking context. This paper identifies and examines 36 SQ scales designed to measure either traditional or electronic banking (hereafter e-banking) SQ. The scales are thoroughly analysed with the objective to underline similarities and differences between them related both to conceptual issues and methodological approach. The review confirms that The North American School of Thought perspective on SQ provides a framework for new scale development in the banking industry, regardless of the nature of services (i.e. branch or e-banking services). The study further identifies bank SQ dimensions which are stable across different cultural settings but also outlines the methodological issues that might have posed dimensionality problems. This study deepens the research conducted by Ladhari (2008) in that it reviews SQ measures designed particularly for the banking context. Furthermore, the comprehensive review of traditional and e-banking SQ scales offer helpful guidance in the measurement of bank SQ both for academics and for practitioners.