Measurement of service quality in banks: a comparative study between public and private banks in India

Service quality is believed to be one of the main determinants of customer satisfaction and purchase intention. However, there are very few studies that have been conducted to identify the important dimensions of service quality specific to banking sector. The present study is aimed to assess and compare the perceived level of bank service quality and to investigate the dimensions of quality banking service in private and public sector bank using an instrument banking service quality scale (BSQ) specifically designed for measuring service quality in banks. The study is based on the responses collected from 240 customers banking with private and public sector retail banks in India. The results show that the customers of public sector and private sector banks differ in terms of their service quality perceptions. Private banks are perceived to be superior on the service quality dimensions: effectiveness, access and tangibles whereas, the public sector banks score better on the dimensions of price and reliability. The study concludes that the BSQ instrument appears to be a valid instrument to measure the service quality in Indian retail banks.