D/M/15. MBA Dissertation. AN INVESTIGATION INTO SERVICE QUALITY MANAGEMENT WITHIN A UK FITNESS CLUB

The "quality" phenomenon is the source for strengthening and differentiating the offering and the organization from what is offered by the competitors. The available evidence indicates that service organizations, which adopt a strategic approach to "quality management" significantly improve their competitiveness. This study sought to explore the way managerial team of a certain UK fitness club sense their customers. The review of existing service quality literature identifies the absence of universal techniques and approaches in measuring service quality gap, particular within fitness environment. Due to the complexity of quality phenomenon and absence of empirically proven measurement tools, the phenomenological paradigm is chosen to explore the issue. The research is based on widely acknowledged gap model. The gap between consumer's expectations and management perceptions of consumer expectations is explored with the application of qualitative and quantitative techniques. The quantitative questionnaire sought to explore customer perceptions of current delivery of service and priority of various service quality categories. The qualitative element is applied in terms of triangulation of quantitative data. Besides, it provides deeper understanding of the process of customer's perceptions shaping. The results are compared and fed into performance-related matrix, which is widely used in Total Quality Management. Limitations to the study are discussed along with recommendations for future research and managerial implications.