Gestão de satisfação e fidelidade do cliente: um estudo dos fatores que afetam a satisfação e fidelidade dos compradores de automóveis

This Master s thesis presents a discussion on customer satisfaction models investigating the relations of antecedent variables service quality, price index, complaint handling, image, affective and calculative commitment, with satisfaction and loyalty. The scope of the research is the influence of service dimensions in the car buyer s satisfaction and loyalty. A sample of 91 customers was surveyed among new cars buyers of one brand in Natal city, Brazil, and the data was analyzed using multiple regression analysis. The literature review covers subjects such as customer satisfaction, management system, customer satisfaction measurement index models. The main findings suggest that satisfaction with the car brand is mainly influenced by customization of the service, time for accomplishing servicing, and the way the dealer handle complains. Regarding the dealer itself the main variable related to satisfaction is also time for accomplishing servicing. Considering customer loyalty, the customer satisfaction with the dealer explain strongly the loyalty with the brand/manufacturer. Also, the satisfaction, affective commitment and complains handling were found related to loyalty, as the stronger variables explaining the loyalty variance. One main conclusion is that service provided by dealers is one key factor influencing the customer satisfaction and loyalty in auto industry

A QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR POSITIONING WITH GNSS TECHNOLOGY

This paper presents a proposal for a Quality Management System for a generic GNSS Surveying Company as an alternative for management and service quality improvements. As a result of the increased demand for GNSS measurements, a large number of new or restructured companies were established to operate in that market. Considering that GNSS surveying is a new process, some changes must be performed in order to accommodate the old surveying techniques and the old fashioned management to the new reality. This requires a new management model that must be based on a well-described procedure sequence aiming at the Total Management Quality for the company. The proposed Quality Management System was based on the requirements of the Quality System ISO 9000:2000, applied to the whole company, focusing on the productive process of GNSS surveying work.

The variability and predictors of quality of AIDS care services in Brazil

Background: Since establishing universal free access to antiretroviral therapy in 1996, the Brazilian Health System has increased the number of centers providing HIV/AIDS outpatient care from 33 to 540. There had been no formal monitoring of the quality of these services until a survey of 336 AIDS health centers across 7 Brazilian states was undertaken in 2002. Managers of the services were asked to assess their clinics according to parameters of service inputs and service delivery processes. This report analyzes the survey results and identifies predictors of the overall quality of service delivery.Methods: The survey involved completion of a multiple-choice questionnaire comprising 107 parameters of service inputs and processes of delivering care, with responses assessed according to their likely impact on service quality using a 3-point scale. K-means clustering was used to group these services according to their scored responses. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of high service quality.Results: The questionnaire was completed by 95.8% (322) of the managers of the sites surveyed. Most sites scored about 50% of the benchmark expectation. K-means clustering analysis identified four quality levels within which services could be grouped: 76 services (24%) were classed as level 1 (best), 53 (16%) as level 2 (medium), 113 (35%) as level 3 (poor), and 80 (25%) as level 4 (very poor). Parameters of service delivery processes were more important than those relating to service inputs for determining the quality classification. Predictors of quality services included larger care sites, specialization for HIV/AIDS, and location within large municipalities.Conclusion: The survey demonstrated highly variable levels of HIV/AIDS service quality across the sites. Many sites were found to have deficiencies in the processes of service delivery processes that could benefit from quality improvement initiatives. These findings could have implications for how HIV/AIDS services are planned in Brazil to achieve quality standards, such as for where service sites should be located, their size and staffing requirements. A set of service delivery indicators has been identified that could be used for routine monitoring of HIV/AIDS service delivery for HIV/AIDS in Brazil (and potentially in other similar settings).

PMUs optimized allocation using a tabu search algorithm for fault location in electric power distribution system

Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) optimized allocation allows control, monitoring and accurate operation of electric power distribution systems, improving reliability and service quality. Good quality and considerable results are obtained for transmission systems using fault location techniques based on voltage measurements. Based on these techniques and performing PMUs optimized allocation it is possible to develop an electric power distribution system fault locator, which provides accurate results. The PMUs allocation problem presents combinatorial features related to devices number that can be allocated, and also probably places for allocation. Tabu search algorithm is the proposed technique to carry out PMUs allocation. This technique applied in a 141 buses real-life distribution urban feeder improved significantly the fault location results. © 2004 IEEE.

Avaliação da qualidade dos serviços hospitalares com a adaptação do modelo SERVQUAL em dois hospitais de Bauru - SP

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Service Innovation: the state of the art and a proposal of a research agenda

The service sector has acquired a growing importance in every country economy, which has stimulated research in the field of service innovation, a new field in management studies. This text aimed to state a research agenda upon service innovation, based on an articulated discussion of the results of several articles that compose the state of the art of this concept. 73 empirical articles were analyzed, 33% of them exploring the innovation strategies and technology; 18% of the articles describe research on economic performance and enterprise productivity; 16% are related to antecedents and determinants of innovation; another 16% about network capacity development, alliances and collaboration among organizations; 9% of the articles explore service quality, innovation taxonomy, flexible systems and regional systems of innovation; and another 8% are related to themes such as intensive knowledge, research and development. The researches were concentrated in the Engineering & Technology and Hospitality Industries, which accounted for 31% and 24% of the texts, respectively. The remaining 45% of the articles referred to sectors such as Telecommunications, Health, Retail, Financial & Insurance and Public Services. The main gaps identified in these texts refer to the difficulties on measuring service innovation, besides the small number of researches on the public sector. At the end, a research agenda in the subject is presented, including the development of a scale for orientating the innovation and identifying the determining factors of the innovation in the public environment.

Gauging food and nutritional care quality in hospitals

Background: Food and nutritional care quality must be assessed and scored, so as to improve health institution efficacy. This study aimed to detect and compare actions related to food and nutritional care quality in public and private hospitals. Methods: Investigation of the Hospital Food and Nutrition Service (HFNS) of 37 hospitals by means of structured interviews assessing two quality control corpora, namely nutritional care quality (NCQ) and hospital food service quality (FSQ). HFNS was also evaluated with respect to human resources per hospital bed and per produced meal. Results: Comparison between public and private institutions revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the number of hospital beds per HFNS staff member (p = 0.02) and per dietitian (p < 0.01). The mean compliance with NCQ criteria in public and private institutions was 51.8% and 41.6%, respectively. The percentage of public and private health institutions in conformity with FSQ criteria was 42.4% and 49.1%, respectively. Most of the actions comprising each corpus, NCQ and FSQ, varied considerably between the two types of institution. NCQ was positively influenced by hospital type (general) and presence of a clinical dietitian. FSQ was affected by institution size: large and medium-sized hospitals were significantly better than small ones. Conclusions: Food and nutritional care in hospital is still incipient, and actions concerning both nutritional care and food service take place on an irregular basis. It is clear that the design of food and nutritional care in hospital indicators is mandatory, and that guidelines for the development of actions as well as qualification and assessment of nutritional care are urgent.

High definition video quality assessment metric built upon full reference ratios

Métrica de calidad de video de alta definición construida a partir de ratios de referencia completa. La medida de calidad de video, en inglés Visual Quality Assessment (VQA), es uno de los mayores retos por solucionar en el entorno multimedia. La calidad de vídeo tiene un impacto altísimo en la percepción del usuario final (consumidor) de los servicios sustentados en la provisión de contenidos multimedia y, por tanto, factor clave en la valoración del nuevo paradigma denominado Calidad de la Experiencia, en inglés Quality of Experience (QoE). Los modelos de medida de calidad de vídeo se pueden agrupar en varias ramas según la base técnica que sustenta el sistema de medida, destacando en importancia los que emplean modelos psicovisuales orientados a reproducir las características del sistema visual humano, en inglés Human Visual System, del que toman sus siglas HVS, y los que, por el contrario, optan por una aproximación ingenieril en la que el cálculo de calidad está basado en la extracción de parámetros intrínsecos de la imagen y su comparación. A pesar de los avances recogidos en este campo en los últimos años, la investigación en métricas de calidad de vídeo, tanto en presencia de referencia (los modelos denominados de referencia completa), como en presencia de parte de ella (modelos de referencia reducida) e incluso los que trabajan en ausencia de la misma (denominados sin referencia), tiene un amplio camino de mejora y objetivos por alcanzar. Dentro de ellos, la medida de señales de alta definición, especialmente las utilizadas en las primeras etapas de la cadena de valor que son de muy alta calidad, son de especial interés por su influencia en la calidad final del servicio y no existen modelos fiables de medida en la actualidad. Esta tesis doctoral presenta un modelo de medida de calidad de referencia completa que hemos llamado PARMENIA (PArallel Ratios MEtric from iNtrInsic features Analysis), basado en la ponderación de cuatro ratios de calidad calculados a partir de características intrínsecas de la imagen. Son: El Ratio de Fidelidad, calculado mediante el gradiente morfológico o gradiente de Beucher. El Ratio de Similitud Visual, calculado mediante los puntos visualmente significativos de la imagen a través de filtrados locales de contraste. El Ratio de Nitidez, que procede de la extracción del estadístico de textura de Haralick contraste. El Ratio de Complejidad, obtenido de la definición de homogeneidad del conjunto de estadísticos de textura de Haralick PARMENIA presenta como novedad la utilización de la morfología matemática y estadísticos de Haralick como base de una métrica de medida de calidad, pues esas técnicas han estado tradicionalmente más ligadas a la teledetección y la segmentación de objetos. Además, la aproximación de la métrica como un conjunto ponderado de ratios es igualmente novedosa debido a que se alimenta de modelos de similitud estructural y otros más clásicos, basados en la perceptibilidad del error generado por la degradación de la señal asociada a la compresión. PARMENIA presenta resultados con una altísima correlación con las valoraciones MOS procedentes de las pruebas subjetivas a usuarios que se han realizado para la validación de la misma. El corpus de trabajo seleccionado procede de conjuntos de secuencias validados internacionalmente, de modo que los resultados aportados sean de la máxima calidad y el máximo rigor posible. La metodología de trabajo seguida ha consistido en la generación de un conjunto de secuencias de prueba de distintas calidades a través de la codificación con distintos escalones de cuantificación, la obtención de las valoraciones subjetivas de las mismas a través de pruebas subjetivas de calidad (basadas en la recomendación de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones BT.500), y la validación mediante el cálculo de la correlación de PARMENIA con estos valores subjetivos, cuantificada a través del coeficiente de correlación de Pearson. Una vez realizada la validación de los ratios y optimizada su influencia en la medida final y su alta correlación con la percepción, se ha realizado una segunda revisión sobre secuencias del hdtv test dataset 1 del Grupo de Expertos de Calidad de Vídeo (VQEG, Video Quality Expert Group) mostrando los resultados obtenidos sus claras ventajas. Abstract Visual Quality Assessment has been so far one of the most intriguing challenges on the media environment. Progressive evolution towards higher resolutions while increasing the quality needed (e.g. high definition and better image quality) aims to redefine models for quality measuring. Given the growing interest in multimedia services delivery, perceptual quality measurement has become a very active area of research. First, in this work, a classification of objective video quality metrics based on their underlying methodologies and approaches for measuring video quality has been introduced to sum up the state of the art. Then, this doctoral thesis describes an enhanced solution for full reference objective quality measurement based on mathematical morphology, texture features and visual similarity information that provides a normalized metric that we have called PARMENIA (PArallel Ratios MEtric from iNtrInsic features Analysis), with a high correlated MOS score. The PARMENIA metric is based on the pooling of different quality ratios that are obtained from three different approaches: Beucher’s gradient, local contrast filtering, and contrast and homogeneity Haralick’s texture features. The metric performance is excellent, and improves the current state of the art by providing a wide dynamic range that make easier to discriminate between very close quality coded sequences, especially for very high bit rates whose quality, currently, is transparent for quality metrics. PARMENIA introduces a degree of novelty against other working metrics: on the one hand, exploits the structural information variation to build the metric’s kernel, but complements the measure with texture information and a ratio of visual meaningful points that is closer to typical error sensitivity based approaches. We would like to point out that PARMENIA approach is the only metric built upon full reference ratios, and using mathematical morphology and texture features (typically used in segmentation) for quality assessment. On the other hand, it gets results with a wide dynamic range that allows measuring the quality of high definition sequences from bit rates of hundreds of Megabits (Mbps) down to typical distribution rates (5-6 Mbps), even streaming rates (1- 2 Mbps). Thus, a direct correlation between PARMENIA and MOS scores are easily constructed. PARMENIA may further enhance the number of available choices in objective quality measurement, especially for very high quality HD materials. All this results come from validation that has been achieved through internationally validated datasets on which subjective tests based on ITU-T BT.500 methodology have been carried out. Pearson correlation coefficient has been calculated to verify the accuracy of PARMENIA and its reliability.

NAMA3DS1-COSPAD1: Subjective video quality assessment database on coding conditions introducing freely available high quality 3D stereoscopic sequences

Research in stereoscopic 3D coding, transmission and subjective assessment methodology depends largely on the availability of source content that can be used in cross-lab evaluations. While several studies have already been presented using proprietary content, comparisons between the studies are difficult since discrepant contents are used. Therefore in this paper, a freely available dataset of high quality Full-HD stereoscopic sequences shot with a semiprofessional 3D camera is introduced in detail. The content was designed to be suited for usage in a wide variety of applications, including high quality studies. A set of depth maps was calculated from the stereoscopic pair. As an application example, a subjective assessment has been performed using coding and spatial degradations. The Absolute Category Rating with Hidden Reference method was used. The observers were instructed to vote on video quality only. Results of this experiment are also freely available and will be presented in this paper as a first step towards objective video quality measurement for 3DTV.

The relationship between young people's transit use and their perceptions of equity concepts in transit service provision

This study investigates the effect of price and travel mode fairness and spatial equity in transit provision on the perceived transit service quality, willingness to pay, and habitual frequency of use. Based on the theory of planned behavior, we developed a web-based questionnaire for revealed preferences data collection. The survey was administered among young people in Copenhagen and Lisbon to explore the transit perceptions and use under different economic and transit provision conditions. The survey yielded 499 questionnaires, analyzed by means of structural equation models. Results show that higher perceived fairness relates positively to higher perceived quality of transit service and higher perceived ease of paying for transit use. Higher perceived spatial equity in service provision is associated with higher perceived service quality. Higher perceived service quality relates to higher perceived ease of payment, which links to higher frequency of transit use.

Comportamiento del paciente de la clínica dental. Modelo basado en la percepción de la calidad del servicio y fidelización del paciente

Esta tesis doctoral propone un modelo de comportamiento del paciente de la clínica dental, basado en la percepción de la calidad del servicio (SERVQUAL), la fidelización del paciente, acciones de Marketing Relacional y aspectos socioeconómicos relevantes, de los pacientes de clínicas dentales. En particular, el estudio de campo se lleva a cabo en el ámbito geográfico de la Comunidad de Madrid, España, durante los años 2012 y 2013. La primera parte del proceso de elaboración del modelo está basada en la recolección de datos. Para ello, se realizaron cinco entrevistas a expertos dentistas y se aplicaron dos tipos encuestas diferentes: una para el universo formado por el conjunto de los pacientes de las clínicas dentales y la otra para el universo formado el conjunto de los dentistas de las clínicas dentales de la Comunidad de Madrid. Se obtuvo muestras de: 200 encuestas de pacientes y 220 encuestas de dentistas activos colegiados en el Ilustre Colegio Oficial de Odontólogos y Estomatólogos de la I Región Madrid. En la segunda parte de la elaboración del modelo, se realizó el análisis de los datos, la inducción y síntesis del modelo propuesto. Se utilizó la metodología de modelos gráficos probabilísticos, específicamente, una Red Bayesiana, donde se integraron variables (nodos) y sus dependencias estadísticas causales (arcos dirigidos), que representan el conocimiento obtenido de los datos recopilados en las encuestas y el conocimiento derivado de investigaciones precedentes en el área. Se obtuvo una Red Bayesiana compuesta por 6 nodos principales, de los cuales dos de ellos son nodos de observación directa: “Revisit Intention” y “SERVQUAL”, y los otros cuatro nodos restantes son submodelos (agrupaciones de variables), estos son respectivamente: “Attitudinal”, “Disease Information”, “Socioeconomical” y “Services”. Entre las conclusiones principales derivadas del uso del modelo, como herramientas de inferencia y los análisis de las entrevistas realizadas se obtiene que: (i) las variables del nodo “Attitudinal” (submodelo), son las más sensibles y significativas. Al realizarse imputaciones particulares en las variables que conforman el nodo “Attitudinal” (“RelationalMk”, “Satisfaction”, “Recommendation” y “Friendship”) se obtienen altas probabilidades a posteriori en la fidelidad del paciente de la clínica dental, medida por su intención de revisita. (ii) En el nodo “Disease Information” (submodelo) se destaca la relación de dependencia causal cuando se imputa la variable “Perception of disease” en “SERVQUAL”, demostrando que la percepción de la gravedad del paciente condiciona significativamente la percepción de la calidad del servicio del paciente. Como ejemplo destacado, si se realiza una imputación en la variable “Clinic_Type” se obtienen altas probabilidades a posteriori de las variables “SERVQUAL” y “Revisit Intention”, lo que evidencia, que el tipo de clínica dental influye significativamente en la percepción de la calidad del servicio y en la fidelidad del paciente (intención de revisita). (iii) En el nodo “Socioeconomical” (submodelo) la variable “Sex” resultó no ser significativa cuando se le imputaban diferentes valores, por el contrario, la variable “Age” e “Income” mostraban altas variabilidades en las probabilidades a posteriori cuando se imputaba alguna variable del submodelo “Services”, lo que evidencia, que estas variables condicionan la intención de contratar servicios (“Services”), sobretodo en las franjas de edad de 30 a 51 años en pacientes con ingresos entre 3000€ y 4000€. (iv) En el nodo “Services” (submodelo) los pacientes de las clínicas dentales mostraron altas probabilidades a priori para contratar servicios de fisiotrapia oral y gingival: “Dental Health Education” y “Parking”. (v) Las variables de fidelidad del paciente medidas desde su perspectiva comportamental que fueron utilizadas en el modelo: “Visit/year” “Time_clinic”, no aportaron información significativa. Tampoco, la variable de fidelidad del cliente (actitudinal): “Churn Efford”. (vi) De las entrevistas realizadas a expertos dentistas se obtiene que, los propietarios de la clínica tradicional tienen poca disposición a implementar nuevas estrategias comerciales, debido a la falta de formación en la gestión comercial y por falta de recursos y herramientas. Existe un rechazo generalizado hacia los nuevos modelos de negocios de clínicas dentales, especialmente en las franquicias y en lo que a políticas comerciales se refiere. Esto evidencia una carencia de gerencia empresarial en el sector. Como líneas futuras de investigación, se propone profundizar en algunas relaciones de dependencia (causales) como SERVQUALServices; SatisfactionServices; RelationalMKServices, Perception of diseaseSatisfaction, entre otras. Así como, otras variables de medición de la fidelidad comportamental que contribuyan a la mejora del modelo, como por ej. Gasto del paciente y rentabilidad de la visita. ABSTRACT This doctoral dissertation proposes a model of the behavior of the dental-clinic customer, based on the service-quality perception (SERVQUAL), loyalty, Relational Marketing and some relevant socio-economical characteristics, of the dental-clinic customers. In particular, the field study has been developed in the geographical region of Madrid, Spain during the years 2012 and 2013. The first stage of the preparation of the model consist in the data gathering process. For this purpose, five interviews where realized to expert dentists and also two different types of surveys: one for the universe defined by the set of dental-clinic patients and the second for the universe defined by the set of the dentists of the dental clinics of the Madrid Community. A sample of 200 surveys where collected for patients and a sample of 220 surveys where collected from active dentists belonging to the Ilustre Colegio Oficial de Odontólogos y Estomatólogos de la I Región Madrid. In the second stage of the model preparation, the processes of data-analysis, induction and synthesis of the final model where performed. The Graphic Probabilistic Models methodology was used to elaborate the final model, specifically, a Bayesian Network, where the variables (nodes) and their statistical and causal dependencies where integrated and modeled, representing thus, the obtained knowledge from the data obtained by the surveys and the scientific knowledge derived from previous research in the field. A Bayesian Net consisting on six principal nodes was obtained, of which two of them are directly observable: “Revisit Intention” y “SERVQUAL”, and the remaining four are submodels (a grouping of variables). These are: “Attitudinal”, “Disease Information”, “Socioeconomical” and “Services”. The main conclusions derived from the model, as an inference tool, and the analysis of the interviews are: (i) the variables inside the “Attitudinal” node are the most sensitive and significant. By making some particular imputations on the variables that conform the “Attitudinal” node (“RelationalMk”, “Satisfaction”, “Recommendation” y “Friendship”), high posterior probabilities (measured in revisit intention) are obtained for the loyalty of the dental-clinic patient. (ii) In the “Disease Information” node, the causal relation between the “Perception of disease” and “SERVQUAL” when “Perception of disease” is imputed is highlighted, showing that the perception of the severity of the patient’s disease conditions significantly the perception of service quality. As an example, by imputing some particular values to the “Clinic_Type” node high posterior probabilities are obtained for the “SERVQUAL” variables and for “Revisit Intention” showing that the clinic type influences significantly in the service quality perception and loyalty (revisit intention). (iii) In the “Socioeconomical” variable, the variable “Sex” showed to be non-significant, however, the “Age” variable and “Income” show high variability in its posterior probabilities when some variable from the “Services” node where imputed, showing thus, that these variables condition the intention to buy new services (“Services”), especially in the age range from 30 to 50 years in patients with incomes between 3000€ and 4000€. (iv) In the “Services” submodel the dental-clinic patients show high priors to buy services such as oral and gingival therapy, Dental Health Education and “Parking” service. (v) The obtained loyalty measures, from the behavioral perspective, “Visit/year” and “Time_clinic”, do not add significant information to the model. Neither the attitudinal loyalty component “Churn Efford”. (vi) From the interviews realized to the expert dentists it is observed that the owners of the traditional clinics have a low propensity to apply new commercial strategies due to a lack of resources and tools. In general, there exists an opposition to new business models in the sector, especially to the franchise dental model. All of this evidences a lack in business management in the sector. As future lines of research, a deep look into some statistical and causal relations is proposed, such as: SERVQUALServices; SatisfactionServices; RelationalMKServices, Perception of diseaseSatisfaction, as well as new measurement variables related to attitudinal loyalty that contribute to improve the model, for example, profit per patient and per visit.

Caracterización y análisis del coste de mejora de la calidad de servicio en transporte urbano en autobús, basado en la metodología ABC (activity based costing)

El estudio de la calidad de servicio en transporte público ha tenido distintos enfoques, tanto en la investigación como en sus aplicaciones prácticas, tales como el desarrollo del método SERVQUAL, los proyectos QUATTRO y EQUIP de la Comisión Europea, el Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual y finalmente el estándar EN 13816, siendo la consideración principal la calidad desde el punto de vista del usuario, es decir, la calidad percibida, cuyo objetivo en la práctica trata de obtener un Índice de Satisfacción del Cliente como medida de la calidad global. Esta aproximación deja de lado aspectos tanto sobre calidad suministrada como sobre los suministradores del servicio, las administraciones y los operadores, particularmente en cuanto a las implicaciones económicas. El objetivo principal de la presente tesis es la estimación del impacto económico real de la mejora de atributos de calidad para un operador de autobús urbano. En el capítulo 2, se lleva a cabo un análisis del estado del arte sobre el estudio de la calidad, tanto de los métodos de estudio, como de su aplicación al campo de transporte público, y, específicamente, del estudio de costes. En los capítulos 3 y 4 se propone la aplicación de la metodología ABC (Activity Based Costing) para el caso de un contrato de servicio de transporte público en autobús en la Comunidad de Madrid, concretamente la conexión de Tres Cantos. Para ello se utilizan datos de encuestas de calidad esperada y percibida por los usuarios, junto con información económica y de actividad, así como entrevistas a personal de la empresa, conformando todo ello una metodología compacta de investigación y análisis. Los resultados de las encuestas y los análisis posteriores identificaron la frecuencia de servicio, la puntualidad de los autobuses y la seguridad de la conducción como las tres variables mas importantes desde el punto de vista del usuario, y ha sido en referencia a estas tres variables sobre las que se ha desarrollado la aplicación del método ABC contenida en el capítulo 5. Los resultados descritos en el capítulo 6 muestran la consistencia y la aplicabilidad de esta metodología, superando las simplificaciones de los procedimientos tradicionales contables. En cuanto a los resultados obtenidos, se ha comprobado que una aproximación tradicional basada en costes por kilometro puede llegar a sobrevalorar los costes asociados a mejoras de calidad hasta tres veces los costes calculados según el método ABC. Finalmente en el capítulo 7 se recogen las principales conclusiones y se apuntan algunas líneas futuras de investigación basadas en mejoras sobre la aplicación y transferibilidad de los resultados. The study of service quality and its implication for transport contracts has several approaches in research and practical applications, such as the development of the SERVQUAL method, the UE QUATTRO and EQUIP research projects, the Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual and finally the EN 13816 standard. In all cases the main stream is the consideration of quality from the user’s point of view, thus obtaining a Customer Satisfaction Index as a measurement of the overall service quality. This approach ignores quality consequences for transport providers, authorities and operators, particularly economic implications. The main target of this thesis is to estimate the real economic impact of improving quality attributes for a bus operator. Chapter 2 includes a thorough analysis of the state of the art of general methodologies on service quality, their applications for public transport, and particularly for quality costing. In chapters 3 and 4, the Activity Based Costing (ABC) methodology is proposed for a suburban bus contract in Madrid, Tres Cantos. Perceived and expected quality surveys are used together with economic and performance information, as well as interviews with key staff from the operator. The whole set of surveys, interviews and ABC methodology puts together a comprehensive approach for analysis and research. Surveys and subsequent analysis shows service headway, punctuality and safety as the three most important service attributes from the user’s point of view. The proposed methodology has been applied to these three variables, as described in chapter 5. Results obtained in chapter 6 show the consistency and practicality of this methodology, overcoming simplifications from traditional accounting procedures. According to the latter, a calculation of costs based on mileage can overvalue quality improvements up to three times the results following ABC methodology. Finally, in chapter 7, the main conclusions are highlighted and some future research is suggested in terms of application improvements as well as results transferability.

Análise de projetos de reassentamento habitacional: o caso do projeto Serra do Mar no estado de São Paulo.

As remoções de favelas são cada vez mais frequentes no contexto brasileiro e mundial. O reassentamento de famílias atingidas por estes processos deve respeitar os preceitos de moradia adequada como um direito que venha agregar qualidade de vida e dignidade às famílias atingidas, pois do contrário podem intensificar vulnerabilidades. A presente pesquisa analisa a adaptação e a satisfação dos moradores de um reassentamento, o Conjunto Rubens Lara, localizado no bairro Jardim Casqueiro na cidade de Cubatão, resultado de um deslocamento involuntário de famílias moradoras de favelas. O conjunto possui características distintas da produção de habitação social comumente praticada, como aspectos de localização, trabalho social e projeto. O método da pesquisa foi baseado em instrumentos que permitissem a visão dos diversos atores do processo, bem como a satisfação do usuário. Para análise dos dados quantitativos foi utilizada estatística descritiva, análise fatorial e a medida de incerteza. Os resultados mostram que o fato de se tratar de uma remoção involuntária não é determinante para a satisfação do morador. Atributos positivos que ofereçam qualidade de vida trazem maior influência na satisfação, mesmo em uma situação de remoção involuntária. A localização do empreendimento foi apontada como um aspecto determinante da satisfação por conta da oferta de serviços públicos, equipamentos urbanos e oportunidades de trabalho. No entanto, questões como o arranjo em condomínio, manutenção e incremento de gastos podem colocar os ganhos do projeto em risco. Quanto à gestão condominial verificou-se que a manutenção tem importante papel nas questões condominiais, pois é influenciada tanto por aspectos de engenharia como administrativos, podendo assim, ser um componente de preocupação no futuro. A satisfação com a manutenção se mostrou como um elemento de influência para a satisfação com a gestão condominial. Por outro lado, a satisfação com o valor da taxa de condomínio está ligada à capacidade de pagamento dos moradores e não pela qualidade dos serviços em si. Foi observada inadimplência menor que as encontradas na bibliografia.

Service Science

Service Science is an emerging interdisciplinary field to systematically improve the design and innovation of service. Although many of the concepts used in service science have been around for some decades, this term is usually associated with an initiative called Service Science, Management, and Engineering (SSME), led by IBM in the first half of the 2000s to advance service research and education (in this entry, Service Science and SSME are considered synonymous, but the shorter term will be used here). Service Science is receiving growing attention due to the rising importance of service industries in world economies. The relevance of this topic is also justified because it helps organizations improve service performance, including service quality. This entry describes the key drivers, analyzes the evolution, examines the theoretical underpinnings, and defines Service Science. It concludes with a brief discussion of the challenges facing Service Science.

Understanding service experience in non-profit performing arts: Implications for operations and service management

Recent research in the non-profit performing arts has shown that marketing efforts designed to increase revenue from ticket sales are not achieving the results required to sustain the performing arts. This paper applies operations management analytical techniques to the non-profit performing arts to increase understanding of operational issues and inform service management strategy. The paper takes a two-study idiographic approach. Implementing a modified version of service transaction analysis (STA), Study One describes a performing arts service from provider and customer perspectives, identifies service gaps and develops an elaborated service description incorporating both perspectives. In Study Two, building on the elaborated service description and extant research, in-depth interviews are conducted to gather thick descriptions of predictors of satisfaction, value and service quality as they relate to repurchase intention (RI). Technical, functional and critical factors required to improve organizational performance are identified. Implications for operational strategy, service design and service management theory for this context are discussed. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.