Relationships between SERVQUAL dimensions and organizational performance in the case of a business‐to‐business service

A growing recognition of the critical differences between industrial and consumer services requires additional research emphasis on marketing of services in business‐to‐business context. Presents an application of SERVQUAL as a measure of service quality in Ocean Freight Services. Based on a cross‐section sample of 114 business organizations in Singapore, which regularly utilize ocean freight services for their export needs, the study asked shipping lines for their heaviest used export routes and provide their overall evaluation of services provided by their preferred suppliers. Respondents also evaluated various interfacing departments in the shipping line and SERVQUAL measures on various service quality dimensions. This study identifies the various strengths and weaknesses of the interfacing departments as well as in‐service quality determinants. Further, the relationships between overall line performance, service quality, as well as specific customer service interfacing departments are examined. The findings have important implications for shipping lines’ marketing strategies. Though conducted in Singapore, the study is equally applicable to other Asian environments and NICs where many of the same lines are offering freight services to the exporting organizations.