SERVQUAL and Customer Satisfaction: The Mediating influence of Communication in the Privatized Telecom Sector

This paper basically examines the effects of service quality on customer satisfaction after the privatization of a telecom company in Oman It does so from two distinct methodological perspectives. Specifically, a study utilizing a sample of the telecom customers is conducted, wherein service quality is put into operation through the well-known measure - SERVQUAL. The findings are of importance to organizations in the service industry, where constant effort is being made to find ways and means of identifying efficient and effective approaches for improving service quality and customer satisfaction. The study explores the theoretical and practical insights of the findings, including potential strengths and limitations of current service quality models with regard to their ability to define and explain the quality/satisfaction relationship. Also of interest to the authors is the influence of Communication as a mediator in customer satisfaction. The results reiterate the propositions that SERVQUAL dimensions influence Customer Satisfaction and that the influence is accentuated with the mediatory influence of communication.