The scholarly article that has been chosen for the global marketing topic is Zhu, Y., Freeman, S., & Cavusgil, S. T. (2018). Service quality delivery in a cross-national context. International Business Review, 27(5), 1022–1032. The authors delved into the importance of increasing market research on the perceptions of service quality delivery in cross-national environments. They recommend the research to be extended to establish the perspectives of the providers as this approach will allow for greater insight into the influence of macro-environmental factors such as culture, history, politics, economy, and religion, among others. The paper reviews the article based on the following aspects. The authors use a descriptive research design to examine the perceived quality of service among consumers in a cross-national context.
This article analyses the perception of service quality delivery among customers in multicultural business spheres. Zhu et al. (2018) use expectancy disconfirmation theory to elucidate the provider’s behavior and expectations that arise when handling consumers in diverse cultural settings. The authors divulge that both economic and political aspects play a significant role in influencing the attitudes, prospects, and conduct of those people involved in the service industry (Zhu et al., 2018). The thesis reflects the contents of the article, enabling readers to know what they expect in the rest of the paper.
Relationship to Course
The authors wrote this article to analyze how certain factors influenced the expectations behavior of service providers were from a global perspective. This purpose is relevant to today’s global markets that are characterized by customers from multinational backgrounds. Services providers need to understand the behaviors and expectations of their clients if they want to meet their needs.
Critical Analysis
The article is well-articulated by reviewing both literature from previous studies and practical research conducted in various countries. The literature review reveals how earlier studies predominantly examined service quality delivery from a client-focused viewpoint in a national context. The authors realize that the provision of services is a complex phenomenon that should be analyzed using a multidisciplinary approach (Zhu et al., 2018; De Mooij, 2019). Other studies well present the idea that the global market is affected by both controllable and uncontrollable factors on service expectations among providers and consumers (Dewi et al., 2018). However, the authors feel that a single country approach is biased because it undervalues the cross-national approach.
To fill this gap, the authors conducted detailed research based on a cross-national and macro-environmental contextual approach. However, the article does not reveal the methods and instruments used to collect data. The authors primarily relied on information from secondary sources, interviews, and direct observations. These methods were critical for gathering first-hand information on service quality delivery since they involved direct engagement with both the providers and consumers. The authors also considered the historical and prevailing factors that influenced service culture and quality delivery at the national level (Leonidou et al., 2018). Taking this approach into consideration, the process makes sense because enough information is available to support the results of the study.
However, the article does not use statistics to show how the authors came up with correct analyses and decisions based on data and predictions. There was a need to show the reader how the study was used to develop a compelling article using quantitative reasoning skills, inference tools, and statistical analyses. Tabular or graphical representation of information is an integral part of the research article as it helps the audience to view facts and make comparisons easily.
The information in this article is obtained from five countries, including China, Turkey, Japan, Australia, and the United States. The authors generalize the effect of macro-environmental factors on service value and quality delivery in different countries across the globe (Zhu et al., 2018). This scope is tolerable, considering that the selected countries are major destinations for tourists from diverse cultures. The United States alone forms a multicultural environment that is suitable for conducting the research.
Value Assessment
The value of this article cannot be underestimated in today’s multinational business environment. The mindsets of service providers from a global market perspective are often influenced by many factors, such as attitudes, expectations, and behavior (Hans, 2019). Countries have distinct cultural, economic, social, and political orientations that largely determine the behavior of their citizens. The authors have advanced their research from a national to a multinational level in a bid to show the reader how numerous factors such as politics, culture, religion, and economy interplay to influence purchase decisions of customers around the world.
Further Research
The authors also give directions for future research. They note that research productivity on service delivery has been remarkable, but there are vital problems that remain unresolved. The article encourages future scholarly examination to identify critical issues on the perception of quality, reward systems, transformational models of best practices, cross-cultural e-service quality, hedging of service quality against macro-environmental factors, and industry and managerial implications (Zhu et al., 2018). This article is significant for organizations aiming at satisfying the needs of a diverse population. The authors attest that service encounter in a cross-national context is a fascinating area that should be subjected to further research as this move will help organizations address issues such as service failure, disconfirmation influence, perception of quality, and consumer and provider-employee choice attitudes and behavior.
Reference
De Mooij, M. (2019). Consumer behavior and culture: Consequences for global marketing and advertising. SAGE Publications Limited.
Dewi, Y. C., Yasa, P. N. S., & Indiani, N. L. P. (2018). Influence of Service quality and marketing mix on customer satisfaction and loyalty of Padma Resort Legian. Jurnal Ekonomi & Bisnis JAGADITHA, 5(2), 119-127.
Hans, V. B. (2019). Global business and cross-cultural diversity: globalization and business changes and values. NOLEGEIN-Journal of Global Marketing, 18-31.
Leonidou, L. C., Katsikeas, C. S., Samiee, S., & Aykol, B. (2018). Advances in global marketing. Springer.
Zhu, Y., Freeman, S., & Cavusgil, S. T. (2018). Service quality delivery in a cross-national context. International Business Review, 27(5), 1022–1032.