In recent years, some governments have been working on solutions to transform public administrations and provide high-quality services to users. The United Nations has recommended integrating digital technology into v...In recent years, some governments have been working on solutions to transform public administrations and provide high-quality services to users. The United Nations has recommended integrating digital technology into various aspects of life, including public services. The objective is to offer real-time, high-quality digital services, improve the delivery of public services, enhance their effectiveness and efficiency, while achieving objectives such as transparency, interoperability and citizen satisfaction. However, most governments in developing countries are unable to keep up with this trend. As a result, they often create digital public services that fall short of users’ expectations. This study aims to identify the fundamental factors influencing the quality of service in relation to user satisfaction and to explore the relevance of digital technology in implementing this quality within Cameroon public administrations. To achieve this, we used a qualimetric research method, which included non-directive interviews, questionnaires, and structured observations. The results showed that the public services offered in our study environment did not meet users’ expectations. However, the study identified the fundamental aspects to be considered in providing quality public services connected to user satisfaction, as well as the strengths of digitization in achieving this quality.展开更多
Purpose: This study intends to evaluate the service quality of academic digital libraries(DLs)in China. By utilizing tetra-class model which concentrates on categorizing services according to their contributions to us...Purpose: This study intends to evaluate the service quality of academic digital libraries(DLs)in China. By utilizing tetra-class model which concentrates on categorizing services according to their contributions to user satisfaction, this paper attempts to visually categorize the specific DL service elements to reveal their present performances, and then further explain the categorizing variations among different groups of users to discover the user preference.Design/methodology/approach: This paper carries out a survey to evaluate user experience on 27 typical DL services summarized from our investigations of representative Chinese university DLs. Based on the five-point Likert-type scale evaluation, the users’ attitudes toward specific service element are divided into negative and positive dimensions. Afterwards,a correspondence analysis is applied to calculate the contributions to satisfaction and dissatisfaction of each service element based on tetra-class model. As a result, the DL service elements of Chinese academic libraries are classified into four categories(i.e. Basic, Secondary,Plus, and Key). Finally, we compared the categorizing variations.Findings: The results show that the DL service elements of Chinese academic libraries are all distributed in Basic and Key services regarding information retrieval and informationorganizing; 80% of the interaction services elements are Plus services, while 50% of the Secondary services are information-providing services. The results also reveal that service categorization is obviously influenced by the users’ education background, especially their disciplines. Furthermore, the users who are older, more highly-educated, or studying in higher reputation universities are more likely to evaluate DL services as either critical or useless.Research limitations: Tetra-class model cannot reveal the interplay among the DL service elements. In addition, the user segmentation in our studies is limited to the sample structure.Practical implications: This empirical study focuses on the evaluation of DL services of academic libraries in China, the analyses of their current performances could provide useful reference for the assessment of other types of Chinese DLs. Moreover, the consideration of user characteristics(gender, age, and education background, etc.) in the DL evaluation would help librarians improve DL services to meet the users’ various needs in teaching and doing scientific research.Originality/value: Different from the frequently-used factor analysis which focuses on the relationship among factors and user satisfaction, this paper tries to use and compare element distributions of different user segments while focusing on various service objectives. Factor analysis shows some flaws as used to measure the element with selected indicators, for it ignores the fact that the indicators which measure the same factor would have different degrees of impacts on user satisfaction. However, the tetra-class model can better visually analyze the performance of each DL service element from its contributions to satisfaction and dissatisfaction, which would help librarians to better understand users’ need and offer DL services more efficiently.展开更多
The advent of information communication technology in the information environment has brought dramatic changes in the way information is being handled and managed today. This wind of change engineered by ICT has also ...The advent of information communication technology in the information environment has brought dramatic changes in the way information is being handled and managed today. This wind of change engineered by ICT has also changed the information seeking behavior of users making them to place more demands on libraries. There is a need for libraries to strive to be effective in their services to customers in order to remain relevant in the information age. The paper considered the deployment of soft skills expressed in terms of staff appearance, approachability, effective communication, positive attitude, ability to cope in difficult situation, and so on, for more effective customer services in the 21st century library. The paper concluded that, effective customer service in libraries is imperative in the 21st century library as it will make library users feel important, improves learning, increases patronage, and promotes library and university image. The outcome of this paper will help the management of libraries irrespective of the type to be more effective in the services they render to their clients. This will ultimately increase patronage and clients retention.展开更多
The rapid pace of technological change has seen information and communication technologies become the digital backbone of developed nations’ economies and a pre-requisite for global trade. Some enterprise systems are...The rapid pace of technological change has seen information and communication technologies become the digital backbone of developed nations’ economies and a pre-requisite for global trade. Some enterprise systems are however more than mere facilitators, they provide the bedrock without which organizations could not function;we term these mandatory systems “non-volitional”(NVS). With hyper-growth in demand for connectivity, telecommunications are typical of sectors where NVS shape the fiercely competitive landscape. Among them, Billing & Revenue Management Systems (BRMS) are a form of credit, providers deliver a service and subscribers later pay for that service. As such, they are “business critical”, meaning failures may affect an organization’s ability to conduct its core business. Failures also impact user satisfaction, a key measure of information systems success. However, relatively few studies empirically test this notion;fewer still evaluate it at organizational (rather than individual) level, while there is a dearth of literature investigating non-volitional systems and, to the best of our knowledge, none whatsoever consider ways of predicting user satisfaction for BRMS. According to a renowned and widely cited conceptual model, user satisfaction is influenced by information, system, and service quality respectively. To test this theory for telecoms BRMS, we applied structural equation modelling to investigate which of these dimensions has the most effect. The results indicate that information quality, system quality, service quality, and user satisfaction are all valid measures of BRMS success. Hypothesized relationships between the four success dimensions were significantly substantiated. The study also identified five measures of information quality, four measures of system quality, four measures of service quality, and four measures of user satisfaction. Once the proposed model had been successfully validated, we tested the level of significance among user satisfaction and the three quality dimensions. Findings showed that service quality had the strongest influence on user satisfaction, with information quality second. This is quite different from other applications considered in our literature review which mostly have information quality as having the strongest impact (knowledge management systems apart).展开更多
Purpose:The purpose of the research is to investigate public needs for digital information service in the Chinese libraries and museums and seek ways to help these public service institutions improve their service to ...Purpose:The purpose of the research is to investigate public needs for digital information service in the Chinese libraries and museums and seek ways to help these public service institutions improve their service to meet user needs.Design/methodology/approach:An online questionnaire survey was used to study the publicneeds for digital information service provided by libraries and museums.A total of 474 valid questionnaires were retrieved for analysis.Findings:The primary purpose of using the digital library and museum service was for knowledge acquisition,followed by work or class assignment and leisure and entertainment.Users need one-stop information service that provides information and service in a more integrated form and allows cross-database searching as well.Research limitations:A majority of the respondents were young and middle-aged people who often use the Internet.We would need to increase our sample size and include different groups of users such as children and retirees to make the sample more representative.Practical implications:Libraries and museums should collaborate to provide the users with one-stop digital information service.Meanwhile,the research can serve as a reference source for the future studies of digital library and museum service.Originality/value:Few studies were published on the public needs for digital library and museum service in China.This study bridges the gap and contributes to our understanding of the Chinese users’ needs for digital information service in libraries and museums.展开更多
Most of the time, clients only have one opportunity to evaluate a service received in terms of quality and satisfaction; under this premise organizations have been concerned with developing, in a permanent manner, a q...Most of the time, clients only have one opportunity to evaluate a service received in terms of quality and satisfaction; under this premise organizations have been concerned with developing, in a permanent manner, a quality evaluation culture in the services offered to their clients. To do this, procedures and methods that let them achieve it, have been implemented. That is the case of the model that concedes to measure and evaluate service quality, which is redefined and named Servqual, considering a multidimensional theoretical construct that explains the client＇s perception of quality service considering the differences between what is expected and what is received. Therefore, the goal of this study is to identify the factors that define the quality of emergency services provided by a private hospital in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mtxico, a sample of 384 patients, with a confidence level of 95% and a margin of permissible error of 5%. A questionnaire with 22 items was applied to measure the perceptions and expectations of users in terms of the quality of the service, which was subjected to an extensive evaluation of reliability and construct validity, with an estimate Cronbach＇s alpha of 95.6% and 97.9% respectively. The results showed that Servqual is a valid, reliable, and dependable instrument to monitor and measure the quality of the services offered in private hospitals in Hermosillo, and permit hospital administrators to identify opportunities or improvement areas, from the patients＇ perspective.展开更多
文摘In recent years, some governments have been working on solutions to transform public administrations and provide high-quality services to users. The United Nations has recommended integrating digital technology into various aspects of life, including public services. The objective is to offer real-time, high-quality digital services, improve the delivery of public services, enhance their effectiveness and efficiency, while achieving objectives such as transparency, interoperability and citizen satisfaction. However, most governments in developing countries are unable to keep up with this trend. As a result, they often create digital public services that fall short of users’ expectations. This study aims to identify the fundamental factors influencing the quality of service in relation to user satisfaction and to explore the relevance of digital technology in implementing this quality within Cameroon public administrations. To achieve this, we used a qualimetric research method, which included non-directive interviews, questionnaires, and structured observations. The results showed that the public services offered in our study environment did not meet users’ expectations. However, the study identified the fundamental aspects to be considered in providing quality public services connected to user satisfaction, as well as the strengths of digitization in achieving this quality.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.:71273197)
文摘Purpose: This study intends to evaluate the service quality of academic digital libraries(DLs)in China. By utilizing tetra-class model which concentrates on categorizing services according to their contributions to user satisfaction, this paper attempts to visually categorize the specific DL service elements to reveal their present performances, and then further explain the categorizing variations among different groups of users to discover the user preference.Design/methodology/approach: This paper carries out a survey to evaluate user experience on 27 typical DL services summarized from our investigations of representative Chinese university DLs. Based on the five-point Likert-type scale evaluation, the users’ attitudes toward specific service element are divided into negative and positive dimensions. Afterwards,a correspondence analysis is applied to calculate the contributions to satisfaction and dissatisfaction of each service element based on tetra-class model. As a result, the DL service elements of Chinese academic libraries are classified into four categories(i.e. Basic, Secondary,Plus, and Key). Finally, we compared the categorizing variations.Findings: The results show that the DL service elements of Chinese academic libraries are all distributed in Basic and Key services regarding information retrieval and informationorganizing; 80% of the interaction services elements are Plus services, while 50% of the Secondary services are information-providing services. The results also reveal that service categorization is obviously influenced by the users’ education background, especially their disciplines. Furthermore, the users who are older, more highly-educated, or studying in higher reputation universities are more likely to evaluate DL services as either critical or useless.Research limitations: Tetra-class model cannot reveal the interplay among the DL service elements. In addition, the user segmentation in our studies is limited to the sample structure.Practical implications: This empirical study focuses on the evaluation of DL services of academic libraries in China, the analyses of their current performances could provide useful reference for the assessment of other types of Chinese DLs. Moreover, the consideration of user characteristics(gender, age, and education background, etc.) in the DL evaluation would help librarians improve DL services to meet the users’ various needs in teaching and doing scientific research.Originality/value: Different from the frequently-used factor analysis which focuses on the relationship among factors and user satisfaction, this paper tries to use and compare element distributions of different user segments while focusing on various service objectives. Factor analysis shows some flaws as used to measure the element with selected indicators, for it ignores the fact that the indicators which measure the same factor would have different degrees of impacts on user satisfaction. However, the tetra-class model can better visually analyze the performance of each DL service element from its contributions to satisfaction and dissatisfaction, which would help librarians to better understand users’ need and offer DL services more efficiently.
文摘The advent of information communication technology in the information environment has brought dramatic changes in the way information is being handled and managed today. This wind of change engineered by ICT has also changed the information seeking behavior of users making them to place more demands on libraries. There is a need for libraries to strive to be effective in their services to customers in order to remain relevant in the information age. The paper considered the deployment of soft skills expressed in terms of staff appearance, approachability, effective communication, positive attitude, ability to cope in difficult situation, and so on, for more effective customer services in the 21st century library. The paper concluded that, effective customer service in libraries is imperative in the 21st century library as it will make library users feel important, improves learning, increases patronage, and promotes library and university image. The outcome of this paper will help the management of libraries irrespective of the type to be more effective in the services they render to their clients. This will ultimately increase patronage and clients retention.
文摘The rapid pace of technological change has seen information and communication technologies become the digital backbone of developed nations’ economies and a pre-requisite for global trade. Some enterprise systems are however more than mere facilitators, they provide the bedrock without which organizations could not function;we term these mandatory systems “non-volitional”(NVS). With hyper-growth in demand for connectivity, telecommunications are typical of sectors where NVS shape the fiercely competitive landscape. Among them, Billing & Revenue Management Systems (BRMS) are a form of credit, providers deliver a service and subscribers later pay for that service. As such, they are “business critical”, meaning failures may affect an organization’s ability to conduct its core business. Failures also impact user satisfaction, a key measure of information systems success. However, relatively few studies empirically test this notion;fewer still evaluate it at organizational (rather than individual) level, while there is a dearth of literature investigating non-volitional systems and, to the best of our knowledge, none whatsoever consider ways of predicting user satisfaction for BRMS. According to a renowned and widely cited conceptual model, user satisfaction is influenced by information, system, and service quality respectively. To test this theory for telecoms BRMS, we applied structural equation modelling to investigate which of these dimensions has the most effect. The results indicate that information quality, system quality, service quality, and user satisfaction are all valid measures of BRMS success. Hypothesized relationships between the four success dimensions were significantly substantiated. The study also identified five measures of information quality, four measures of system quality, four measures of service quality, and four measures of user satisfaction. Once the proposed model had been successfully validated, we tested the level of significance among user satisfaction and the three quality dimensions. Findings showed that service quality had the strongest influence on user satisfaction, with information quality second. This is quite different from other applications considered in our literature review which mostly have information quality as having the strongest impact (knowledge management systems apart).
基金supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China(Grant No.:13ATQ001)
文摘Purpose:The purpose of the research is to investigate public needs for digital information service in the Chinese libraries and museums and seek ways to help these public service institutions improve their service to meet user needs.Design/methodology/approach:An online questionnaire survey was used to study the publicneeds for digital information service provided by libraries and museums.A total of 474 valid questionnaires were retrieved for analysis.Findings:The primary purpose of using the digital library and museum service was for knowledge acquisition,followed by work or class assignment and leisure and entertainment.Users need one-stop information service that provides information and service in a more integrated form and allows cross-database searching as well.Research limitations:A majority of the respondents were young and middle-aged people who often use the Internet.We would need to increase our sample size and include different groups of users such as children and retirees to make the sample more representative.Practical implications:Libraries and museums should collaborate to provide the users with one-stop digital information service.Meanwhile,the research can serve as a reference source for the future studies of digital library and museum service.Originality/value:Few studies were published on the public needs for digital library and museum service in China.This study bridges the gap and contributes to our understanding of the Chinese users’ needs for digital information service in libraries and museums.
文摘Most of the time, clients only have one opportunity to evaluate a service received in terms of quality and satisfaction; under this premise organizations have been concerned with developing, in a permanent manner, a quality evaluation culture in the services offered to their clients. To do this, procedures and methods that let them achieve it, have been implemented. That is the case of the model that concedes to measure and evaluate service quality, which is redefined and named Servqual, considering a multidimensional theoretical construct that explains the client＇s perception of quality service considering the differences between what is expected and what is received. Therefore, the goal of this study is to identify the factors that define the quality of emergency services provided by a private hospital in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mtxico, a sample of 384 patients, with a confidence level of 95% and a margin of permissible error of 5%. A questionnaire with 22 items was applied to measure the perceptions and expectations of users in terms of the quality of the service, which was subjected to an extensive evaluation of reliability and construct validity, with an estimate Cronbach＇s alpha of 95.6% and 97.9% respectively. The results showed that Servqual is a valid, reliable, and dependable instrument to monitor and measure the quality of the services offered in private hospitals in Hermosillo, and permit hospital administrators to identify opportunities or improvement areas, from the patients＇ perspective.
