Courier service quality from the clients’ perspective

The aim of the study is a critical analysis of literature concerning the evaluation of courier service quality and verification if client expectations towards courier service quality change in time considering the perspective of future 5–10 years. Research methods include the theoretical analysis of scientific literature, CAWI survey and statistical analysis of obtained data.

The literature overview has shown the lack of clearly defined evaluation constructs of courier service quality together with the criteria and weight, one universal commonly used measuring scale for evaluation of the service quality, diversification of methods and measurement tools for the various groups of stakeholders of courier service. Moreover, it can be concluded that the research concerning the courier service quality has not considered the problem of aging of quality indicators. Research results by the author have proved that the expectations of clients using courier service change in time, some of them are exposed to the aging process (price) while others become more important (for example tele-technologies, modern packaging, and technical facilities). Moreover, the survey results have shown that the customer opinions can be the source of interesting and innovative ideas for the development of courier service in future.

The analysis of domestic and foreign literature allowed presenting the academia with an output concerning the evaluation of quality in the field of courier service. As a result, the theoretical and methodological gaps were revealed to expose potential fields for further research. The research results concerning different methods of service quality evaluation can be useful mainly for managers in courier enterprises. Moreover, the knowledge about changing expectations of clients allows adjusting courier proposals to customer needs to gain a competitive advantage in the global market.