Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to examine the applicability of key measures of service quality and customer satisfaction in a cross-cultural setting, first establishing measurement equivalence and then investigating the impact of culture on these measures.

Design/methodology/approach – Using scenarios involving a visit to the dentist's office, respondents from Germany, Japan, and the USA participated in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment in which the authors manipulated both expectations (low/high) and service performance (low/high).

Findings – Regardless of expectations, when performance was low, the low-context respondents (USA and Germany) perceived lower quality than did the respondents from the high-context country (Japan), but gave higher quality ratings than did the Japanese respondents when the performance was high.

Practical implications – The findings of this study highlight the necessity of considering culture when interpreting customer satisfaction ratings.

Originality/value – This research adds credence to the paramount role culture plays in consumers' ratings of perceived service quality and customer satisfaction.