This chapter addresses an issue that has received scant and scattered attention in the literature so far. It is based on a focused literature review to define the state of service quality research in the museum context. Specifically, it aims to develop a better understand of what we know about museum service quality and to define a comprehensive framework for its design. The literature review reveals that the museum context, collections, and exhibitions, as well as people and peripheral aspects, are all fundamentals to ensuring a high level of service quality. The study supports practitioners in developing an integrative view on service quality based not only on what a museum has, but also on what it does, who does it, how, and how well.
TopIntroduction
Over the years, there has been considerable and growing interest in the topic of service quality among both academics and practitioners.
Although many studies and research have been published on this issue, to date, there is no agreed-upon definition (Kandampully, 2000); service quality still appears to be a difficult concept to evaluate and measure (Su and Teng, 2018). Parasuraman et al. (1985, 1988) were the first to point out that it cannot be conceptualized or evaluated by traditional methods used for product quality because services are characterized by some aspects such as intangibility, heterogeneity, inseparability, and perishability. The conceptualization most frequently and widely adopted is the one proposed in 1985 by Parasuraman et al., who defined service quality from a customer’s perspective as aimed at satisfying customers’ expectations. For them, service quality can be conceptualized as the difference or degree of discrepancy between customer perceptions and expectations regarding a service.
In museums, service quality is a very complex concept. As in other contexts, services in a museum are characterized by intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, and perishability. Although they are essentially organizations based on the collections that also offer services such as cafes and shops, which have greater tangibility, the real “product” of a museum concerns intangible aspects such as the emotions that the objects evoke and the experience co-created with the visitor. Moreover, in museums, services are produced and consumed simultaneously and are inevitably linked to the providers and staff members. Museum services are heterogeneous and perishable, as they cannot be standardized due to the different collections, museum locations, and characteristics owned by staff or to be stored (McLean, 1994).
Nonetheless, museums can be viewed as more complex service providers (Zanibellato et al., 2018) for several reasons, as they offer infrequently used services, involve a sequence of related events occurring at different points in time, generate a hedonic experience that is emotionally intense, positive, and intrinsically enjoyable and that cannot be planned in advance, and imply positive motivations to visit the museum, such as sensory gratification, intellectual stimulation, and/or social recognition (Raajpoot et al., 2010).
Museums provide a core offering (collection and displays) that represents the reason for the museum’s existence, but also peripheral services (such as educational programs and cultural activities) that facilitate the core offering and support the core aesthetic experience (Lovelock, 1996; Hume et al., 2006). Museums are then called to give more attention to all these elements included in what their visitors perceive as service quality (Radder and Han, 2013).
Another significant component of museum service quality relates to the experience that is created when the service is performed in a unique and memorable way. Specifically, the experience relates the personal way in which visitors participate in the museum’s activities. In a museum, indeed, visitors not only want to see an exceptional collection; they seek meaningful experiences that include leisure, culture, education, and social interaction (Izquierdo and Samaniego, 2011). Visiting a museum means participating in an exhibition in which experiences are cocreated through the interaction between museum and visitor (Camarero and Garrido, 2012), viewed more and more as collaborative partners (Vargo and Lusch, 2004). An enjoyable, relaxing, and exciting experience enables visitor satisfaction (Kotler and Kotler, 2001).
Although there is a considerable amount of museum research, a literature review highlights that the issue of service quality has received scant and scattered attention so far (Wu and Li, 2015). Moreover, little research has been aimed at better understanding what we know about service quality through a review of the existing literature, which, indeed, would allow us to synthesize research findings and integrate the results into a coherent framework. Much of the studies have been criticized for this reason (Gilmore and Rentschler, 2002).