PROJECT WORK

ON

“A STUDY ON SERVQUAL DIMENSIONS OF NBLIK”

By
Anagha Soman

USN - 1NH20BA011

Submitted to

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

NEW HORIZON COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, OUTER

RING ROAD, MARATHALLI, BANGALORE

In partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of the degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Under the guidance of

Dr.Dhanalakshmi R V

Associate Professor

2020-22

1
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Anagha Soman bearing USN 1NH20BA011, is a bonafide student of
Master of Business Administration course of the institute 2021-23, autonomous program,
affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum.
The project report on “A STUDY ON SERVQUAL DIMENSIONS OF NBLIK”
is prepared by him under the guidance of Dr.Dhanalakshmi R V in partial fulfilment of
requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Business Administration of
Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum Karnataka.

Signature of Internal Guide Signature of HOD Signature of Principal

Name of the Examiners with affiliation Signature with date

1. External Examiner

2. Internal Examiner

2
3
 DECLARATION

I, Anagha Soman, hereby declare that the project report titled “ A study on SERVQUAL
Dimensions of NBLIK” with reference to “NBLIK Pvt Ltd” prepared by me under the
guidance of Dr.Dhanalakhmi R V (Associate professor) faculty of M.B.A Department, New
Horizon College of Engineering.

I also declare that this Internship is towards the partial fulfillment of the university
regulations for the award of the degree of Master of Business Administration by
Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum.

I have undergone an internship for a period of eight weeks. I further declare that this report
is based on the original study undertaken by me and has not been submitted for the award
of a degree/diploma from any other University/Institution.

Signature of Student

Place:

Date:

4
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The successful completion of the internship would not have been possible without the
guidance and support of many people. I express my sincere gratitude to Ghufran
Shadab Hussain, Team Leader, NBLIK Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru, for allowing to do my
project at NBLIK Pvt Ltd.
I thank the staff of NBLIK Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru for their support and guidance and
helping me in completion of the report.
I am thankful to my internal guide Dr Dhanalakshmi R V, for his/her constant support
and inspiration throughout the project and invaluable suggestions, guidance and also
for providing valuable information.
Finally, I express my gratitude towards my parents and family for their continuous
support during the study.

ANAGHA SOMAN
1NH20BA011

5
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

SL.NO CONTENT PAGE NO.

1. INTRODUCTION 5-32
2. REVIEW OF LITRATUIRE 33-35
3. INDUSTRY PROFILR AND COMPANY PROFILE 36-41
4. THEORITICAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 42-51
5. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 52-53
6. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION 53
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY 54

4
 CHAPTER- 1
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

5
HISTORY OF NBLIK

Nblik India Private Limited is a 2 years 5 months old Private Company incorporated on 11 Oct
2019. NbliK is an all-in-one community platform for Creators, Clubs, associations, NGOs,
Societies & brands based in India. NbliK is an all-in-one community platform for creators,
startups, political parties, college clubs, associations, NGOs, Societies & brands based in India.
NbliK is a community platform that brings together the creators' discussions, memberships, and
content.
It's authorized share capital is INR 77.50 lac and the total paid-up capital is INR 76.30 lac.

The current status of Nblik India Private Limited is - Active.

The last reported AGM (Annual General Meeting) of Nblik India Private Limited, per our
records, was held on 06 October, 2021. Also, as per our records, its last balance sheet was
prepared for the period ending on 31 March, 2021.

Nblik India Private Limited has two directors - Abhishek Yadav and Priya Yadav.

In course of running a business, you need to know who you are dealing with and who you are
competing with. Right now, this happens through word of mouth.
That is a good way to start conversations but doing some research on your business partners
always saves trouble in future.
Our aim is to help you answer these two questions quickly and comprehensively. We are
empowering businesses with information and analysis that helps them guess less and be surer of
their decisions.
How we work

Our Company 360 degree view of businesses is formed by integrating and analyzing more than
100 authoritative information sources into a complete business profile.
We aggregate and analyze massive amounts of data. Our machine learning technology, analysis
algorithms and data visualization graphs help corporations answer strategic questions using
information and not gut instinct.

6
 We work constantly on improving this process to get better results.

Join businesses and individuals that trust

in business
20,000+
blog readers
15,000+
customers

7


COMPANY NETWORK - NBLIK INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

Competition benchmarking

 To benchmark your performance, it is essential to know how your competition is doing.

 With Nblik, compare important financial numbers, operational performance, sources of
funds, growth, profit margins, capex and more.
 Comprehensive information about your competitors helps you better assess both
your performance and your opportunities.

8
 Client research

 Know thy customer is a mantra that we hear repeatedly. But what exactly do you need to
know and how?
 With Nblik, monitor your client’s revenue growth, profit margins, days payable, other
business interests, decision makers, major expenses and more.
 The right information at the right time empowers you in your negotiations with your existing
and potential clients.

Vendor onboarding

 The quality of your vendors determines the success of your business.

 With Nblik, verify and assess financial strength, growth, genuineness, and capability of
your vendors.
 Choosing the right vendors goes a long way in maintaining continuity and smooth functioning
of your business.

In course of running a business, you need to know who you are dealing with and who you are
competing with. Right now, this happens through word of mouth.
That is a good way to start conversations but doing some research on your business partners
always saves trouble in future.
Our aim is to help you answer these two questions quickly and comprehensively. We are
empowering businesses with information and analysis that helps them guess less and be surer of
their decisions.
How we work

Our Company 360 degree view of businesses is formed by integrating and analyzing more than
100 authoritative information sources into a complete business profile.
We aggregate and analyze massive amounts of data. Our machine learning technology, analysis

9
algorithms and data visualization graphs help corporations answer strategic questions using
information and not gut instinct.
We work constantly on improving this process to get better results.

Our reports are used for a variety of applications ranging from competitor analysis to credit and
equity due-diligence. We produce our reports on companies using data from authoritative
sources to ensure every bit of information is comprehensive, up-to-date and reliable. Reports
have a short delivery time and are great value for money. Some of the information covered is:

Historical financials: Get history of financials for over 5 years along with time series charts,
graphs and ratio analysis.
Shareholders and group structure: Discover the shareholders, shareholding pattern, parent
company and subsidiaries of a company.
Directors and key persons: Find out the directors, management and key people behind a
company.
Mortgages and charges: Study the list of charges on the assets of a company, and its lenders..
Ratio analysis: Take help from the ratio analysis and study how the performance of company
has changed overtime.

The report provides important details on a Company’s financials, mortgages and charges,
shareholding, directors, group structure, ratio analysis and more, without making it complicated.
An easy to read report best suited to profile a Company.

Service dimensions of Nblik

1
 Quality of service can be understood as a comprehensive customer evaluation of a
particular service and the extent to which it meets their expectations and provides satisfaction.
And they create effective strategies to determine the different parameters influencing
service quality, in order to increase the number of their customers based on the competitive
market situation by evaluating customer satisfaction with respect to the various dimensions that
influence service quality.

These sectors that contribute to the national economy—organizations need innovative solutions
to improve the value delivered to shareholders and customers in order to gain and maintain a
competitive advantage as well as to avoid elimination from the other sector. Managing supply
chain integration is a solution that has become recently popular.

The SERVQUAL model is mainly used as a multi-dimensional research instrument for

customer satisfaction, and consists of the following dimensions: reliability, empathy,

1
responsiveness, assurance, and tangibility. Three other dimensions were added to this model in
our study, which are financial aspect, access and employee competences.
This study attempts to address this gap in the literature by investigating customer
satisfaction with service quality in Jordanian banks. Particularly, stated that customer
satisfaction has a relationship with service quality. At this point, there is an important need to
lead research in the business, economic, and management fields. Some research has clarified the
relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality with service quality dimensions.
This indicates that there is a need for further studies in this area.

This study aims to identify service quality dimensions, which can be used to measure
customer satisfaction, and evaluate the effect of service quality dimensions (tangibles,
responsiveness, empathy, assurance, reliability, access, financial aspect, and employee
competences) on customer satisfaction in the Jordanian-banking sector.
The question had been structured to explore the research objective. The research question
is the following: which service quality subscales have the most significant impact on customer
satisfaction in those sectors?
Finally, this is the first study to investigate these sectors.Therefore, it contributes to
the existing literature by filling these apparent gaps, providing insights for both researchers
and practitioners.

To get a better grasp of the defensive character of traditional quality control, we should
understand what the quality movement in the United States has achieved so far. How much
expense on quality was tolerable? How much “quality” was enough? In 1951, Joseph Juran
tackled these questions in the first edition of his Quality Control Handbook, a publication that
became the quality movement’s bible. Juran observed that quality could be understood in terms
of avoidable and unavoidable costs: the former resulted from defects and product failures like
scrapped materials or labor hours required for rework, repair, and complaint processing; the
latter were associated with prevention, i.e., inspection, sampling, sorting, and other quality
control initiatives. Juran regarded failure costs as “gold in the mine” because they could be
reduced sharply by investing in quality improvement. He estimated that avoidable quality losses

1
typically ranged from $500 to $1,000 per productive operator per year—big money back in the
1950s.

Reading Juran’s book, executives inferred roughly how much to invest in quality improvement:
expenditures on prevention were justified if they were lower than the costs of product failure.
A corollary principle was that decisions made early in the production chain (e.g., when
engineers first sketched out a product’s design) have implications for the level of quality costs
incurred later, both in the factory and the field.

In 1956, Armand Feigenbaum took Juran’s ideas a step further by proposing “total quality
control” (TQC). Companies would never make high-quality products, he argued, if the
manufacturing department were forced to pursue quality in isolation. TQC called for
“interfunctional teams” from marketing, engineering, purchasing, and manufacturing. These
teams would share responsibility for all phases of design and manufacturing and would disband
only when they had placed a product in the hands of a satisfied customer—who remained
satisfied.

Feigenbaum noted that all new products moved through three stages of activity: design control,
incoming material control, and product or shopfloor control. This was a step in the right
direction. But Feigenbaum did not really consider how quality was first of all a strategic
question for any business; how, for instance, quality might govern the development of a design
and the choice of features or options. Rather, design control meant for Feigenbaum mainly
preproduction assessments of a new design’s manufacturability, or that projected manufacturing
techniques should be debugged through pilot runs. Materials control included vendor evaluations
and incoming inspection procedures.

In TQC, quality was a kind of burden to be shared—no single department shouldered all the
responsibility. Top management was ultimately accountable for the effectiveness of the system;
Feigenbaum, like Juran, proposed careful reporting of the costs of quality to senior executives in
order to ensure their commitment. The two also stressed statistical approaches to quality,
including process control charts that set limits to acceptable variations in key variables affecting
a product’s production. They endorsed sampling procedures that allowed managers to draw

1
inferences about the quality of entire batches of products from the condition of items in a small,
randomly selected sample.

Despite their attention to these techniques, Juran, Feigenbaum, and other experts like W.
Edwards Deming were trying to get managers to see beyond purely statistical controls on
quality. Meanwhile, another branch of the quality movement emerged, relying even more
heavily on probability theory and statistics. This was “reliability engineering,” which originated
in the aerospace and electronics industries.

In 1950, only one-third of the U.S. Navy’s electronic devices worked properly. A subsequent
study by the Rand Corporation estimated that every vacuum tube the military used had to be
backed by nine others in warehouses or on order. Reliability engineering addressed these
problems by adapting the laws of probability to the challenge of predicting equipment stress.

Reliability engineering measures led to:

Techniques for reducing failure rates while products were still in the design stage.

Failure mode and effect analysis, which systematically reviewed how alternative designs could
fail.

Individual component analysis, which computed the failure probability of key components and
aimed to eliminate or strengthen the weakest links.

Derating, which required that parts be used below their specified stress levels.

Redundancy, which called for a parallel system to back up an important component or

subsystem in case it failed.

Naturally, an effective reliability program required managers to monitor field failures closely to
give company engineers the information needed to plan new designs. Effective field failure
reporting also demanded the development of systems of data collection, including return of
failed parts to the laboratory for testing and analysis.

1
Now, the proponents of all these approaches to quality control might well have denied that their
views of quality were purely defensive. But what else was implied by the solutions they stressed
—material controls, outgoing batch inspections, stress tests? Perhaps the best way to see the
implications of their logic is in traditional quality control’s most extreme form, a program called
“Zero Defects.” No other program defined quality so stringently as an absence of failures—and
no wonder, since it emerged from the defense industries where the product was a missile whose
flawless operation was, for obvious reasons, imperative.

In 1961, the Martin Company was building Pershing missiles for the U.S. Army. The design of
the missile was sound, but Martin found that it could maintain high quality only through a
massive program of inspection. It decided to offer workers incentives to lower the defect rate,
and in December 1961, delivered a Pershing missile to Cape Canaveral with “zero
discrepancies.” Buoyed by this success, Martin’s general manager in Orlando, Florida accepted
a challenge, issued by the U.S. Army’s missile command, to deliver the first field Pershing one
month ahead of schedule. But he went even further. He promised that the missile would be
perfect, with no hardware problems or document errors, and that all equipment would be fully
operational 10 days after delivery (the norm was 90 days or more).

Two months of feverish activity followed; Martin asked all employees to contribute to building
the missile exactly right the first time since there would be virtually no time for the usual
inspections. Management worked hard to maintain enthusiasm on the plant floor. In February
1962, Martin delivered on time a perfect missile that was fully operational in less than 24 hours.

This experience was eye-opening for both Martin and the rest of the aerospace industry. After
careful review, management concluded that, in effect, its own changed attitude had assured the
project’s success. In the words of one close observer: “The one time management demanded
perfection, it happened!”1 Martin management thereafter told employees that the only acceptable
quality standard was “zero defects.” It instilled this principle in the work force through training,
special events, and by posting quality results. It set goals for workers and put great effort into
giving each worker positive criticism. Formal techniques for problem solving, however,
remained limited. For the most part, the program focused on motivation—on changing the
attitudes of employees.

1
 The 5 Dimensions of Service Quality are

1. Reliability
2. Assurance
3. Tangibles
4. Empathy
5. Responsiveness.

1. Reliability

Reliability is an essential dimension of the Servqual model that confirms the capacity to provide
services exactly, on time, and credibly. Consistency is a critical factor for providing assistance or
product to the customers on time with error-free conditions. You have to respect the commitment
to give your service on time accurately as you promised to them.

For example, the organization is sending mail to the customers every day on time.

2. Assurance

Assurance means creating trust and credibility for the customers. It depends on the employee’s
technical knowledge, practical communication skills, courtesy, credibility, competency, and
professionalism. Therefore, these skills will help the organization gain customer trust and
credibility.

1
 The assurance dimension combines four factors: competence, courtesy, credibility, and security.
Firstly, competence means having the requisite skills and knowledge.
Courtesy refers to the politeness, respect, consideration, and friendliness of contact staff.
Credibility is the trustworthiness, believability, and honesty of the staff.
Finally, security means freedom from danger, risk, or doubt.

Example of the assurance dimension

The employee is showing respect and being polite to the customers while servicing them.

3. Tangibles

Tangibles represent the physical facilities, employees’ appearance, equipment, machines, and
information system. It focuses on facilitating materials and physical facilities.

For example, the organization maintains a clean environment, and staff follows the appropriate
dress code.

4. Empathy

Empathy means focusing on the customers attentively to ensure caring and distinguishing
service. It is an essential attitude in some countries in the world to serve every customer
individually. It is also a great process to satisfy customers psychologically and increase
confidence, trust, and loyalty. The company might lose its customers due to the lack of empathy
among the employees; therefore, they need to ensure compassion.

Additionally, empathy is a combination of the following factors:

 Access (physical and social) – (For example, approachable and ease of contact).

1
 Communication – (For instance, keeping customers informed in a language they understand
and listening to them).
 Understanding the customer – ( For example, making an effort to get to know customers
and their specific needs).

For example, they are active listeners when customers speak and recognize regular customers by
name.

5. Responsiveness

Responsiveness refers to the eagerness to assist customers with respect and provide quick service
to satisfy. This dimension focuses on the two essential factors, including willingness and
promptness. So, you have to ensure that the customer is getting their service quickly without
delay and make the customers feel that you are very interested in helping them. Responsiveness
will be defined by the length of time when customers wait for the answer or solution. In short,
responsiveness solves the customer problem as soon as possible by providing expected
information or replacing products.

Example of the Responsiveness Dimension

The employee keeps no customer in waiting serial and replaces the product quickly before
finishing the promised period.

Maintenance and reliability managers must have metrics in place to identify needs for
improvement. Metrics are also extremely important for validating whether the maintenance team
is headed in the right direction to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives. There are
dozens of reliability metrics, but not every measurement applies to every organization.

Which maintenance metrics are important to your company depends on your industry, the types

1
of assets, and your company and departmental goals and objectives. Instead of juggling with
countless measurements, it is a good idea to choose a few KPIs that you think are important and
suitable for your organization and department.

Here’s how you can measure and use some essential maintenance Key Performance Indicators
(KPIs) that apply to most companies:

Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)

MTTR, also referred to as maintainability measures the ability to do maintenance to keep or

restore equipment to a specified operating condition. Using MTTR, you can find the average
time it takes your maintenance staff to reinstate a machine to its optimal working condition
following a breakdown.

Formula: Total repair time/Number of repairs or replacements done

You can use the findings to expedite the machine’s restoration time, which can help decrease
losses resulting from downtime.

Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF)

MTBF forecasts the time between one failure to the next under normal operating conditions. In
other words, this KPI helps you predict the life expectancy for a piece of equipment.

Formula: MTBF = Total operational time/Number of failures

If MTBF for specific equipment comes out higher, it indicates that the machine will work
longer before eventually breaking down.

MTBF gives you an idea as to how long the equipment will work without failure, so you can

1
easily plan for preventive maintenance or replacement.

Availability

Availability, also known as uptime, calculates how likely it is for a piece of equipment to operate
decently well under reasonable conditions. It is an essential metric for measuring the overall
effectiveness of an asset.

A tangible asset loses its availability as it is used over time. Technicians can improve the asset’s
availability by undertaking essential maintenance tasks. And when availability drops below a
specific threshold, the asset’s performance will not improve unless it is upgraded or replaced.

Formula: Availability = MTBF / (MTBF + MTTR)

Using this KPI, you can identify opportunities for improvements, in addition to reducing the
risk of sudden equipment failure.

The typical availability benchmark is 95 percent for most assets. However, it can differ
depending on how necessary the equipment is to your operations.

Planned Maintenance Percentage (PPC)

PPC denotes the percentage of time spent on planned maintenance in contrast to unplanned
maintenance tasks. In other words, it tells you how much time your technicians spent on
preventive maintenance as compared to time spent to fix unexpected failures.

Formula: PPC = (Planned maintenance time/Total maintenance time) x 100

Ideally, at least 90 percent of planned maintenance time is necessary for optimal productivity.

2
You can use the findings of PPC to strengthen planned maintenance and reduce the likelihood of
unexpected failures.

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

OEE measures the effectiveness of your company’s maintenance program, depending on the
quality, performance, and availability of a piece of equipment.

Formula: OEE = Availability x Performance x Quality

If OEE comes out 100 percent, it shows that your asset is operating at optimum productivity
level, without presenting any signs of defects.

Using this KPI, you can gain insights into how an asset is performing and decide if there is room
for improvement. It helps you identify defective assets that are affecting your productivity in
negative ways, so you can eliminate the flaws or replace the assets.

Tags: Mean Time to Repair, Mean Time Between Failure, Number of failures, Total operational
time, Planned Maintenance Percentage, Overall Equipment
Effectiveness, Availability, Reliability Metrics

SERVQUAL is a multi-dimensional research instrument designed to capture consumer

expectations and perceptions of a service along five dimensions that are believed to represent
service quality. SERVQUAL is built on the expectancy-disconfirmation paradigm, which, in
simple terms, means that service quality is understood as the extent to which consumers' pre-
consumption expectations of quality are confirmed or disconfirmed by their actual perceptions of
the service experience. When the SERVQUAL questionnaire was first published in 1985 by a
team of academic researchers, A. Parasuraman, Valarie Zeithaml and Leonard L. Berry to
measure quality in the service sector,[1] it represented a breakthrough in the measurement

2
methods used for service quality research. The diagnostic value of the instrument is supported by
the model of service quality which forms the conceptual framework for the development of the
scale (i.e. instrument or questionnaire). The instrument has been widely applied in a variety of
contexts and cultural settings and found to be relatively robust. It has become the dominant
measurement scale in the area of service quality. In spite of the long-standing interest in
SERVQUAL and its myriad of context-specific applications, it has attracted some criticism from
researchers. SERVQUAL is a multidimensional research instrument designed to measure service
quality by capturing respondents’ expectations and perceptions along five dimensions of service
quality.[2] The questionnaire consists of matched pairs of items - 22 expectation items and 22
perceptions items - organised into five dimensions which are believed to align with the
consumer's mental map of service quality dimensions. Both the expectations component and the
perceptions component of the questionnaire consist a total of 22 items, comprising 4 items to
capture tangibles, 5 items to capture reliability, 4 items for responsiveness, 4 items for assurance
and 5 items to capture empathy.[3] The questionnaire may be administered as a paper survey, web
survey or in a face-to-face interview. Known studies have published high scores for validity and
reliability from small to large size sample sizes. In practice, it is customary to add additional
items such as the respondent's demographics, prior experience with the brand or category and
behavioural intentions (intention to revisit/ repurchase, loyalty intentions and propensity to give
word-of-mouth referrals). Thus, the final questionnaire may consist of 60+ items though the 22
questions are the same. The face to face interview version may take one hour, per respondent, to
administer but not the print or web survey forms.

Summary of SERVQUAL items [4]

No. of Items in
Dimension Definition
Questionnaire

The ability to perform the promised service

Reliability 5
dependably and accurately

2
 The knowledge and courtesy of employees
Assurance 4
and their ability to convey trust and
confidence

The appearance of physical facilities,

Tangibles 4
equipment, personnel and communication
materials

The provision of caring, individualized attention

Empathy 5
to customer

The willingness to help customers and to

Responsiveness 4
provide prompt service

The instrument which was developed over a five-year period; was tested, pre-tested and refined
before appearing in its final form. The instrument's developers, Parasuraman, Ziethaml and
Berry, claim that it is a highly reliable and valid instrument.[5] Certainly, it has been widely used
and adapted in service quality research for numerous industries and various geographic regions.
In application, many researchers are forced to make minor modifications to the instrument as
necessary for context-specific applications. Some researchers label their revised instruments
with innovative titles such as LibQUAL+ (libraries), EDUQUAL (educational
context),[6] HEALTHQUAL (hospital context) [7] and ARTSQUAL (art museum).[8]

Examples of matched pairs of items in the SERVQUAL questionnaire [9]

Dimension Sample expectations item Sample perceptions item

XYZ company provides its

Reliability When excellent telephone companies
services at the promised time
promise to do something by a certain

2
 time, they do so

The behaviour of employees in The behaviour of employees in

Assurance excellent banks will instill confidence in the XYZ bank instils
customers confidence in you.

Excellent telephone companies will have XYZ company has modern

Tangibles
modern looking equipment looking equipment

Excellent banks will have XYZ bank has

Empathy
operating hours convenient to convenient operating
customers hours

Employees of excellent telephone

XYZ employees are never too
Responsiveness companies will never be too busy to help
busy to help you
a customer

The SERVQUAL questionnaire has been described as "the most popular standardized
questionnaire to measure service quality."[10] It is widely used by service firms, most often in
conjunction with other measures of service quality and customer satisfaction. The SERVQUAL
instrument was developed as part of a broader conceptualization of how customers understand
service quality. This conceptualization is known as the model of service quality or more
popularly as the gaps model.

The model of service quality[edit]

The model of service quality, popularly known as the gaps model was developed by a group of
American authors, A. Parasuraman, Valarie A. Zeithaml and Len Berry, in a systematic research
program carried out between 1983 and 1988. The model identifies the principal dimensions (or
components) of service quality; proposes a scale for measuring service quality (SERVQUAL)
and suggests possible causes of service quality problems. The model's developers originally

2
identified ten dimensions of service quality, but after testing and retesting, some of the
dimensions were found to be autocorrelated and the total number of dimensions was reduced to
five, namely - reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy and responsiveness. These five
dimensions are thought to represent the dimensions of service quality across a range of industries
and settings.[11] Among students of marketing, the mnemonic, RATER, an acronym formed from
the first letter of each of the five dimensions is often used as an aid to recall.

A simplified model of service quality

Businesses use the SERVQUAL instrument (i.e. questionnaire) to measure potential service
quality problems and the model of service quality to help diagnose possible causes of the
problem. The model of service quality is built on the expectancy-confirmation paradigm which
suggests that consumers perceive quality in terms of their perceptions of how well a given
service delivery meets their expectations of that delivery.[12] Thus, service quality can be
conceptualized as a simple equation:

SQ = P- E

where;
SQ is service quality
P is the individual's perceptions of given service delivery
E is the individual's expectations of a given service delivery

When customer expectations are greater than their perceptions of received

delivery, service quality is deemed low. When perceptions exceed expectations
then service quality is high. The model of service quality identifies five gaps that
may cause customers to experience poor service quality. In this model, gap 1 is
the service quality gap and is the only gap that can be directly measured. In other
words, the SERVQUAL instrument was specifically designed to capture gap 1.

2
In contrast, Gaps 2-5 cannot be measured, but have diagnostic value.
Summary of Gaps with Diagnostic Indications [13]
Gap Brief description
Difference between the
Gap 1 target market's expected
service and management's
The Knowledge
perceptions of the target
Gap
market's expected service
Difference between
management's perceptions of
Gap 2
customer expectations and
The standards
the translation into service
Gap
procedures and
specifications
Difference between service
Gap 3 quality specifications and
The Delivery Gap the service actually
delivered
2
Probable Causes
 Insufficient marketing
research
 Inadequate upward
communications
 Too many layers of
management
 Lack of management
commitment to service
quality
 Employee perceptions
of infeasibility
 Inadequate goal setting
 Inadequate task
standardisation
 Technical breakdowns
or malfunctions
 Role conflict/
ambiguity
 Lack of perceived
control
 Poor employee-job fit
 Poor technology- fit
  Poor supervision or
training

 Lack of
horizontal
communications
 Poor communication
with advertising agency
Gap 4 Difference between service  Inadequate
The delivery intentions and what communications
Communications is communicated to the between sales
Gap customer and operations
 Differences in policies
and procedures across
branches or divisions of
an entity
 Propensity to
overpromise

Development of the instrument and model[edit]

The development of the model of service quality involved a systematic research

undertaking which began in 1983, and after various refinements, resulted in the
publication of the SERVQUAL instrument in 1988.[14] The model's developers
began with an exhaustive literature search in order to identify items that were
believed to impact on perceived service quality. This initial search identified
some 100 items which were used in the first rounds of consumer testing.
Preliminary data analysis, using a data reduction technique known as factor
analysis (also known as principal components analysis) revealed that these
items loaded onto ten dimensions (or components) of service quality. The initial
ten dimensions that were believed to represent service quality were:

1. Competence is the possession of the required skills and knowledge

to perform the service. For example, there may be competence in the
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 knowledge and skill of contact personnel, knowledge and skill of
operational support personnel and research capabilities of the
organization.
2. Courtesy is the consideration for the customer's property and a clean
and neat appearance of contact personnel, manifesting as politeness,
respect, and friendliness.
3. Credibility includes factors such as trustworthiness, belief and
honesty. It involves having the customer's best interests at prime
position. It may be influenced by company name, company reputation
and the personal characteristics of the contact personnel.
4. Security enables the customer to feel free from danger, risk or
doubt including physical safety, financial security and
confidentiality.
5. Access is approachability and ease of contact. For example,
convenient office operation hours and locations.
6. Communication means both informing customers in a language they
are able to understand and also listening to customers. A company may
need to adjust its language for the varying needs of its customers.
Information might include for example, explanation of the service and
its cost, the relationship between services and costs and assurances as to
the way any problems are effectively managed.
7. Knowing the customer means making an effort to understand the
customer's individual needs, providing individualized attention,
recognizing the customer when they arrive and so on. This in turn
helps to delight the customers by rising above their expectations.
8. Tangibles are the physical evidence of the service, for instance, the
appearance of the physical facilities, tools and equipment used to
provide the service; the appearance of personnel and communication
materials and the presence of other customers in the service facility.
9. Reliability is the ability to perform the promised service in a
dependable and accurate manner. The service is performed correctly on
the first
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 occasion, the accounting is correct, records are up to date and schedules
are kept.
10. Responsiveness is the readiness and willingness of employees to help
customers by providing prompt timely services, for example, mailing
a transaction slip immediately or setting up appointments quickly.

Further testing suggested that some of the ten preliminary dimensions of service
quality were closely related or autocorrelated. Thus the ten initial dimensions
were reduced and the labels amended to accurately reflect the revised
dimensions. By the early 1990s, the authors had refined the model to five factors
which in testing, appear to be relatively stable and robust.

1. Reliability: the ability to perform the promised service dependably

and accurately
2. Assurance: the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their
ability to convey trust and confidence
3. Tangibles: the appearance of physical facilities, equipment,
personnel and communication materials
4. Empathy: the provision of caring, individualized attention to customers
5. Responsiveness: the willingness to help customers and to
provide prompt service

These are the five dimensions of service quality that form the basis of the
individual items in the SERVQUAL research instrument (questionnaire). The
acronym RATER, is often used to help students of marketing remember the five
dimensions of quality explicitly mentioned in the research instrument. It is these
five dimensions that are believed to represent the consumer's mental checklist of
service quality.

Nyeck, Morales, Ladhari, and Pons (2002) stated the SERVQUAL measuring
tool “appears to remain the most complete attempt to conceptualize and measure
service quality” (p. 101). The SERVQUAL measuring tool has been used by
many researchers across a wide range of service industries and contexts, such as

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 healthcare, banking, financial services, and education (Nyeck, Morales, Ladhari,
& Pons, 2002).

Criticisms of SERVQUAL and the model of service quality[edit]

Although the SERVQUAL instrument has been widely applied in a variety of

industry and cross-cultural contexts, there are many criticisms of the approach.
Francis Buttle published one of the most comprehensive criticisms of the model
of service quality and the associated SERVQUAL instrument in 1996 in which
both operational and theoretical concerns were identified.[15] Some of the more
important criticisms include:

Face validity: The model of service quality has its roots in the expectancy-disconfimation
paradigm that informs customer satisfaction.[16] A number of researchers have argued that
the research instrument actually captures satisfaction rather than service quality.[17] Other
researchers have questioned the validity of conceptualising service quality as a gap.[18]
Construct validity: The model's developers tested and retested the SERVQUAL scale for
reliability and validity. However, at the same time, the model's developers recommended
that applied use of the instrument should modify or adapt them for specific contexts. Any
attempt to adapt or modify the scale will have implications for the validity of items with
implications for the validity of the dimensions of reliability, assurance, tangibles,
empathy and responsiveness.[19]
Ambiguity of expectations construct: SERVQUAL is designed to be administered after
respondents have experienced a service. They are therefore asked to recall their pre-
experience expectations. However, recall is not always accurate, raising concerns about
whether the research design accurately captures true pre-consumption expectations. In
addition, studies show that expectations actually change over time. Consumers are
continually modifying their expectations as they gain experience with a product category
or brand.[20] In light of these insights, concerns have been raised about whether the act of
experiencing the service might colour respondents' expectations.
Operational definition of the expectations construct: The way that expectations has been
operationalised also represents a concern for theorists investigating the validity of the
gaps model. The literature identifies different types of expectations.[21] Of these, there is

3
an argument that only forecast expectations are true expectations. Yet, the SERVQUAL
instrument appears to elicit ideal expectations.[22] Note the wording in the questionnaire
in the preceding figure which grounds respondents in their expectations of
what excellent companies will do. Subtle use of words can elicit different types of
expectations. Capturing true expectations is important because it has implications for
service quality scores. When researchers elicit ideal expectations, overall service quality
scores are likely to be lower, making it much more difficult for marketers to deliver on
those expectations.[23]
Questionnaire length: The matched pairs design of the questionnaire (total of 22
expectation items plus 22 perception items= 44 total items) makes for a very long
questionnaire. If researchers add demographic and other behavioural items such as prior
experience with product or category and the standard battery of demographics including:
age, gender, occupation, educational attainment etc. then the average questionnaire will
have around 60 items. In practical terms, this means that the questionnaire would take
more than one hour per respondent to administer in a face-to-face interview. Lengthy
questionnaires are known to induce respondent fatigue which may have potential
implications for data reliability. In addition, lengthy questionnaires add to the time and
cost involved in data collection and data analysis. Coding, collation and interpretation of
data is very time consuming and in the case of lengthy questionnaires administered across
large samples, the findings cannot be used to address urgent quality-related problems. In
some cases, it may be necessary to carry out 'quick and dirty' research while waiting for
the findings of studies with superior research design.
Administration of the questionnaire: Some analysts have pointed out that the SERVPERF
instrument, developed by Cronin and Taylor,[24][25] and which reduced the number of
questionnaire items by half (22 perceptions items only), achieves results that correlate
well with SERVQUAL, with no reduction in diagnostic power, improved data accuracy
through reductions in respondent boredom and fatigue and savings in the form of reduced
administration costs.
Dimensional instability: A number of studies have reported that the five dimensions of
service quality implicit in the model (reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy and
responsiveness) do not hold up when the research is replicated in different countries,

3
different industries, in different market segments or even at different time periods.[26]
[27]
Some studies report that the SERVQUAL items do not always load onto
the same factors. In some empirical research, the items load onto fewer dimensions,
while other studies report that the items load onto more than five dimensions of quality.
In statistical terms, the robustness of the factor loadings is known as a model's
dimensional stability. Across a wide range of empirical studies, the factors implicit in the
SERVQUAL instrument have been shown to be unstable.[28] Problems associated with
the stability of the factor loadings may be attributed, at least in part, to the requirement
that each new SERVQUAL investigation needed to make context-sensitive modifications
to the instrument in order to accommodate the unique aspects of the focal service setting
or problem. However, it has also been hypothesised that the dimensions of service quality
represented by the SERVQUAL research instrument fail to capture the true
dimensionality of the service quality construct and that there may not be a universal set
of service quality dimensions that are relevant across all service industries.[29]

3
 CHAPTER – 2

INDUSTRY PROFILE AND COMPANY PROFILE

3
Nblik India Private Limited is a Private incorporated on 11 October 2019. It is classified as Non-
govt company and is registered at Registrar of Companies. Its authorized share capital is Rs.
7,750,000 and its paid up capital is Rs. 7,630,000. It is inolved in Business activities n.e.c.

Nblik India Private Limited's Annual General Meeting (AGM) was last held on 06 October 2021
and as per records from Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), its balance sheet was last filed on
31 March 2021.

Directors of Nblik India Private Limited are Priya Yadav and Abhishek Yadav.
Made in India, NbliK is an interest-based community and a content-sharing platform where you
can explore top-notch content and make friends who share your interests. Browse articles &
topics as per your interests.

The mission is to be Earth's most customer-centric company. Our actions, goals, projects,
programs, and inventions begin and end with the customer top of mind.

VALUES
1. Honesty
2. Discipline
3. Quality
4. Hard work
5. Mutual trust and belief
6. Transparency
7. Co-operation and team work

Company name NBLIK INDIA PRIVATE

LIMITED

3
Ownership Type private

Primary Business mca provider

type

Category Company limited by Shares

Sub Category Non-govt company

Main Language English

Corporate U74999UR2019PTC010305
Identification
Number (CIN)

Year of 11/10/2019
Establishment

Age of Company 2 Years 6 Months 26 Days

3
 CHAPTER – 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3
Introduction
Research design is the blueprint of the proposed study. It represents the overall scheme of the
study, ‘A research design is a logical and systematic planning and it helps directing a piece of
research’. Research design is the program that guides the investigator in the process of
collecting. Analysis and interpreting observation. It provides a systematic plan of procedure for
the researcher to follow.
After selecting the topic, the researcher has to plan how he should conduct his research in the
most efficient and successful manner. Good planning gives the researcher direction for the
successful completion of the project. The plan of study is called research design.

Title of the study:

Meaning of research
Research is the process of solving problems and finding facts in an organised way....Research is
done by applying what is known (if anything), and building on it. Additional knowledge can be
discovered by proving existing theories, and by trying to better explain observations.

2.4 definition of research

According to Kothari (2006). Research is a pursuit of trust with the help of study, observation,
comparison and experiment, the search for knowledge through objective and systematic method
of solution to a problem.

Research design
A research design is the set of methods and procedures used in collecting and analysing
measures of the variables specified in the problem research. ... A research design is a
framework that has been created to find answers to research questions.

Definition of research design

3
According to Kothari (2004), research design is a plan, a roadmap and blueprint strategy of
investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to research questions (Kothari, 2004), it is the
heart of any study.

Statement of the problem

The analysis of customers point of view is necessary in service . The services are available for
reasonable prices and also owners’ point of view to control the cost and making changes relating
to the performance to improve efficiency. Hence “A study on customers perception” is very
vital.

The findings of the study are applicable to Nblik

i. The study is proposed to understand to know the better utilization of plateform to gain
knowledge as well as extracurriculrs.
ii. The study is proposed to understand the qulit of the articles available for the customers.
iii. The study is related to the perception of the customers o Nblik.

Objectives of the study

The main objective of the study is,
 To study that the services available as it is promised
 To study how they respond to customer queries
 To study about the dependability to handle customer’s service problems.

Literature review:
A literature review is a text of a scholarly paper, which includes the current knowledge including
substantive findings as well as theoretical and methodological contribution to a particular topic.
Different authors review Supply Chain Process in different ways some of them as follow.
Satisfaction: A Behavioral Perspective on the Consumer
A Behavioral Perspective on the Consumer
Designed for advanced MBA and doctoral courses in Consumer Behavior and Customer
Satisfaction, this is the definitive text on the meaning, causes, and consequences of
customer satisfaction. It covers every psychological aspect of satisfaction formation, and the

3
contents are applicable to all consumables - product or service.Author Richard L. Oliver
traces the history of consumer satisfaction from its earliest roots, and brings together the
very latest thinking on the consequences of satisfying (or not satisfying) a firm's customers.
He describes today's best practices in business, and broadens the determinants of
satisfaction to include needs, quality, fairness, and regret ('what might have been').The book
culminates in Oliver's detailed model of consumption processing and his satisfaction
measurement scale. The text concludes with a section on the long-term effects of
satisfaction, and why an understanding of satisfaction psychology is vitally important to top
management.

Understanding Customer Expectations of Service

Some companies have more than just a competitive advantage in customer service, they have
unwavering customer loyalty. How do they do it? The authors argue that the key to providing
superior service is understanding and responding to customer expectations. Through their
research, two different kinds of expectations emerged, both of which can change over time and
from one service encounter to the next for the same customer. By responding appropriately to
these expectations, managers can be on their way to developing a “customer franchise.”
A. Parasuraman, Leonard L. Berry and Valarie A. ZeithamlApril 15, 1991

Collection of data:
a) Primary data:
These are collected for the first time which is for a specific purpose.
The primary data is collected through face to face interview with staff of the company.

b) Secondary data
The major data was collected form secondary source like annual reports, Cost sheet,
books, journals and some websites have been visited for the same purpose.

2.12 Processing

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 o Tables
o charts
o graphs

2.13 Methodology:
It describes the various steps that are generally adopted by aa researcher in studying the research
problem along with the logic behind them.
The study is based on face to face interview with manager of cost accountant and staff of the
company, and data as collected form cost sheet, annual report, prospectus provided by Nblik

Tools forAnalysis:
The study is non-experimental but analytical in nature. The study requires both primary data and
secondary data was collected through verbal discussion held with the officers of costing
departments, Nblik, whereas the secondary data is collected through various source like
periodicals, annual report, magazine and books of Nblik which were found correct for the
purpose of this study.

Limitation
I. The findings of the study are applicable to Nblik company only.
II. The study is conducted based on the data collected for a particular period.
III. The major limitation of this study is practical difficulty and time consuming.
IV. This study cannot be generalized, and some cost information could not be collected due to
company’s confidentially.

2.16 Chapter Scheme

Hence chapter’s scheme will be as follows.
Chapter-1
Introduction
Nblik India Private Limited is a 2 years 5 months old Private Company incorporated on 11 Oct
2019. NbliK is an all-in-one community platform for Creators, Clubs, associations, NGOs,

4
Societies & brands based in India. NbliK is an all-in-one community platform for creators,
startups, political parties, college clubs, associations, NGOs, Societies & brands based in India.
NbliK is a community platform that brings together the creators' discussions, memberships, and
content.
It's authorized share capital is INR 77.50 lac and the total paid-up capital is INR 76.30 lac.

The current status of Nblik India Private Limited is - Active.

The last reported AGM (Annual General Meeting) of Nblik India Private Limited, per our
records, was held on 06 October, 2021. Also, as per our records, its last balance sheet was
prepared for the period ending on 31 March, 2021.

Chapter-2
Research design
Detailed information about the topic is explained. It includes statement of the problem,
objectives, scope, method of data collection limitations, sampling details are measured and
operational definitions.

Chapter-3
Company profile
This includes in detail information about the company, history, mission, vision, area of
operations and performances. Therefore, this chapter provide complete picture about the
organization.

Chapter-4
Data analysis and interpretation
In this chapter, the analysis of data by suitable tools are carried out and inferences are drawn
based on findings.

Chapter-5
Findings, conclusion and suggestions
This chapter covers the finding of the study conducted, conclusions on findings and suggestions
are provided.

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 CHAPTER – 4
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4
 Service quality is often conceptualized as the comparison between service expectations and
actual performance perceptions. It enhances customer satisfaction, decreases customer defection,

and promotes customer loyalty. Substantial literature has examined the concept of service
its dimensions, and measurement methods. We introduce the perceived service quality
guidelines
(PSQI) as for improving
a single service
measure quality. The
for evaluating theDEA models proposed
multiple-item in this study
service quality are designed
construct based on to
evaluate
SERVQUALand improve
model. service quality.measure (SBM) of efficiency with constant inputs is used
A slack-based
calculate the PSQI. In addition, a non-linear programming model based on the SBM is
to delineate an improvement guideline and improve service quality. An empirical study
conducted to assess the applicability of the method proposed in this study. A large number
studies have used DEA as a benchmarking tool to measure service quality. These models do
propose a coherent performance evaluation construct and consequently fail to deliver

Analysis

The term “analysis” means methodically classifying data give in the statements into a simplified
from the interpretations the explanation of the facts in a simplified manner. It involves the
comparison of similar figures at different point of time and different figures at same point of
time.

Building a hypothesis to explain the management the basis of theory is know as interpretation.
This chapter deals with the analysis and interpretation which are depicted using graphs and
tables. The analysis and interpretation of financial data given in the financial statement are
necessary to draw conclusion or to form an opinion about certain facts.

INTERPRETATION:

4
It refers to the comparison of various components and definite conclusion may be drawn about
the earing capacity, efficiency, profitability, liquidity and solvency trend etc, since the
comparison is very much essential for interpretation.

4
 The firm meets their promised time-frames for response

Count Percentage

Total response 10 100

Strongly disagree NIL

Disagree NIL

Neutral 3 30

Agree 6 60

Strongly agree 1 10

4
 They provide their services at the times promised

Count Percentage

Total response 10 100

Strongly disagree NIL

Disagree NIL

Neutral 2 20

Agree 6 60

Strongly agree 2 20

4
The firm is sympathetic and reassuring when the customers have
problems

4
 Count Percentage

Total response 10 100

Strongly disagree NIL

Disagree NIL

Neutral 3 30

Agree 1 10

Strongly agree 1 10

4
 It is unrealistic to expect employees to fully understand the needs of
customer

Count Percentage

Total response 10 100

Strongly disagree NIL

Disagree NIL

Neutral 4 40

Agree 5 50

Strongly agree 1 10

5
Firms should not necessarily have to operate at hours convenient to all

5
 customers

Count Percentage

Total response 10 100

Strongly disagree NIL

Disagree NIL

Neutral 5 50

Agree 2 20

Strongly agree 3 30

5
 CHAPTER – 5
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION

5
 At first, we had proposed our title of “A study on the SERVQUAL dimensions of Nblik”.The
purpose for our research is used to identify the new knowledge that have not done bythe previous
studies. The concept of the service quality and brand image had been review in this study. In this
research, SERVQUAL model is used as the applications in our study.This model is essential in our
study as our research framework is derived from this model. Based on the findings, we found out that
five dimension of the modified version of service quality model have the strongly impact on brand
image. Service quality has thestrongly correlated with the brand image. This research study is to
increase our understanding of service brand from the customer’s perspective. Moreover, it provides
the people especially service marketers the understanding of the associations that may exist and how
they impact on the brand image. By understanding these associations and the inherent risks associated
with service procurement, they will be able to manage the brand strategies well and to make better
branding decisions. As a result, there are five service quality dimensions in the modified version of
SERVQUAL model that affect customers’ satisfaction and thus brand image: Tangibility is related to
the physical environment, facilities and the employees’ appearance. Reliability is the ability to carry
out the services consistently and accurately.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.getfeedback.com/resources/cx/how-to-measure-the-5-dimensions-of-service-
quality/#:~:text=The%20five%20service%20quality%20dimensions,responsiveness%2C%20ass urance
%2C%20and%20empathy.

https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/the-five-dimensions-of-service-quality-measured-
marketing-essay.php

https://www.marketing91.com/servqual/#SERVQUAL-Questionnaire-of-Five-Dimensions

https://www.serviceperformance.com/the-5-service-dimensions-all-customers-care-about/

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