2014 | Gabriel Sperandio Milan, Marcelo Benetti Correa da Silva, Suélen Bebber, Deonir De Toni
ABSTRACT
Background: Civil construction exceptionally influences the local economies and has been growing its participation in national economy. As a result of this growth, competition is tough and companies need to know the competitive environment to keep in market. In this context, the service quality acquires relevance and becomes determining factor in business performance. Objective: The aim of this paper has been to develop an understanding of how customers perceive service quality in housing construction. The study was conducted by a quantitative methodology approach, by the application of a survey, structured from the adaptation of the original SERVQUAL Scale. The research was implemented in 33 projects of nine contractor companies located in a southern city in Brazil, resulting in 130 valid cases. By means the Factor Analysis has been used to evaluate the attributes and dimensions that comprise service quality in this sector. Results: As a result, it was found 22 attributes grouped into three dimensions (Competence, Reliability and Responsiveness), resulting in 71.68% of the explained variance, setting these dimensions as a modified SERVQUAL Scale. From this scale, it was possible to identify and evaluate the existing discrepancies in the quality of service in directing the companies to maximize service quality and customer satisfaction. The results of the gaps pointed to negative values in all attributes and dimensions of service quality identified. Conclusion: Given the specificity of the study context, the theoretical implications resulting of this research, allow analyzing the attributes and dimensions of service quality in civil construction, instigating and assisting in the development of new research and qualification of the decision-making process of the management area. The developed study is relevant by bringing contributions concerning the quality assessment of services intrinsic to multifamily buildings. Besides, it is worth mentioning that the contributions of the study may be very strongly related to the peculiarities of the buyer of multifamily buildings, given their expectations and perceptions, and the Brazilian market itself.
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