Investigating the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction: An empirical perspective on pharmaceutical healthcare sector

Service quality has been extensively studied over the past years. Drawing upon the established service quality (SERVQUAL) dimensions, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction within a business to business (B2B) pharmaceutical healthcare industry. Based on judgmental sampling approach, a postal questionnaire survey was used to collect data and distributed to 149 business pharmaceutical respondents in a developing nation. A multiple regression analysis was used to test several hypotheses. The results revealed that the five dimensions of service quality: tangibility, reliability, assurance, responsiveness, and empathy significantly influenced customer satisfaction. Reliability was found to have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction. Several managerial implications were established, which amongst others, include marketers´ consistency in the delivery of services to their business customers.