Adaptation mechanisms and service quality dimensions in dynamic and turbulent environments: empirical results

Abstract

Organizations internally seek to develop adaptation and resilience processes or adaptation mechanisms to cope with drastic changes in the environment in order to survive. The changes in the environment affect the perception of product and service quality by the consumer, which are related to customer satisfaction. The purpose of this work is to identify the service quality dimensions that are nested within organizations and the mechanisms to adapt its processes to the turbulent environment. Twenty-four multiple case studies in the construction sector were developed through semi-structured interviews with customers and managers. The results suggest that there are new service quality dimensions; from the customers perspective such as: requirements management and process optimization, emotional intelligence, ergonomic analysis, permanent training of masons, extra activity, monitoring and others. The adaptation mechanisms that organizations use to guarantee service quality are integral training, saved budget, paradigm change, management system, teamwork, and others