Bruno Završnik 1
, Damjana Jerman
2
Received: 5. 10. 2004 Original scientific paper
Accepted: 25. 9. 2005 UDC: 658.8
The conceptualization and assessment of service quality continues to play an important role in marketing. The main aim of this paper is to study the perceived quality of service offered in the particular case of a logistics service organisation.
We attempted to identify the gaps in logistical service offered in the samples of
Croatian, Slovenian, Bosnian and Serbian and Monte Negrin enterprises. A comparative analysis discovered the differences and particularities linked to the specific markets regarding the importance and perceived characteristics of logistical services. While search quality factors can be assessed even before purchase, experience quality can be assessed only after purchase. Results indicate that consumers have evaluated the logistical service of logistics provider
Intereuropa Ltd. Co. in terms of three major dimensions: on-time delivery, speed of delivery and the reliability of logistical services offered. In this paper, we explored the gaps in the logistical service offered in the samples of Croatian,
Slovenian, Bosnian and Serbian and Monte Negrin enterprises. The study’s findings suggest a framework to develop measures to empirically assess logistical service quality.
1. INTRODUCTION
Every service experience is a new event. For the customer, it is the people who are delivering the services who are usually thought of as the “supply company”. Every service depends on the context in which is delivered – time, place and participants. All these aspects are subject to variability and this inevitably leads to heterogeneity in the service as received by customers. The particular nature of service organisations is that, when dealing with the
1 Bruno Završnik, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics and Business, Razlagova 20,
2000 Maribor, Slovenia, E-mail: bruno.zavrsnik@uni-mb.si
2 Damjana Jerman, M.Sc., Intereuropa d.d., Vojkovo nabrežje 32, 6000 Koper, Slovenia, E-mail: damjana.jerman@intereuropa.si
1

Management, Vol. 11, 2006, 1, pp. 1-16
B. Završnik, D. Jerman: The importance of logistics service quality in a business-to-business... influences of the dimensions of perceived quality, it is necessary to take into consideration the perceived quality of the services. Perceived service quality has been the topic of a substantial line of research which has given rise to new concepts and empirical studies. The need to understand and measure service quality is related to the growing recognition that it is more profitable to retain satisfied customers than to be continually seeking to recruit new customers to replace lapsed ones (Palmer, O'Neill, 2003).
In the service marketing literature, the main focus has been on consumer services, leaving business-to-business services as a relatively unexplored area of research. Industrial services can be divided into two broad groups; (1) maintenance and repair services (2) business advisory services or professional services. This dichotomy essentially is related to the difference between goodsrelated or customer services and “pure” services. Professional services are related to core business elements of service providers and as such seem to be important. At the same time, it has been argued that consumer services may be the single most important competitive factor in business-to-business environments. Both types of business services, therefore, seem to be important and have be taken into account in several studies (Swartz, and Iacobucci, 2000).
One of the key issues in services marketing research has been the search for an in-depth understanding of the measurement and management of service quality. Here, the dominant point of view on quality has been customer perceptions of service provider performance. Although a relatively large body of knowledge has accumulated with regard to consumer services, only a few studies have taken the specific characteristics shared by business-to-business services into account. It seems relevant, therefore, to discuss the point of reference that customers take in their quality assessment of business services
(Swartz, and Iacobucci, 2000).
2. RESEARCH PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
The international research offers an opportunity for identifying the gaps in logistical service offering in the samples of Croatian, Slovenian, Bosnian and
Serbian and Montenegrin enterprises. A comparative analysis should discover the differences and particularities linked to the specific markets regarding the importance and perceived characteristics of logistical services.
Research objectives are defined at the theoretical and pragmatic level. The theoretical research should explore the assessment of services, especially logistical services in the business-to-business market. According to our
2

Management, Vol. 11, 2006, 1, pp. 1-16
B. Završnik, D. Jerman: The importance of logistics service quality in a business-to-business... empirical research objectives, our research endeavour should explore the importance and perceived value of the different characteristics of logistical services. We would like to find out the differences in order of importance and the perceived characteristics of logistical services within countries. These findings might assist Slovenian, Croatian, Bosnian and Serbian and
Montenegrin managers in enterprises in their strategic decision-making.
3. MONITORING SERVICE QUALITY AND THE ASSESSMENT
OF SERVICES
One of the major challenges of services marketers is the assessment of the quality of service offerings. Due to the general nature of services (i.e. intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, and perishability), service quality is usually difficult for customers to evaluate (Green, 1998). Services by definition are different from goods in the sense that they are intangible and very difficult to evaluate. While search quality factors can be assessed even before purchase or consumption, experience quality can be assessed only after purchase and consumption, and credence quality is impossible to assess even after consumption; the consumer may have to simply rely on faith or trust. As a result, merely increasing awareness is not enough, especially for services that are high in experience and credence quality (Paswan and Ganesh, 2003).
It is widely recognised that systems for monitoring service quality should be diverse in their approaches. To date, the debate about diversity has focussed on how to combine qualitative and qualitative techniques; sampling frames and the use of multiple data collection instruments. It seems logical that practitioners should seek to develop and operate some mechanism by which they can track consumer perceptions over time. While the use of more quantitative measures of service quality is strongly encouraged for such purposes, the approach that could actually be undertaken might be either quantitative or qualitative in nature and may comprise any of the dominant measurement techniques employed within the services sector today (Palmer and
O'Neill, 2003).
Positive encounters do have favourable implications for the service provider; as with any other satisfying experience, consumers may respond with higher intentions to repatronize, greater praise, and more favourable recommendations to others. Research shows, however, that individuals’ satisfying experiences have less effect on overall satisfaction than negative incidents have on dissatisfaction (Swartz and Iacobucci, 2000).
3

Management, Vol. 11, 2006, 1, pp. 1-16
B. Završnik, D. Jerman: The importance of logistics service quality in a business-to-business...
The most widely used approach to measuring service quality is that a customer’s overall judgment of the service experience based on a number of dimensions. The SERVQUAL instrument, which identifies five service quality dimensions, is the most widely used exponent of such an approach, particularly in relation to consumer services. The five most important dimensions of service quality are. (1) tangible aspects, e.g. facilities, appearance and equipment; (2) assurance, e.g. knowledge, security and professional credibility; (3) reliability, e.g. ability to perform dependably and accurately; (4) responsiveness, e.g. willingness to help and promptness, and (5) empathy, e.g. care, courtesy and attention as perceived (Adcock, 2001).
Although several applications of the SERVQUAL model have been reported in relation to business services, a number of authors have presented alternative, customer-based service quality models that have been developed specifically for the evaluation of business services. Business services are characterized by relatively high degrees of intangibility, customization, and customer participation (Swartz and Iacobucci, 2000).
There are theoretical reasons for believing that perceptions of service delivery may change with the passage of time. One scenario is that individuals are likely to rationalise away poor service delivery over time, and gradually improve their rating. An alternative view is that, with the passage of time, we tend to selectively forget elements of a total experience and perceptions will be influenced by subsequent exposure to related stimuli. As expectations rise, our perceptions of the quality of previous service delivery may decline (Palmer and
O'Neill, 2003).
The level of interest an individual has in a particular stimulus may be an influence on the level of attention afforded to interpreting it. Perception may also be selectively affected by personal motives. Individuals are inclined to pay most attention to stimuli that appeal to relatively intense motives. Thus, perception may be distorted by motivation, a practice which is particularly accentuated when valued objects are perceived. Where a stimulus is related to an unsatisfied need, perception of that stimulus may be acute, for example a hungry person will attach greater importance to the stimulus of a meal than somebody who has recently eaten. Two concepts worthy of consideration here are the degree of consumer involvement and the role of attitude and attitude commitment. The level of involvement with, and the particular orientation or attitude adopted towards a stimulus is critical to how it is perceived by a consumer (Palmer and O'Neill, 2003).
4

Management, Vol. 11, 2006, 1, pp. 1-16
B. Završnik, D. Jerman: The importance of logistics service quality in a business-to-business...
4. EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
4.1. Research methodology
Our empirical research is based upon two different samples. One sample includes 400 companies from three different countries: Croatian, Bosnian-
Herzegovinian and Serbian-Montenegrin companies. The second sample includes 850 Slovenian companies.
Some of the possible limitations of the survey results should be noted.
First, the low response rate might be of concern, but in fact, such response rates are to be expected in organizational research as opposed to consumer research
(Hansen, Swan, and Powers 1996, 85).
A) Research sample – Slovenian companies
The second sample included 850 Slovene companies, logistical directors and other executives who purchase logistical services. Incorporating the 12 undeliverable surveys (e.g., wrong address) and 15 incomplete surveys, a response rate of 35, 2% was achieved (299/850). In this research, the response rate is defined as the percentage of total questionnaire returned by respondents.
However, 27 of these responses were excluded from the analysis because of the excessive missing data or because they had the wrong address. Thus, the 272 respondents in the sample may be somewhat unique in their characteristics. The survey was conducted in April 2004.
The position of respondents in the companies was as follows. Forty-three percent of the respondents were top executives, thirty-two percent of the respondents belong to middle management, twenty-three percent of respondents belong to first line management and the remaining two percent of “others” had different positions in the companies.
Table 1. Respondent’s position in the company
Position
Top management
Middle management
First line management
Other
Total
Frequency
115
87
61
6
269
Percent
42.75%
32.34%
22.68%
2.23%
100.00%
5

Management, Vol. 11, 2006, 1, pp. 1-16
B. Završnik, D. Jerman: The importance of logistics service quality in a business-to-business...
Then, the surveyed companies were asked about their largest sales market.
The respondents had the possibility of choosing from five different answers.
The results show that the largest respondent sales market is the market of commercial enterprises which is profit motivated. The next large sales market is the consumer market, followed by a market of institutions (non profit motivated organizations) and government (state or local politically oriented organizations).
Table 2. Respondent’s sales market
Sales market
Commercial enterprises
Frequency
256
Percent
94.12%
Government
Institutions
44
46
16.18%
16.91%
Final consumer 137 50.37%
Others 3 1.10%
A wide range of company sizes, as measured by number of employees, are represented in this study. Company size was determined with regard to the number of employees. A company with no more than 50 employees was considered a very small company, a company with 51 to 100 employees was a small company, a company with 101 to 250 employees was a middle sized company, a company with 251 to 500 employees was considered a large company, and a company with more than 501 employees was considered a very large company. In our sample, we had 47. 60% very small companies, 10.70% small companies, 20.30% middle sized companies, 9.59% large companies, and the remaining 11.81% were very large companies. The returns were dominated by very small companies and middle sized companies.
Table 3. Size of the respondents companies
Number of employees
1- 50
51 - 100
101 - 250
251 - 500
500 and more
Total
Frequency
129
29
55
26
32
271
Percent
47.60%
10.70%
20.30%
9.59%
11.81%
100.00%
6

Management, Vol. 11, 2006, 1, pp. 1-16
B. Završnik, D. Jerman: The importance of logistics service quality in a business-to-business...
B) Research sample – Croatian, Bosnian-Herzegovina and Serbian-
Montenegro companies
In the second sample, we used the first sample of 400 companies – the customers of Intereuropa. The mailing package included the cover letter signed by the author and stating the purpose of the survey, a seven page long questionnaire, and a self-addressed return envelope. The questionnaire was translated from Slovenian into Croatian, Bosnian and Serbian. The covering letters with questionnaires were sent to the corporate directors of Intereuropa’s top customers. The survey was conducted in May 2004. During the two-week period following the mailing, a total of 84 responses was received which gave a response rate of 21.0 %, with no follow-up.
The survey mailing resulted in responses from directors and logistics professionals in 400 Croatian, Bosnian-Herzegovinian and Serbian-
Montenegrin companies and the executives who purchase logistics services.
Including the 21 undeliverable surveys (e.g., wrong address and non-existent respondent) and the 4 incomplete surveys, a response rate of 21.0% was achieved (84/400). In this research, the response rate is defined as the percentage of total questionnaires returned by respondents. However, 25 of these responses were excluded from the analysis because of excessive missing data, or because of the wrong address. Thus, the 59 respondents in the sample may be somewhat unique in their characteristics. The study offers some interesting and significant findings that may be beneficial to managers of logistics companies.
In the first part of the questionnaire, the respondents were asked some basic facts about the company, its line of business, number of employees, its largest sales markets, and the respondent’s position in the company. The following six Tables show certain characteristics of the sample companies.
Table 4. Respondent’s country of origin
Country
Croatia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Serbia and Montenegro
Total
Frequency
33
10
16
59
Percent
55.93%
16.95%
27.12%
100.00%
7

Management, Vol. 11, 2006, 1, pp. 1-16
B. Završnik, D. Jerman: The importance of logistics service quality in a business-to-business...
The returns were dominated by commercial-oriented business companies, followed by service and production-oriented business.
Table 5. Main activity of companies
Main activity
Production-oriented business
Service-oriented business
Commercial business
Frequency
17
18
24
Percent
28.81%
30.51%
40.68%
Total 59 100.00%
The position of respondents in the companies shows the following structure. Forty-one percent of the respondents were top executives, twentyseven percent of the respondents belong to middle management, and the remaining thirty-two percent of respondents belong to first line management.
Table 6. Respondents’ position in the company
Position
Top management
Middle management
Frequency
24
16
Percent
40.68 %
27.12 %
First line management
Total
19
59
32.20 %
100.00 %
A wide range of companies, classified according to their number of employees, are represented in this study. The company size was determined with regard to the number of employees. The returns were dominated by small companies. A company with no more than 50 employees was considered a small company, a company with 51 to 250 employees a middle-sized company, and a company with more than 251 employees was considered a large company.
In our sample, we had 67.8% of small companies, 16.9% middle-sized companies, and the remaining 15.3% were large companies.
Table 7. Size of the respondent companies
Number of employees
1- 50
51 - 250
251 and more
Total
Frequency
40
10
9
59
Percent
67.8 %
16.9 %
15.3 %
100.00%
8

Management, Vol. 11, 2006, 1, pp. 1-16
B. Završnik, D. Jerman: The importance of logistics service quality in a business-to-business...
4.2. The importance and perceived characteristics of logistical services
The trend of globalization, which has already been successfully reactivating the currents of international markets in the last ten years, recognizes the important role of logistics and transportation activities. The buyers of logistics services demand higher quality, more reliable and more efficient transport of goods. Therefore, the service provider must ensure a complete execution of all logistics and related activities. A global perspective is important because global demand enables economies of scale for the seller, which is the key to cost savings and price reductions to buyers. The complexity of logistics services suggests specific communication strategies. The increasing rate of the globalization of markets makes business-to-business marketing communications an important issue in today’s uncertain and challenging economic environments. Managing international freight movements requires more skills in business-to-business marketing. A company may rely on personal selling and other sales promotion tools to inform customers. All of this represents a worldwide basis for informing the customers.
It is frequently assumed that the only cost that the customer bears is financial, but this is not so. There are time costs involved as well: how long did it take to investigate the particular product or service offering together with its competitors'? Psychological costs occur also: if the potential purchase is an expensive one, on the customer’s part, there will undoubtedly be some natural apprehension or worry about whether s/he is making the right decision etc. Any notion of value is that which is perceived by the customer who has weighed up the perceived benefits of the product or service with the perceived sacrifice.
The purpose of our study was to measure the respondents' perception of different characteristics of the logistics provider. Selecting the right list of factors can be difficult. Within any organization, there will be differences of opinion about the key buying factors, their importance, and how well the company performs on each factor. However, organizations need to have a consistent set of weightings and performance ratings on which everyone in the business unit team agrees. One of the service marketers' major challenges is the assessment of the quality of service offerings. Due to the general nature of services (i.e. intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, and perishability), service quality is usually difficult for customers to evaluate (Hutt and Speh,
1998). Customer’s perception of quality can be influenced by different communications tools.
9

Management, Vol. 11, 2006, 1, pp. 1-16
B. Završnik, D. Jerman: The importance of logistics service quality in a business-to-business...
It has been posited that different instruments of marketing communications targeting business customers have more of an informational and supportive role than marketing communications targeting general consumers. Business customers have also been characterized as being more technical and more information-seeking than mass consumers. For these reasons, the business-tobusiness marketer generally places a higher level of importance on utilitarian factors like price, productivity, reliability of delivery, and superior quality
(Green, 1998).
We have tested the proposed hypotheses to achieve the objectives of empirical research.
H1: On-time delivery, speed of delivery and reliability of logistical services offered are, for respondents, the most important characteristics of the logistics provider.
The respondents were asked to indicate on the 5-point Likert scale, the importance (5 =”extremely important” to 1 = “of little importance”) of the logistics provider's characteristics. Results show that the simple ordering of logistics services to respondents was the most important characteristic of the logistics provider (mean = 4.89). The research suggest that respondents have given more importance to the following characteristics of logistics companies: on-time delivery, speed of delivery and reliability of logistical services offered.
Because of these characteristics of logistics services, a particularly simple ordering of logistics services has been considered important to business customers and this should be incorporated into the communication messages targeting this segment of customers.
H2: There are some statistical differences between Slovenian, Croatian,
Bosnian-Herzegovina and Serbian-Montenegrin companies in the importance they give to different characteristics of the logistics provider.
To understand the differences in the respondents view of the importance of different characteristics of logistics provider across the countries, we tried to find out if there are some statistical differences between Slovenian, Croatian,
Bosnian-Herzegovinian and Serbian-Montenegrin companies. The null hypothesis in one-way ANOVA (one-way analysis of variance) assumes that all means are equivalent, while the alternative hypothesis states that the variability or differences in the means being compared is greater than expected from a sampling error. That is, at least one of the means is significantly different from the others tested (Davis 1997, 378). We compared these four groups with
10

Management, Vol. 11, 2006, 1, pp. 1-16
B. Završnik, D. Jerman: The importance of logistics service quality in a business-to-business... respect to their importance of different characteristics to see whether this would yield different results. Using ANOVA, we found the statistical difference among these segments regarding price of logistics services (F ratio=3.658; p=0.013), qualified personnel (F ratio=2.784; p=0.041), payments under agreement (F ratio=2.739; p=0.043), speed of delivery (F ratio=6.442; p=0.000) and good reputation and tradition (F ratio=5.721; p=0.001).
Table 8. Importance of the characteristics of the logistics provider
IMPORTANCE of characteristics of logistics provider
Slovenia
Mean
Croatia
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Serbia and
Monte negro
Mean Mean Mean
Overall mean
Overall std. deviation
On-time delivery
Qualified personnel
4.90
4.67
4.85
4.52
5.00
4.20
4.75
4.63
4.89
4.64
0.38
0.57
4.39
3.94
5.00
4.00
4.19
4.56
4.50
4.15
0.65
1.33
Price
Adequate vehicles and equipment
Simple ordering of logistics services
4.52
4.15
Reliability
Possibility of transportation of goods multiple times a week
4.28
4.89
Payments under agreement
3.99
4.29
Complete range of logistics services 3.86
Door-to-door service
Accessibility
Speed of delivery
3.70
4.02
4.70
4.30
4.82
3.85
4.06
3.61
3.52
3.91
4.27
4.70
4.90
4.10
4.80
4.40
3.70
4.70
4.90
4.44
4.81
3.69
4.00
3.75
3.63
4.25
4.50
4.30
4.88
3.94
4.27
3.85
3.68
4.04
4.66
0.77
0.38
1.06
0.83
1.04
1.09
0.92
0.59
Good reputation and tradition 3.29 3.91 4.00 4.31 3.43 1.32
H3: Respondents allocate the highest value to the following characteristics of logistics company Intereuropa: good reputation and tradition, payments under agreement and complete range of logistics services offered.
Then, the respondents were asked to assess the perceived quality of characteristics in the case of the logistics company Intereuropa. Thus, it is also important to examine whether the logistics’ service company targeting business customers is communicating the right quality of service characteristics previously identified by business customers as being important. The difference between the lowest value (mean = 3. 61) and the highest value (mean = 4. 41) is small. The following characteristics of logistics provider Intereuropa were given
11

Management, Vol. 11, 2006, 1, pp. 1-16
B. Završnik, D. Jerman: The importance of logistics service quality in a business-to-business... the highest value: payments under agreement, complete range of logistics services offered and good reputation and tradition of the company.
Table 9. Perception of characteristics of logistics provider
PERCEPTION of characteristics of logistics provider
On-time delivery
Qualified personnel
Price 3.31
Adequate vehicles and equipment 3.97
Simple ordering of logistics services 3.95
4.01 Reliability
Possibility of transportation of goods multiple times a week
Payments under agreement
Complete range of logistics services
Door-to-door service
3.89
4.18
4.13
3.92
Accessibility 3.99
Slovenia
Croatia
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Serbia and
Montenegro
Mean
Mean Mean Mean
Overall mean
Overall std. deviation
3.87
3.95
4.44
4.34
4.20
4.50
4.50
4.86
3.96
4.05
0.98
1.06
3.81
4.16
3.40
3.90
4.00
4.79
3.39
4.02
1.01
1.01
4.22
4.44
3.72
4.00
3.97
4.03
4.13
4.50
3.90
2.70
3.80
4.30
3.90
4.50
4.43
4.79
4.14
4.57
4.36
4.00
4.64
4.01
4.08
3.85
4.17
4.13
3.93
4.05
1.02
1.06
1.11
1.14
0.98
1.03
1.09
Speed of delivery 3.77 4.13 3.80 4.43 3.83 1.08
Good reputation and tradition 4.18 4.44 4.20 4.50 4.24 1.06
H4: There are some statistical differences between Slovenian, Croatian,
Bosnian-Herzegovinian and Serbian-Montenegrin companies in the importance they are giving to different characteristics of logistics provider Intereuropa.
We also applied the ANOVA to compare the mean score of the perceived value of different characteristics of logistics provider among four countries. The
ANOVA results indicate that the perceived value of characteristics of the logistics provider in six specific characteristics were statistically significant for the countries, i.e. the on-time delivery (F ratio=5.044; p=0.002), qualified personnel (F ratio=5.115; p=0.002), price of logistics services (F ratio=4.273; p=0.006), adequate vehicles and equipment (F ratio=3.202; p=0.024), reliability of logistical services offered (F ratio=3.798; p=0.011) and the possibility of transportation of goods multiple times a week (F ratio=4.280; p=0.006).
12

Management, Vol. 11, 2006, 1, pp. 1-16
B. Završnik, D. Jerman: The importance of logistics service quality in a business-to-business...
Table 10. The differences between perceived and importance value of characteristics
Characteristics of logistics provider
On-time delivery
Qualified personnel
Price
Adequate vehicles and equipment
Simple ordering of logistics services
Reliability
IMPORTANCE PERCEPTION Difference
Overall mean Overall mean
4.89
4.64
3.96
4.05
-0.93
-0.59
4.50
4.15
4.30
4.88
3.39
4.02
4.01
4.08
-1.11
-0.13
-0.29
-0.80
Possibility of transportation of goods multiple times a week
Payments under agreement
Complete range of logistics services
Door-to-door service
Accessibility
3.94
4.27
3.85
3.68
4.04
3.85
4.17
4.13
3.93
4.05
-0.09
-0.10
0.28
0.25
0.01
Speed of delivery 4.66 3.83 -0.83
Good reputation and tradition 3.43 4.24 0.81
From Table 10, we can see that the biggest differences between perceived and importance value. The biggest difference between perceived and importance value of characteristics was found in price, the on-time delivery and speed of delivery of service offered. We assume that the company can affect the customer’s perception of logistics services by marketing communication activities; explaining the differences between perceived and importance value, which are conditioned by price and quality.
The marketing function involves selecting and targeting specific types of customers and creating relationships with them by delivering a service package tailored to their values. The determinant competencies needed for this function are proposed as communication and the ability to draw consumer attention
(Aung and Heeler, 2001).
5. CONCLUSION
In this paper, we presented a concept of business service quality and the empirical analysis of the importance of individual elements of logistical service quality in Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia and Monte
Negro. We have identified different expectations to the ideal logistical provider and we have compared the results with the perceived value of those characteristics in the case of the logistical company Intereuropa. We have noted that importance and perceived value of some of the characteristics of logistical services are likely to be perceived by consumers as being more important than others. Managers should pay particular attention to these elements in view of
13

Management, Vol. 11, 2006, 1, pp. 1-16
B. Završnik, D. Jerman: The importance of logistics service quality in a business-to-business... their effects on subsequent repurchase and recommendation to friends. The research findings should offer, new insights regarding logistical services in the business-to-business market to the management teams of enterprises in four countries. These findings might be important inputs for logistical managers in the practical development of services.
This paper created a framework of important and perceived characteristics of logistics provider relevant to customer. The research suggests that respondents from Slovenian, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia and
Montenegro are attributing more importance to following characteristics of logistics companies: on-time delivery, speed of delivery and reliability of logistical services offered. Respondents also assessed the perceived quality of characteristics in the case of the logistics company Intereuropa. The following characteristics of the logistics provider Intereuropa were given the highest value: payments under agreement, complete range of logistics services offered and good reputation and tradition of the company.
There are some statistical differences between Slovenian, Croatian, Bosnian-Herzegovinian and Serbian-
Montenegrin companies in the importance and perceived value they are giving to different characteristics of the logistics provider Intereuropa.
When we compared the results of the importance and perceived value of different characteristics of logistical services, we discovered the biggest difference in the following characteristics: price, on-time delivery and speed of delivery of the service offered.
REFERENCES
1.
Adcock D. 2000. Marketing Strategies for Competitive Advantage . John
Wiley & Sons, Ltd.: Chichester.
2.
Aung, May, and Heeler, Roger. 2001. Core Competencies of Service Firms:
A Framework for Strategic Decisions in International Markets. Journal of
Marketing Management 17, 619-643.
3.
Bigne, Enrique, Moliner, Miguel A., and Sanchez, Javier. 2003. Perceived quality and satisfaction in multiservice organisations: the case of Spanish public services. Journal of Services Marketing 17, 420-442.
4.
Chirchill, A. Gilbert Jr. 1999. Marketing Research: Methodological
Foundations.
Fort Worth (TX): The Dryden Press.
5.
Crittenden, Victoria L., Davis, Larry R., Simon, Daniel T., and Trompeter,
Gregory. 2000. Deregulation of professional accounting services in the
United Kingdom: Integrating marketing and accounting. Journal of
Strategic Marketing 11, 37-53.
14

Management, Vol. 11, 2006, 1, pp. 1-16
B. Završnik, D. Jerman: The importance of logistics service quality in a business-to-business...
6.
Davis, Joel J. 1997. Advertising Research – theory and practice . New
Jersey: Prentice Hall.
7.
Gopalakrishna, Srinath, Lilien, Gary L. 1994. A Dynamic Model of
Business Trade Show Effectiveness, the Pennsylvania State University,
Paper.
8.
Green L., Corliss 1998 . Communicating service quality: are business–to– business ads different? The Journal of Service Marketing 12, 165–176.
9.
Hansen, S. W., Swan, J. E, Powers, T. L. 1996. The perceived effectiveness of marketer responses to industrial buyer complaints: suggestions for improved vendor performance and customer loyalty. Journal of Business &
Industrial Marketing 1, 77-89.
10.
Herrington, Duncan J., and Lollar, James G. 1996. Comparing intensity and effectiveness of marketing communications: services versus nonservices. Journal of Advertising Research 36, 61- 73.
11.
Hutt, Michael D., and Speh, Thomas W. 1998. Business marketing management: a strategic view of industrial and organizational markets.
The Dryden Press: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
12.
Jerman, Damjana. 2003. Model marketinškega komuniciranja na medorganizacijskem trgu, magistrsko delo . Maribor: Ekonomsko-poslovna fakulteta.
13.
Mahin, Philip W.1991. Business-to-Business Marketing: strategic resource management and cases , Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
14.
Palmer, Adrian, and Palmer, Adrian. The effects of perceptual processes on the measurement of service quality. Journal of Service Marketing 17 , No. 3,
254- 274.
15.
Paswan, Audhesh, and Ganesh, Gopala. 2003. Familiarity and interest: in a learning centre service context. Journal of Service Marketing 17 , No. 4, 393
- 419.
16.
Pickton, David, and Broderick, Amanda. 2001. Integrated marketing communications.
Financial Times: Prentice Hall, Harlow.
17.
Sharma, Neeru, and Patterson, Paul G. 1999. The impact of communication effectiveness and service quality on relationship commitment in consumer, professional services.
The Journal of Services Marketing 13, 151–170.
18.
Schiffman, Leon G., and Kanuk, Leslie Lazar. 2000. Consumer Behavior.
New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
19.
Swartz T. A., Iacobucci D. 2000. Handbook of Service Marketing &
Management . Sage Publications, Inc.: Thousand Oaks.
20.
Turley, L.W., and Kelley, Scott. 1997. A Comparison of Advertising
Content: Business to Business Versus Consumer Services. Journal of
Advertising 26, 39–48.
15

Management, Vol. 11, 2006, 1, pp. 1-16
B. Završnik, D. Jerman: The importance of logistics service quality in a business-to-business...
21.
Završnik, Bruno, and Jerman, Damjana. 2003.
Global Marketing
Communications in the Business-to-Business Market.
Pula: Faculty of
Economics and Tourism.
ZNAČAJ KVALITETE LOGISTIČKIH USLUGA NA POSLOVNOM
TRŽIŠTU
Sažetak
Konceptualizacija i procjena kvaliteta usluga i dalje ima veliki značaj u marketingu, zbog čega se u ovom radu proučava percipirana kvaliteta usluga na konkretnom primjeru organizacije koja se bavi logističkim uslugama. U istraživanju se pokušalo identificirati problematične primjere logističke usluge promatranog poduzeća na uzorku hrvatskih, slovenskih, bosansko-hercegovačkih i srpskih, te crnogorskih tvrtki – korisnika logističkih usluga. Komparativna je analiza otkrila razlike i specifičnosti povezane s pojedinim tržištima, a koje se odnose na značaj i percipirane karakteristike logističke usluge. Rezultati istraživanja daju indikacije da korisnici evaluiraju logističke usluge Intereurope s aspekta tri ključne dimenzije: pravovremenosti i brzine dostave, te pouzdanosti logističkih usluga. Na temelju dobivenih rezultata može se razviti model za empirijsku procjenu mjera kvalitete logističkih usluga.
16