SERVQUAL awareness and ability of employees (SERVQUAL-E): scale adaptation and validity testing

Purpose The SERVQUAL model has been widely employed to assess customers’ expectations and perceptions of service quality. However, no validated instrument currently exists to measure service employees’ awareness and knowledge of SERVQUAL dimensions and items in relation to customers’ expectations and perceptions. Addressing this gap, this study aims to adapt the SERVQUAL service quality scale from a customer-oriented instrument into an employee-oriented measure. Design/methodology/approach Following a rigorous scale adaptation process informed by expert evaluation, the revised scale was administered to service employees. Data were collected from 427 hotel employees working in four- and five-star hotels located in major tourist destinations in Türkiye. The initial pool of 22 items was subjected to exploratory factor analysis, followed by confirmatory factor analysis using SmartPLS to validate the measurement model. Findings The results of the confirmatory factor analysis support a final scale consisting of 20 items across five dimensions. The validity of the newly adapted scale was further assessed by examining its relationship with employees’ customer orientation. The findings indicate that several dimensions of customer orientation exert a positive influence on employees’ perceptions of SERVQUAL dimensions, providing support for the scale’s nomological validity. Practical implications The SERVQUAL-E scale offers a practical tool for human resource managers in service organisations to support key functions such as employee selection, training and performance appraisal. In addition, marketing managers may use the scale to inform the design, development and implementation of the “people” element of the marketing mix, thereby enhancing internal service quality alignment. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to develop and validate a service quality scale that captures service employees’ awareness and knowledge of SERVQUAL dimensions and items in alignment with customers’ expectations and perceptions. The SERVQUAL-E scale makes a novel theoretical contribution by enabling a dyadic perspective on service quality measurement and offers significant practical value for service organisations seeking to strengthen service quality delivery.