Asymmetric response model for evaluating airline service quality: An empirical study in cross-strait direct flights

摘要

The cross-strait direct flights have been opened up with air links in 2008, which allowed more convenient cross-strait contacts between mainland China and Taiwan. Generally, traditional assumptions that the responses of customers toward their evaluations of service quality offerings on the gains and losses were usually assumed to be the same. However, in personal psychology state, customers are loss aversive. The slope of passengers’ service quality gain and loss could have been confirmed as non-smooth functions (Suzuki et al., 2001). Relatively little research has focused on investigating decision maker should have a stronger reaction on the losses than on the gains. This paper attempts to use the loss aversion concept to investigate the relationship between service quality and passenger post-flying behavioral intentions in the cross-strait direct flight context. This study has been used with the most popular flights to Taiwan - Shanghai routes for related discussions. Incorporating Asymmetric Response Model, the results revealed passengers’ real preferences in service attributes in a hypothetical case of direct flight between Taiwan and China (Shanghai). The structural equation model (SEM) was applied to test the conceptual model. By understanding customers’ asymmetric responses to airline service quality in a post-flying behavioral process, airline managers can gain a better understanding of how to improve their service offers to satisfy customers.