A typology analysis of service quality, customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions in mass services Festus Olorunniwo Department of Business Administration, College of Business, Tennessee State University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, and Maxwell K. Hsu Department of Marketing, College of Business and Economics, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Whitewater, Wisconsin, USA Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the possibility that the typology of a service as well as the operationalization of the service measurement scale may determine the nature of the service quality (SQ) construct and its relationship with those of customer satisfaction (SAT) and behavioral intentions (BI). Design/methodology/approach – The study utilized the service classification scheme developed by Schmenner and concentrated on the mass service category as an example to illustrate the concept with data from retail banking. Findings – Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that “Responsiveness,” “Tangibility,” “Reliability,” “Knowledge,” and “Accessibility” dimensions contribute significantly to service quality. It was further observed that SAT fully mediates the impact of SQ on BI. Research limitations/implications – A notable limitation is that the present study focuses only on mass service and uses only one industry (retail banking) to illustrate the findings. Future research should examine other service categories. Practical implications – Service managers in the mass service category are recommended to devise operations and marketing strategies that focus on the SQ dimensions which can enhance customer satisfaction and, in turn, foster positive behavioral intentions. Originality/value – This study presents a methodology for developing an operationizable service quality construct. It demonstrates that SQ, SAT and BI and their interrelationships may be typology-specific. Thus, two or more industries may exhibit similar relationship characteristics with regard to these constructs, if they belong to the same service category. This knowledge can lead to inter-industry benchmarking of best practices that can lead to better customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Keywords Customer services quality, Customer satisfaction, Consumer behaviour, Factor analysis, Service industries Paper type Research paper Introduction Over the past 40 years, several authors have attempted to develop coherent classification schemes for services. The intent of such schemes is to bring parsimony and order allowing for a better understanding of the characteristics that differentiate services and the organizations that provide them. The keen interest to understand The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0960-4529.htm MSQ 16,2 106 Managing Service Quality Vol. 16 No. 2, 2006 pp. 106-123 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0960-4529 DOI 10.1108/09604520610650600