Asian Social Science; Vol. 8, No. 13; 2012 ISSN 1911-2017 E-ISSN 1911-2025 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 201 A Conceptual Study on the Relationship between Service Quality towards Customer Satisfaction: Servqual and Gronroos’s Service Quality Model Perspective Muhammad Sabbir Rahman 1 , Abdul Highe Khan 2 & Md. Mahmudul Haque 2 1 Graduate School of Management, Multimedia University, Cyberjaya, Malaysia 2 Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Correspondence: Muhammad Sabbir Rahman, Graduate School of Management, Multimedia University, Persiaran Multimedia, 63100 Cyberjaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. Tel: 60-19-239-4097. E-mail: sabbiriiu@gmail.com Received: June 15, 2012 Accepted: July 6, 2012 Online Published: October 19, 2012 doi:10.5539/ass.v8n13p201 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v8n13p201 Abstract The purpose of this conceptual paper is to study the effect of service quality towards customer’s satisfaction under the perspective of SERVQUAL and Gronroos service quality model. The proposed model focuses on the relationship between functional quality, technical quality, internal, external influences mediated by corporate image and service quality towards customer’s satisfaction. The model also tries to build the relationship between perceived prices by the customers on customer’s satisfaction when service quality plays a mediating role. Suggestions for managers are given on implementing the core concepts from the model. Keywords: service quality, customers’ satisfaction, technical quality, functional quality, corporate image, perceived price, internal controllable influence, external uncontrollable influence 1. Introduction Service quality is closely related with customer satisfaction (Kumar et.al. 2008; Zineldin, 2006; Wei and Ramalu, 2011). In the modern competitive environment, the quest of customer’s satisfaction hugely depends on the firms overall service quality (SQ) and is considered to be an essential strategy (Paradise-Tornow, 1991). To measure the service quality researchers used SERVQUAL and Gronroos’s model in various aspects of business environment. Though, the dimension of quality and the measurement approach of the service quality and its relationship with customer’s satisfaction are still been unsettled (Owlia and Aspinwall 1996; Parasuraman et. al., 1993; Cronin, Taylor, 1994; Carman, 1990; Buttle, 1996). In spite of the ongoing debate and development of new theory numerous researchers have agreed the significances of service quality and its impact on customer satisfactions (Arambewela, 2006; Ben, 2007; Boshoff, 2004). However Parasuraman et al., (1985) measure service quality which was based on Oliver's (1980) disconfirmation model which proposed that service quality is a function of the differences between expectation and performance along the quality dimensions. While Oliver (1980) proposed that satisfaction is a function of the disconfirmation of performance from customer’s expectation. Oliver (1980) also proposed that both the service and manufacturing industries, quality improvement is the key factor that affects customer satisfaction and increases purchase intention among consumers. Some other theorists also mentioned the same concept that the quality plays a major role on consumer satisfaction (Omar and Schiffman, 1995, Gremler et.al., 2001, Radwin, 2000; Kumar et.al., 2008). At present, research that directly linked the combine concepts of SERVQUAL and Gronroos’s on customer’s satisfaction is lacking. Not only organization needs empirical data to understand the level of customers’ satisfaction but also they need to understand how to integrate these service quality concepts into managing the customer’s satisfaction. This knowledge gap is where the present conceptual paper wishes to contribute. The present research aims to provide past literature findings of service quality and customers satisfaction intent to develop a conceptual framework for further research. Therefore from this study researchers believe that this conceptual paper will help the management of service providers to better understand their service quality which help them to draw specific guidelines to meet the customer’s expectation