A product consists of a bundle of tangible and intangible attributes collectively contributing to customer satisfaction, and a customer-oriented view of product quality is concerned with how well these attributes collectively satisfy all aspects of customers' needs subject to how much the customers are willing to pay for the product. Approaches to evaluating quality in the areas of product quality management and vendor analysis are reviewed, and a model is proposed for evaluating the quality of goods based on a synthesis of approaches used in the services sector.
The model proposed takes a total product quality (TPQ) or holistic view of a product. It covers both tangible and intangible attributes, and may be applied at either the industry or firm level. Expectations and perceptions for individual quality attributes are compared using gap analysis, with the gaps weighted by the relative importance of individual attributes. Shortcomings in product quality are measured as importance-weighted differences between expectations and perceptions, obtained from surveys of sellers and customers.
The model is currently being used to evaluate quality attributes of forest products in industrial markets. Results from a pilot survey of New Zealand exporters of kiln-dried, shop-grade radiata pine sawn timber (for remanufacturing uses) have indicated the model successfully measures differences between perceptions and expectations for individual quality attributes. Similar results are anticipated in applying the model to evaluate customers' perceptions and expectations of quality, and the implications of the pilot survey results are discussed in relation to a proposed future application of the model in a simultaneous survey of US remanufacturers and NZ exporters. Combining the contributions of individual quality attributes to form a measure of TPQ, developing indices for monitoring product quality, and comparing buyer perceptions with seller expectations (and vice versa) are identified as areas for future model development and research.
Keywords: radiata pine, wood properties, quality, market, perceptions
Correspondence: Stavros Kalafatis, Kingston Business School, Kingston University, Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey KT2 7LB, United Kingdom
Telefax: +44-81-5477026
E-mail: bs_s457@kingston.ac.uk