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The current issue
deals with varied service settings in India. It contains
six research papers which aim at increasing our understanding
of customers' perception of service offering and delivery
in industries varying from road transportation to life insurance.
The range of empirical studies also varies from antecedents
of customer relationships to satisfaction with the service
delivery.
The first paper
in this issue, "Air Deccan: Challenges of Profitable
Growth", by Rajat Gera, explores the internal
and external managerial issues in attaining profitability
in a low cost carrier. The author cautions about long-term
sustainable profitability of the carriers, even though significant
improvement in the performance indicators has been achieved.
The paper "Dynamics
of Retail Markets", by V Krishna Mohan, P Pinakapani
and M S R Sesha Giri, is a study on the growing retailing
services sector. The authors have elaborated on the threats
and opportunities of the organized retail sector in India.
The paper also gives a consolidated view of the expansion
of retailing in India in terms of retail formats, current
and proposed malls, product categories and the expansion
in the Tier I and II cities.
The paper "Passenger
Satisfaction Towards Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation
in Gadag District: An Empirical Study", by A S Shiralashetti
and S S Hugar, takes up the public transportation services
in Karnataka. This empirical study has analyzed the level
of satisfaction of passengers towards various services offered
by the KSRTC (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation).
The paper "Antecedents
of Customer Relationships in the Telecommunication Sector:
An Empirical Study", by Ramesh Krishnan and Monika
Kothari, explores variables that lead customers to enter
into a long-term relationship with their telecom service
providers. The authors have reported the results of an empirical
study of customers' ratings of the Seven Desired Value Added
Service (7DVAS). The study also identifies the antecedents
constituting enabling set and defense set.
The paper "Customer
Preferences in Life Insurance Industry in India", by
Sunayna Khurana, identifies customer preferences
regarding plans and company, their purpose in buying insurance
policies, their satisfaction level and their future plans
for the new insurance policy. The author analyzes the problems
faced by customers while dealing with insurance companies
in India.
The final paper,
"Underpinnings of Customer Satisfaction in Indian Cellular
Services: Service Quality, Service Features, Demographics
and Cellular Usage Variables", by Shirshendu Ganguli,
is a timely contribution for enhancing our understanding
of customer satisfaction of cellular services. The author
has used factor analysis to understand the underpinnings
of service quality and features, and has subsequently used
these factors for discriminating between satisfied and unsatisfied
customers.
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A Srikant
Consulting Editor
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