A dual-processing airline service model: Cognitive analytical judgment of quality vs affective holistic assessment of satisfaction

This paper deals with the assessment of airline services from the passengers' point of view. The novelty of the study is linked to an implemented dual-processing model, consisting in capturing two different types of information from airline users: a cognitive analytical judgement of service quality and an affective holistic assessment of satisfaction with the service, whereas the concepts of service quality and satisfaction have been generally considered as the same in the literature. An additional novelty is the usage of two different scales for collecting judgements of service quality and satisfaction rates. The final aim of the paper is investigating the relationship between airline service quality, air passengers' satisfaction and their loyalty. Due to the complexity of this relationship and the variety of the aspects characterizing airline services, the approach adopted in this work is based on the collection of data concerning the several factors characterizing airline services, the overall service quality and satisfaction, and the intentions of the passengers to use the service again or recommend it to others. The collected data are analysed through a Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modelling (CB-SEM) approach, which is suitable for analysing a complex phenomenon characterized by unobservable factors. In addition, a Structural Equation Modelling-Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (SEM-MIMIC) structure including the effects of passengers' characteristics is proposed to investigate also the heterogeneity of passengers’ perceptions. The work is supported by a case study represented by air passengers living in a region of the southern Italy. The main finding of the study suggests that satisfaction and service quality are two different concepts, and investigating them separately is more appropriate than considering them as the same concepts.