CUSTOMERS’ PERCEPTION AND SATISFACTION OF BANKING SERVICES – A STUDY WITH REFERENCE TO NATIONALISED COMMERCIAL BANKS IN MADURAI DISTRICT (Pages 12-41) by Dr. V. Maheswari in THE INTERNATIONAL MANAGER / ISSN: 2348-9413 (Online); 2348-9405 (Print)

The study was purported to examining the predominance of service quality dimensions on customer satisfaction, and further the
discrimination of customers’ perception based on the disconfirmation of expectation paradigm. To achieve this purpose 1428 customers from 87 bank branches in Madurai district of three nationalized banks confined to this study were considered among those responded in answering questionnaires in all respect. The revised SERVQUAL instrument by Parasuraman, et al. (1991) and behavioural and attitudinal intentions scale developed by Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman (1996) were utilized. The statistical techniques considered are Pearson correlation, multiple regression analysis, univariate and multivariate analysis of variance, and discriminant analysis. The research findings imply that perceived service quality and satisfaction levels of the customers can be predicted from service quality perception constructs. Moreover, group discrimination on the basis of service quality perception constructs contributes to the classification of customers as dissatisfied and satisfied. Furthermore, it implies that irrespective of age differences, male respondents of low income group and of less educational qualification would prefer service charges as their basis for the process of a bank selection. And, the variation in demographic characteristics influences perceived service quality and satisfaction levels of the customer. Keywords: banking, services quality, satisfaction, behavioral intention.