Chester Business School BU7756 Preparing for Research Research Proposal

Student details 1.1. Surname: Talluri Forename: 1.2. Student ID: 1122544 Ugandhar kumar

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The programme of research 2.1. Title of the proposed dissertation: To evaluate customer satisfaction and expectations of service quality in retail banking of Indian bank. 2.2. Aim(s) of the investigation: (Objectives of the study Usually 3-4)

1. To Identify the key factors that influence the level of satisfaction of the customers of the Indian bank, 2. To identify the gap between expectation of service quality and experience of retail customers. 3.To Provide recommendations for the improvement of banking services to attract and satisfy the customers in retail banking 2.3. Background to the study: (Literature review - 1500 words max ) Importance of Customer service: Customer satisfaction is the customer's evaluation of a service or a product based on whether that service or product has met customer's need and expectation (Wilson, 2008). Pairot (2008) defined customer satisfaction as the service providers ability to satisfy the business, emotional and psychological needs of its customers. According to oliver 1997, as cited in Mishra,2009), "The most time-honoured view of customer satisfaction in the academic world is that customer satisfaction is the judgment assumed out of the comparison of pre-purchase expectations with postpurchase evaluation of the product or service". Furthermore, Customer service is a sequence of operations designed to improve the level of customer satisfaction, that is, the emotion that a service or product has met the expectation of customer. The satisfaction level of customer can also vary depends upon the other options that the customer may have and other products

against which the customer can compare the organisations products (Scott,2002). Bateson and Hoffman, (2008) argued that the "importance of customer satisfaction cannot be overstated. without customer, the service firm has no reason to exist". Many countries realised the importance of customer satisfaction to the organisations and overall quality of life so that they have a national index that measures and track satisfaction of customer at macro level (Wilson, 2008). Customer satisfaction is broadly recognised as a key pressure to develop consumer's future purchase intentions (Taylor & Baker, 1994). In today's competitive world, Serving customers and providing satisfaction have become the slogan of modern marketing theory. An organisation's responsibility to provide high quality of service that results in satisfied customers, is said to be the key driver of a sustainable competitive advantage (Shemwell, Yavas & Bilgin, 1998). Moreover, a basic concept of marketing is that customer satisfaction with a product likely to make the customer to repeat purchases, acceptance of product line extensions, and favourable word-of-mouth advertising (Bateson &Hoffman,2008). According to Don and Rogers, (2008). Customer service plays a vital role in an organisations ability to generate revenue and income from overall sales management point of view. Customer satisfaction can result from any element (it may or may not be quality associated) and its judgments may take place from nonquality issues (e.g., needs, equity, and perceptions of 'fairness') and essential experience with the service or service provider (Taylor & Baker,1994; Howard & Sheth, 1969). In today's competitive world, Serving customers and providing satisfaction have become the slogan of modern marketing theory. An organisation's responsibility to provide high quality of service that results in satisfied customers, is said to be the key driver o a sustainable competitive advantage (Shemwell et., (1998) ; Mishra, 2009). Moreover, Muffato and Panizzola, (1995) have argued that customer satisfaction should be consider as one of the most important competitive factors for the future in order to indicate organisation profit earning ability. They also proposed that the customer satisfaction would be a driving force for the organisations to improve their reputation and image, decrease customer turnover, and increase attention to customer needs. These steps would help organisations in creating barriers to switching and also useful to improve business relationships with their customers. Customer Satisfaction and Service quality: Service quality is defined as a evaluation of global, or attitude of overall excellence of services(Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry,1985).Therefore, the difference between customer expectations and perceptions of services delivered by service provider is service quality (Wang & Shieh, 2006). The relationship between expectation, perceived service quality and customers satisfaction have been evaluated by number of researchers (Zeithaml, et al, 1988). They found that, there is effective strong relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality (Parasuraman et al, 1985; 1988; ). Banks can satisfy and develop attitudinal loyalty which ultimately retains valuable customers by increasing service quality (Nadiri, et al 2009). The higher level of perceived service quality results in increased customer satisfaction. When

perceived service quality is less than expected service quality customer will be dissatisfied (Lovelock & wirtz, 2011). According to the recent researches that there is a strong linkages between service quality dimensions and overall customer satisfaction (Anderson and Sullivan (Palmer,2001).Even definitive analysis too, Service quality cannot be separated from the concept of customer satisfaction ( Bauddhik,2012). Recent researches have shown that customer satisfaction have been influenced not only by perceptions of service quality but also by perceptions of product quality, and pricing factors as well as situational and personal(Zeithaml & Bitner, 2000). For example, In retail banking, customer satisfaction can be a broader concept and will certainly affect by both perceptions of service quality and perceptions of product quality will (such as different deposit options available to customers), product price(i.e., charges charged by the bank or rates offered by the banks on various deposits), personal factors such as consumers emotional behaviour and mood, and even uncontrollable situational factors like weather conditions and experiences in conveying to and from the bank(Bauddhik,2012). Quality of service is accepted as most important basic factors of customer satisfaction (Parasuraman et al., (1994) and the banking sector in this case is not exceptional. Service quality have been broadly used to evaluate the performance of banking services(Cowling &Newman,1995). The banks must realise the customers will be loyal if they receive greater value than from competitors(Dawes &Swailes,1999) and on the other side, banks can gain more profits if they are able to position themselves better than competitors with in a specific market(Davies et al.,1995). Therefore, banks must need focus on service quality as a core competitive strategy(Chaoprasert &Elsey,2004). Furthermore, banks around the world offer similar kinds of services , and try to quickly meet their competitors innovations. It is also noted that customers can perceive difference in the quality of services(Chaoprasert & Elsey,2004). Moreover, Customers evaluate banks performance mainly in terms of their personal contact and interactions(Gronroos,1990) Customer satisfaction and retail banking: Retail banking is a growing service sector focused towards the customers money and its organisation. Social factor is strongly drive the satisfaction of customers in the banking sector related to the features of a bank and the attributes of its personnel (Bauddhik,2012). Customer is the centre of attention and customer service is the significant factor because banking is a customer oriented service industry (Jham &Khan,2008). Reichheld &Sasser (1990) have emphasized the benefits that customer satisfaction provides through retention of bank customers. They argued that the customer can generate more revenue if he stay longer in a bank. This is based upon number of factors related to the amount of time spend by the customer with the bank. These factors included a high preliminary introducing cost and attracting new customers, Increasing in both amount of purchase and the value, the better understanding of customer towards bank, and positive word of mouth promotion. Banks were lose satisfied customers who have moved, retired, or no longer need particular services. As a result, retaining customers becomes a priority. Previous research shows, however, that longevity does not impact on profitability (Colgate, Stewart & Kinsella, 1996). Trivedi and Agarwal (2009) evaluated the quality of services an indicator of customer satisfaction . They suggest that the performance of the bank may be examined in terms of satisfaction parameters that indicate strength and weakness of an organisation. They also

highlighted the five dimensions of customer satisfaction such as tangibility, responsiveness, assurance, reliability, empathy and assurance.
Ioanna (2002) studied and proposed that product differentiation is not possible in a competitive environment like the banking industry. Banks all over the place are delivering the identical products. The prices of banks are fixed and driven by market place. As a result, The bank tends to distinguish its company from competitors through service quality. Service quality is an imperative factor impacting customers satisfaction level in the banking industry

Retail banking industry have been measuring service quality and customer satisfaction to identify how well they are meeting customer expectation and needs (Dabholkar, 1995). Levesque & McDougall, (1996) found that customer satisfaction and retention are critical for retail banks. They studied major determinants of customer satisfaction (Service Quality, situational factors, service features, and customer complaint handling), and future intentions in the retail bank sector. Johnston, (1997) suggested that satisfaction or dissatisfaction with retail banking could not arise from the same factors. To be more clearly, some factors of service quality, if improved, Increased the satisfaction levels of the customers, while on the other hand, other factors may not improve satisfaction but simply function to keep dissatisfaction at best, reduce dissatisfaction only. This line of accepted wisdom stems from Herzbergs motivation theory in hygiene factors. Ghosh and Kailash (2010) evaluated the customer satisfaction level through parameters such as customer loyalty, service quality and customers commitment. They found that the adequate knowledge of a customers about banking services is also important factors to get complete satisfaction
(Press,1997) identified that the issues are highly linked with overall satisfaction of the customer involve complaint management. Efficiently handling problems, being attentive to concerns, and being capable to resolve troubles over the telephone emerged as critically vital to bank customer satisfaction. In the year 2000, the Cruickshank Report was unveiled (Cruikshank, 2000). They have done large scale study on customer satisfaction in retail banking at United Kingdom. The Report concluded that the service quality was very low in retail banking at United Kingdom and it leads to low level of customer satisfaction.

Krishnan et al (1999) and Rust& Zahorik(1993) were conducted various research and put forward that satisfaction with perceived product quality was the key driver of overall customer satisfaction. Moreover, their also found and recommended that the result of service delivery factors varies considerably on customer satisfaction. To further exemplify, they became aware of the fact that for customers who traded heavily and had high investable assets, the effect of an automated telephone service was elevated than that of the other drivers of satisfaction. Furthermore, Hallowell (1996) focussed into the relationship between loyalty and customer satisfaction and his conclusions were quite similar to Parasuraman et al., (1994). The research concluded that satisfaction with the service, and satisfactions with the price were key factors in the overall Satisfaction evaluation. The evaluation used in the above mentioned study were considerably all-inclusive, and concluded that all the factors measured had a bearing on overall satisfaction. The findings of the study emphasized that the service features of branch, staff and information were dominant factors. Johnston, (1997) suggested that satisfaction or dissatisfaction with retail banking could not arise from the same factors. To be more clearly, some factors of service quality, if improved, Increased the satisfaction levels of the customers, while on the other hand, other factors may not improve satisfaction but simply function to keep dissatisfaction at best, reduce dissatisfaction only. This line of accepted wisdom stems from Herzbergs motivation theory in hygiene factors.
Furthermore, Customer satisfaction evaluated in terms of retention, Levesque and McDougall (1996) exhaustively analysed the consequence of service quality, customer complaint handling and service features on customer satisfaction in the Canadian retail banking sector. According to their empirical analysis, They have suggested that the satisfaction determinants in retail banking are driven by an amount of factors including service quality dimensions. The service providers contribution may also expected to affect customer overall satisfaction and to continue patronage. Levesques and his colleagues (1996) study concluded that the banks features (e.g. location), the competitiveness of the banks interest rates, the customers judgments about the bank employees skills and whether the customer was a borrower were all factors that drove customer satisfaction, while bank features and competitive interest rates are important contributors. However, this study did not categorically point out which had more influence; rather both core and relational issues were categorised as one for retail banks to consider when satisfying customers. (Wong & Kanji , 2001) discussed and experienced an extended customer satisfaction model in a retail-banking sector in Hong Kong. They were formulated the extended model for evaluation of customer satisfaction in the retail banking sector is a function of overall customer expectation , perceived value and quality perception, whereas loyalty of customer is a function of both customer satisfaction and perceived value. (Kristensen,Juhl&Ostergaard,2001)were calculated the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in Danish retailing business by European Customer Satisfaction Index (ECSI). The model links satisfaction of customer to its drivers (e.g., expectations of customer, perceived

bank image, perceived quality and perceived value) and, in turn, to its outcome, specifically customer loyalty. (Naser & Jamal , 2002) proposed that customer satisfaction in terms of, not only on the decision of customers towards the reliability of the delivered service, but also on the customers experiences with the service provider delivery method. . (Robinson & Dove ,2002) study indicated that banking customers are having greater satisfaction levels if the service recovery happen immediately. Even though studies have associated demographic variables with customer satisfaction with services in general (Howcroft et al., 2002) ,only some studies have linked consumer evaluations of service recovery to gender, age, or tenure with the service. On the other hand, Lewis and Spyrakopoulos (2002) discovered that customers with stretched relationships are more demanding of the service recovery; this may also mean that it takes more to satisfy them. Another research (Chien et al. 2003) is also paying attention on measuring customer satisfaction. Measuring factors are: perceived quality and value, customer expectation, satisfaction and loyalty. etc., and they all influence customer satisfaction. Spathis and Constantinides (2003) also shore up the relationship between quality and customer satisfaction based on preliminary enterprise resource planning. In the investigate from Pan (2003) between four Far Eastern countries the benefits of Iso 9001 certification are: enhanced competitive edge since it is composed of improved productivity, quality improvements, better customer satisfaction, increased profit margin, and cost reduction; and enhanced public relations. In a further study of banking customers, Boshoff and Staude (2003) found that satisfaction was impacted positively by communication, explanation, and atonement in that order while loyalty was just associated with communication and atonement through the service recovery. In their investigation, Stauss and Schoeler (2004) have establish that effective service recovery is very profitable. Alternatively, not a success to ensure customer satisfaction through service recovery could lead to a decline in customer confidence, lost customers, negative word-of-mouth, possible negative publicity, and the direct cost of re-performing the service. Ho et al. (2005) similarly confirm that quality is the key factor and synonymous with the consumers ability to select from a wide array of products and features that provide a closer match to person needs and desires. The introductions of quality standards into the Dutch firmss enhanced competitive advantage plus customer and employee satisfaction (De Vries and De Jong 2002). 17 Meanwhile,(Henning-Thurau et al,2002) explored a non-significant relationship between particular treatment and satisfaction, it is logical to expect that the benefit of particular treatment will have a huge influence on satisfaction within retail banking. This is due to the information that special treatment provided by a financial service provider can be perceived as a part of the overall service, so that this benefit will raise customer satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction is one of the most significant factors for both growth and profitability of retail banking in India (

Creating customer satisfaction is a defensive strategy and the behavioural objective for defence is customer loyalty (Fornell, 1992)

2.4. Justification for the study: (Why is this research needed? 750 words max) The Indian institute of banking and finance [IIBF] (2011) has stated that Indian retail banking sector is increasingly competitive. There is huge competition with in public sector banks and between private sector banking because of changing market, innovation technologies, economic uncertainties, more demanding customers and government deregulations in interest rates. They also said that customer complaints are growing in public sector banks and also argued the importance of customer satisfaction in retail banking(http://www.iibf.org.in). According to the price water house coopers (PWC) report, (2007). India may will be the third largest banking hub in the world by 2040 and also India is likely to be the fastest growing of the E7(countries)economies in the long run (http://www.pwc.com). Mr. Vishal pandit, President and CEO, GE Money India, said that currently retail banking sector growing at about 20% and expecting same growth in next 5-10 years because of increasing size of the Indian middle class, rising income level are the key factors for retail banking (http://www.nicct.nl/banking on growth.htm). The Reserve Bank of India has recognised the importance of customer service and constituted a committee on May 26 2010 under the leadership of Mr. Damodaran to evaluate public sector banking services rendered to retail and small customers and to suggest measures for better services in India (http://www.rbi.org.in). The committee has received more than 1000 suggestions through post, e-mail and fax from the customers all parts of the country to improve customer service and also interacted with the different customer segments in various parts of the country. The final committee report has submitted to RBI in September 2010and states that the customers were not satisfied in retail banking services such as service charge, attitude of the bank staff towards the small customers, promptness in service, education and information on new products, transparency in operations, term deposits, branch timings etc (http://www.rbi.org.in).The committee also suggest the banks to improve the effectiveness of the staff to deliver prompt services. The committee also suggest to educate advancement of technology to the customers time to time for better operations and also recommended to evaluate customer satisfaction time to time to retain customers as well as to improve service delivery based upon the consumer expectations( http://www.rbi.org.in). According the RBI, guide lines that the Indian public sector must examine the quality of service every through independent or external agency.The Indian Bank has provided the permission to the researcher to evaluate the customer satisfaction and expectations of service quality from Indian Bank to improve better service delivery in terms of the RBI guidelines. Indian Bank future ahead:

According to the Indian bank financial report (2011-2012). The Indian bank has opened 95 new branches to expand the branch network in India taking the tally to 1955 branches as at the end march 2012. Comprising, 520 Rural, 549Semi Urban, 500 Urban, 386 Metropolitan branches. The Indian bank has exploited, the innovation and advancements in technology for achieving the business objectives and offer a wide variety of products in tune with customer needs from April 2011, the Indian bank has a new tagline as "Your Tech-friendly Bank". The Indian bank has introduced the net banking and mobile banking facility to their customers to transfer funds, utility payments. The Indian bank also planned to expand further in branch network( http://www.indianbank.in/pdfs/investor/annual_report_2012.pdf).The Indian banks wants to know whether the customers are satisfied or not in terms of recent technological advancements and also expecting to identify the expectations of the customer for further expansion and better service delivery through this research project. Kumar and Rajesh (2009) found that the working performance of the banks is not good. They also identify some important parameters to satisfy customers such as technological upgradation, Positive attitude of the employee and modern services of banks. Agarwal (2010) has done research on services in Indian banking sector and concluded that private sector banks are performing well in terms of customer services compare with public sector banks and also the ratio of deposits 80 % in private banks and 20 % in public sector banks in coming years. In this study, the researcher also suggest the banks to satisfy their consumers in terms of both qualitatively and quantitatively and should " the customer first" because "Customer is the king" for effective functioning of Indian banks today. Bharathe (2008) examined the causes for customer dissatisfaction such as attitude of the bank employee ,bank charges, procedures, inaccuracy transactions and delay in correspondence, decision making. In this study, The author also recommended some suggestions to improve customer service such as motivation of staff, proper system and procedures to handle consumer complaints.

India

is likely to be the fastest growing of the E7 economies in the long run The Reserve bank of India recognised the importance of customer service satisfaction According to the directions given by the government of India, The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has suggested to the public sector banks that the citizen's charter is reconstructed and reintroduced with suitable changes according to the present nature of banking transactions and delivery of services in a non face-to-face environment. The indicative schedule of time ,in a citizen's charter, can put a customer at comfort in terms of expectations and suggested to give proper time for the front line staff to provide good customer service. RBI has emphasized that every

citizen of India has a right to demand quality banking services from all the banks so that timings of banking must include in a citizens of charter and instructed to evaluate the service quality through external or independent agency. (http://www.rbi.org).

Damodaran committee report:

2.5 Context & Significance for Praxis: (Application & importance to practice 750 words max) Benefits of researcher: 1 This research provides an opportunity to apply academic theory, principles and knowledge gained from MBA in practical. Gold, Thorpe and mumford (2010) argued that the manager need to analyse the key issues and apply theories to find the solutions for the problems to move forward and MBA is also the way to gain knowledge.

2. The researcher has planned to switch on to retail banking so this study helps to understand the customers and to identify the expectations of service quality from the retail banking sector. The first step to satisfy the customer is understanding the

customer expectation because sometimes customer will arrive happy and other customers will arrive unhappy, bored or even angry so manager must strive to satisfy varied customers (Ford&Heaton,2000). 3. The researcher also gain good communication skills, leadership skills, problem solving, project management skills through interaction with different kinds of customer and also able to understand the organisation culture during the research period in Indian bank. These skills are much helpful to get employment in banking sector and also useful to manage people.

4. Research is defined as "something that people undertake in order to find out things in systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge" (Saunders et al., (2009). According this statement, The researcher has been increasing knowledge and finding the solutions in a systematic way through this research. The researcher also gained sufficient knowledge and confidence to do doctorate degree in future. Organisational Benefits: 1. This research(Evaluation of customer satisfaction)provides an opportunity to identify existing and potential problem through customer feedback to the bank or firm. It also conveys the message to the customers that the bank or service provider cares about their wellbeing and values to the customer feedback concerning its operation. It is also useful to evaluate employee performance for further promotions and for sales management purposes, such as the development of sales training programs(Bateson &Hoffman,2011). The major reason for the poor performance of the manager is not knowing the customer expectations(Kandampully, 2007). This research helps bank manager and management to understand the customers and their perceptions in terms of service quality so that they can able to design segmentation strategy to target competitive market and customers through this research. Aaker and McLoughlin, (2010) argued the importance of evaluating customer satisfaction through demographic factors and service quality to identify market segments for better strategy. This research helpful to the management to review their present strategy towards growth because bank management is planning to expand rigorously in terms of both technology and wide network. In other words, this research may consider as a pilot testing before introducing new services to the market. The bank management can able to motivate retail customers after identifying the consumer segment through developed reliable service, convenient time schedules and comfortable.

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Academic world benefits: Huff and huff (2001) argue "could jeopardise future knowledge creation as research that is currently not valued commercially might have value in future" (p.6), a view supported by Saunders et al., (2009). 1. This research will helpful to understand the basic concepts of retail banking customer needs in Indian banking sector to undertake further research in Indian banking sector for future researchers especially from university of Chester.

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The academic world can able to understand the practical managerial problems and quality issues in real world at present so that, they can able to change modules with respect of advance knowledge and understanding to meet the present challenges in the global management perspective. The other researchers may use this results to argue or support to their adequate research report. The academic experts can able to generate new ideas to find the solutions in management issues and to relate them to practice.

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Social benefits: (Saunders et al., 2009) argued that production of knowledge focussing on an appreciation of the mankind conditions as it is and as it become, Its aim being to " Survival and promote the common goal at various levels of social aggregation" (Huff & Huff, 2001, p.53). 1. The researcher has chosen deductive approach with respect of social issues to address and to find solutions according to the relevant management theory. 2. The researcher providing opportunity to all the people to share their problems and expectations of the service quality in Indian bank in order to improve better service delivery from the bank. 3. This research provides a real opportunity to create change in the service delivery as customer desires in the bank. furthermore, Government of India has introduced the concept of " Citizens' charter" on the occasion of completing fifty years of independence in a form of a promise to the consumers from the public organisation about its performance and also instructed to all public government services to implement Citizen's charter display immediately to ensure and promote available services among all citizens of India for better consumer services. (http://www.india.gov.in).

In today's competitive world, Serving customers and providing satisfaction have become the slogan of modern marketing theory. An organisation's responsibility to provide high quality of service that results in satisfied customers, is said to be the key driver or a sustainable competitive advantage (Shemwell et., 1998). Moreover, Muffato and Panizzola,(1995) have argued that customer satisfaction should be consider as one of the most important competitive factors for the future in order to indicate organisation profit earning ability. They also proposed that the customer satisfaction would be a driving force for the organisations to improve their reputation and image, decrease customer turnover, and increase attention to customer needs. These steps would help organisations in creating barriers to switching and also useful to improve business relationships with their customers.

This research helps management to identify the level of customer satisfaction about their services so that they can develop strategy and also help

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Methodology: (Research strategy & methods to be employed, including justification 750 words max) Introduction: Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2009) have created a model, the research "onion" to understand the research methodology . There are Six layers in this model the first layer illustrates the four philosophies, second shows research approaches, third the research strategies, fourth the choice of methods, time horizon and finally techniques and procedures (Saunders et al.,2009, p.108). The researcher has choosen "onion" research process for this research.

Research Philosophies: According to Saunders et al. (2009), there are four various kinds of philosophies are Positivism, realism, interpretivism, and pragmatism. Positivism involved the production of reliable data by observations of phenomena. It usually meant that the existing theories to expand hypothesis which are tested and confirmed or deny. Realism is a branch of epistemology and explains the truth as we see it, simply a realistic picture and also it is similar to the positivism. It can be divided into direct and critical realism. Direct realism means that the belief that the world represent precisely through what we experience through our senses. Critical realism means the belief that our experience are only on our sensations which can often deceptive. In other words, we cannot experience directly (Saunders et al., 2009).

Interpretivism is a concept that respects the difference between people and object. In terms of this strategy to work, The researchers need to understand the "meaning of social action" (Bryman &Bell, 2007, p.19). Pragatism argues that the most important part of researches epistemology, ontology, and axiology is the research question. This philosophy reveals the fact that the combined methods are feasible to conduct. This philosophy is used to connected the assumptions which support to the research strategies and chosen methods(Saunders et al., 2009).

Research Approaches: Saunders et al.(2009) has proposed two research approaches namely deductive and inductive approach. The deductive approach begins with collection of both data and theory, mean that using theories and findings will help in the collection of data and researcher develops a theory either mixed with other theories or completely different than others. Quantitative research is mostly used in deductive approach and even in some research qualitative researches are made (Saunders er al., 2009). Inductive research approach is meant that the collection of data before reading and finding theories, where collection of data is usually qualitative and the research results that may be similar or different to other theories evaluated after the final result is concluded (Saunders et al., 2009). The Inductive research approach is depends on the observations of researcher on how behaviour is related, either to one another or to others are connected to the research (McMillan,2004). In this study, the researcher has planned to use questionnaires. it meant that the research approach is deductive. In quantitative research, the focus is on "how often" and "how many" instead of "why" and "how" (Hancock,1998).The researcher has planned to do quantitative- numerical analysis after getting the samples of questionnaires to find out the solutions to the question. In this research, the researcher has planned to use, an adapted version of the SERVQUAL instrument to measure service quality perceptions of retail customers of Indian bank. A modified SERVQUAL questionnaire containing 23 items are going to use for survey to collect data. "SERVQUAL can be adapted or supplemented to fit the characteristics or specific research needs of a particular organisation" (Parasuraman et al. 1988, p.31). The scale has developed and tested across various service sectors such as banking, telecom, higher education services(Babakus & Mangold, 1992). According to the positivistic stance, deductive approach is appropriate for representing the findings and to conclude in this study. Robinson (2002)(as cited in Saunders et.al.2009) has listed five sequential stages through deductive approach will follow. 1.Deducing a hypothesis: A testable proportion for the relationship between two or more variable. 2. Expressing the hypothesis in operational terms: that interpret how the distinct variables are to be measured.

3. testing this operational hypothesis: it refers to research strategy 4. Evaluating specific consequence of the investigation 5.If required, modifying the theory in terms of findings. Research Strategy: Survey strategy is most popular and appropriate strategy in business and management research (Saunders et.al.2009). The survey will be planning to conduct among 150 valued customers in Royapuram branch, Indian bank at Chennai. Mishra, (2009) has suggested minimum sample size must be 50 observations to reveal desired results. The questionnaires will be distribute randomly by the researcher according to the guidelines provided by the Indian bank. The researcher has planned to design three section questionnaires. The first section consists of customer basic information like age, gender, occupation, frequency of visits .The second section have 23 items, five factors suggested by parasuraman and his colleagues. The third section will provide an opportunity to suggest recommendations to increase service quality. The researcher has planned to use 5-point Likert scale to measure the consumers opinion to each item. An evident of literature on customer satisfaction and service quality in retail banking suggest that the SERVQUAL instrument is most suitable model especially in Asian countries like India.
Hanzaee and Hanzaee (2012) emphasized the branch managers to use SERQUAL instrument to measure both customer satisfaction and service quality and suggested to improve intangible elements.

In 2003, Chi, Lewis, Barbara and park argued that the SERQUAL instrument is better than SERVPEF to measure service quality in banks especially in Asian countries. Pilot Testing: Stokes (2011) suggested to run the pilot study among small number of customers before the main study to confirm suitability and reliability of data. The researcher has decided to take pilot study according to the suggestions given by experts.

Rejected Methods: According to the Quinlan (2011).There are so many qualitative methods to evaluate customers such as interviews, projective techniques, focus groups etc. The researcher not chosen other methods due to time constraints. http://economics.about.com/cs/finance/a/india_banking.htm http://www.bis.org/review/r050531f.pdf

3.1 Research Ethics (250 words max) ???

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Proposed plan of work: (Identification of specific tasks, start & end dates, estimated effort & deliverables) ??? For example: (i) Appraisal of the terminology used in the IS strategy literature, e.g. (Robson, 2012), (Ward et al., 2002) and its applicability to IS strategy planning. October 2011 to January 2012,(50 hours), resulting in background notes for later use, etc.

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References: (APA layout)

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Statement by the applicant

I confirm that the particulars give in Section 1 are correct. Signed: Date: _________________________ _________________________