Abstract:
Sri Lanka is a gifted country with precious natural resources and strong cultural heri tage which
nurtured mainly by Buddhist philosophy. However, globalization by technology, liberalization of
economy associated with economic growth and rapid urbanization made greater demand for
veterinary healthcare which leads to high competition among veterinary healthcare providers. The
most important competitive edge associates with delighting customers by offering an unimaginable
service quality. Furthermore, there’s a vacuumed space in literature regarding measuring service
quality and relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in Sri Lankan veterinary
healthcare. Therefore, purpose of this study was threefold. They were to examine dimensionality of
SERVQUAL, confirm service quality model and determine relationship between service quality
dimensions and customer satisfaction. This study carried out at Out Patient Department (OPD), of
Sri Lankan Veterinary Hospital. The sampling technique was systematic random sampling and
selected sample size was two hundred respondents. Data collection done by administering
questionnaire just after experiencing service delivery. Data analysis done by Exploratory Factor
Analysis, reliability test, tests for convergent and discriminant validity, unidimensionality, followed
by Confirmatory Factor Analysis. From the results of earlier tests, researchers were able to confirm
model with goodness- of-fit with only four dimensions. Namely, empathy, assurance, reliability and
assurance. According to confirmed model, researchers were able to formulate hypotheses and further
analysis by multiple regression analysis revealed all four hypotheses were acceptable. Finally,
researchers conclude, empathy, reliability, assurance and tangible dimensions of SERVQUAL has
positive impact on customer satisfaction in Sri Lankan Veterinary Hospital. The most important
dimension for customer satisfaction was empathy and followed by assurance.
