Effects of Child Welfare Service Quality Delivery and Customer Satisfaction from the Service Distribution Perspective

서비스 유통 관점에서 아동복지기관 서비스질의 전달에 대한 인식과 이용자 만족도에 미치는 영향

Purpose - This study reviews the delivery of child welfare service quality and examines how the dimensions of the variables of customer satisfaction impact the results from a service distribution perspective. This study differs from existing research since it proposes that a recognized level of child welfare service quality is necessary to achieve customer satisfaction from the perspective of service distribution. Research design, data, and methodology - This study explores child welfare service quality factors that affect customer satisfaction. The study examines and analyzes demographic variables, service quality dimensions, and the causal relationships between child welfare service quality and customer satisfaction. Data from 300 child welfare cases were collected from organizations in Korea in the areas of Busan and Gyeongsangnamdo. The methods of analysis are as follow. First, using descriptive analysis frequency, the percentages were evaluated to assess the demographic variables. Second, Cronbach's α was used to test reliability and to evaluate the internal consistency of the measuring of items. Third, multiple regression analysis was conducted to find out how much the independent variable can affect customer satisfaction. Results - Five factors of child welfare service quality were identified in three categories: process quality (assurance, empathy), results quality (reliability, caring), and physical environment quality (tangibles). There were significant differences among the effects of the child welfare service quality factors on customer satisfaction. A multiple regression analysis was done with process quality (assurance, empathy), results quality (reliability, caring) and physical environment quality (tangibles) to test the hypothesis: assurance (t=2.434, p<0.05), empathy (t=3.677, p<0.001), reliability (t=3.271, p<0.05), caring (t=4.380, p<0.000), and tangibles (t=3.654, p<0.01) had a positive influence on child welfare service quality from a service distribution perspective. Therefore, hypotheses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were supported. In addition, multiple regression analysis on the effects of the variables showed that caring (β=0.273), empathy (β=0.246), tangibles (β=0.265), reliability (β=0.152), and assurance (β=0.131) all had a positive and strong influence on child welfare service quality from a service distribution perspective. Therefore, all child welfare service quality categories (process, results and physical environment quality) were positively statistically significant. Conclusion - In this study, the main findings can be summarized as follows. First, the quality of service of child welfare consists of three dimensions of quality: process quality, results quality, and physical environment quality. The results of the multiple regression analysis also showed that caring and reliability were confirmed as more meaningful variables by the increasing loading factors. Second, the family members involved in child welfare proposed caring as the most important variable among the dimensions of service quality. Third, the results of the hypothesis testing using regression showed that all child welfare service quality factors had a positive impact on customer satisfaction. The results of the study could provide useful information to help increase the effectiveness of delivery strategies for child welfare service quality from a service distribution perspective.