Validating the retail service quality scale for US and Korean customers of discount stores: an exploratory study

This exploratory study was designed to determine whether the retail service quality scale could be validated in a discount retail setting in the USA and Korea. Two convenience samples of US and Korean college students provided the data for the study. A multisample analysis supported that the same three dimensions of service quality existed in both samples, but the measurement model was not equivalent. Confirmatory factor analyses suggested that consumers in both cultures did not make a distinction between the personal attention and the problem solving dimensions. In addition, the policy dimension was not observed in either sample. Examination of the means of the dimensions indicated differences between the USA and Korea in the way consumers perceived the service quality of discount stores.