International Journal on Customer Relations

Abstract

Purpose: This study assessed service quality and customer satisfaction at Kenya National Archives and Documentation Service (KNADS) in Nairobi County, Kenya. Service quality was based on the SERVQUAL standards developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) which consist of five dimensions namely: tangibility; reliability; responsiveness; assurance; and empathy. Customer satisfaction was users’ collective perception, evaluation and psychological reactions to the consumption experience with KNADS products/services.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The study used qualitative and quantitative research approaches with survey as the main research design where data was collected using questionnaires, and interviews. Triangulation and Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient addressed validity and reliability of data. Convenience and purposeful sampling techniques were used to sample 60 KNADS users and 7 management staff. A pilot study of 10 respondents at the Kenya National Museum in Nairobi helped refine research instruments. Collected data was cleaned, coded and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPPS) program to perform descriptive statistics such as means, percentages and frequency tables.

Findings: Findings revealed that KNADS was mainly used for research by males with masters and undergraduate degrees in their mid-twenties and thirties. Users’ were dissatisfied with KNADS service quality benchmarks such as internet connectivity, finding aids, speed of retrieval, OPAC, digital files, sitting space, subject coverage and staff competencies.

Implication: This study has implications on the application of the five SERVQUAL Model service quality benchmarks (reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles) to customer satisfaction at KNADS and other archival institutions in Africa.

Originality/Value: It was recommended that KNADS formulates a policy framework to guide, promote and manage archival collection; digitize records; enhance ICT infrastructure and deploy structured training interventions to improve staff skills, knowledge and competencies.

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