Interaction Quality in Service Encounter: Scale Development and Validation

This paper describes the development and validation of a 24-item scale which aims to measure interaction quality of service exchange in the hospitality industry. The new scale operationalise the quality of interaction as a function of both cognitive and social aspects of service encounter. Following traditional methods of scale development, the study starts with reviewing the literature, evaluating current measures, and identifying limitations of the existing scale. This is followed by a series of semi-structured qualitative interviews to clarify concept and to ensure the new scale captures all aspects of interaction quality. The scale is then validated using a sample from UK population. The scale was found to be valid and reliable measure of interaction quality. The importance of such a scale for the service exchange is discussed