An Empirical Study Of Service Quality And Its Impact On Customer Satisfaction In Rural Banks

Abstract

The study titled "An Empirical Study of Service Quality and Its Impact on Customer Satisfaction in Rural Banks" aims to evaluate the level of customer satisfaction and examine how specific service quality dimensions influence it in rural banking contexts. Conducted in Pamarru Mandal of Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, the research adopts a quantitative, empirical approach using a structured questionnaire administered to 120 rural bank customers. The study employs Neural Network Analysis to identify the most influential satisfaction drivers and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to examine the impact of five key service quality dimensions tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. The findings reveal that responsiveness is the most impactful factor, followed by empathy and reliability, underscoring the need for prompt, personalized, and dependable service in rural banking. Additionally, the bank's ability to understand and address customers' financial needs emerged as a critical determinant of satisfaction. On the contrary, digital banking services were found to have minimal influence, suggesting limited digital adoption in rural areas. The study concludes that enhancing service quality across key dimensions can significantly improve customer satisfaction and support the broader goal of financial inclusion in rural India.