Exploring different nationality perceptions of airport service quality

In order to attain a sustainable competitive advantage, airports should strive to enhance multicultural passenger satisfaction through the provision of high quality services. The purpose of the current study is to determine the specific service quality components that can lead to increased traveler satisfaction in an international airport environment, and to evaluate the degree to which passenger perceptions of airport facilities, as well as levels of satisfaction, vary according to different nationalities. In order to achieve this objective, this paper examines the equivalence of service quality and satisfaction measures by applying the Rasch modelling technique. Airport service quality is found to be comprised of three distinct dimensions, namely "Servicescape and Image", "Signage" and "Services" and significant differences with service quality perceptions are exhibited among travelers of different nationalities. Overall, the results highlight the need to assess scale equivalence across different nationalities. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.