Abstract:
ABSTRACT
Users of the justice system supply chain have the right to receive high levels of quality service.
The 9093 service delivery received by the Judiciary between June 2012 and June 2013 are an
indicator that the public is generally dissatisfied with the quality of services offered by the
Judiciary. The general objective of this study was to assess the relationship between service
quality dimensions and customer satisfaction in Eldoret law courts using the SERVQUAL
model. The specific objectives of the study were to establish the relationship between service
quality dimensions and customer satisfaction, to investigate the moderating effects of
performance benchmarks on the relationship between service quality dimensions and customer
satisfaction and to examine the joint effects of service quality dimensions and performance
benchmarks on customer satisfaction at Eldoret Law Courts. Major theories used in this study
include the assimilation - contrast theory to explain the relationships among the service quality
and customer satisfaction variables, Contrast theory to provide insights into customers post
usage evaluations and equity theory to effectively address the major objective to customer
satisfaction through the legal reforms in the country. Data was collected from a population of
1815 respondents made up of 140 convicts, 83 remandees, 23 advocates and 82 parties with
pending children cases obtained using stratified random sampling. Primary data was collected
using on-the-spot-administered structured questionnaires developed on a five Point-Likert type
scale and a questionnaire. Secondary data was used to compare the findings in the primary data.
The instrument’s content validity was assessed using Cronbach's coefficient alpha reliability
test which ranged from 0.823-0.920. Data was analysed with the aid of Statistical Package for
Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. This study established that, all the service quality
dimension factors are useful measures of satisfaction. This study found that all the respondents
were not satisfied with the quality of services rendered at Eldoret law courts and especially the
remandees who were least satisfied. The results from ANOVA provide the p value of .000 at
95% confidence level and therefore the study rejected the null hypothesis and concluded that
there was a significant relationship service quality dimensions, performance benchmarks and
customer satisfaction. The study findings may contribute significantly to the development of
strategies by policy makers in the judiciary, reduce the levels of dissatisfaction by providing
quality services and enhance service delivery in the Judiciary.
