The Relationship Between Service Quality, Passenger Satisfy And Loyalty (QSL) Of High-speed Railway Based On SEM

In recent years, with the increase of national consumption capacity and living standards, passengers'requirements to transportation service have also improved. Faced with the increasingly integrated transportation environment in China, high speed railway, as an emerging means of transportation, has to withstand fierce competition in transportation market and to satisfy customers'demands. In order to gain a larger share in the passenger transportation market, the managing department of high speed railway should not only provide high-standard service, but also handle the relationship with the passengers and respond properly. It has already become a crucial concern for high speed railway managers to operate the whole department in a such way to improve its service to increase passenger's satisfaction and keep their loyalty to railway transportation.Based on the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), this thesis constructed the service Quality-passengers'Satisfaction-passenger Loyalty (QSL) structural equation model. Firstly, the study summarized, from related literatures, the kinds of service that passengers value during their trips, with business images and passengers' complaints also included in the model. Then, the thesis testified the variables and assumed path of the theoretical model by both factor analysis and validation analysis. Indistinctive factors and path are eliminated from the original model. Meanwhile, the model was configured using indicators of fitness and evaluated using dataset from passenger surveys. Using the model, empirical analysis was carried out to reveal the relationship among variables, latent variables and observed variables been measured, the relationship between department image and passengers'complaints, as well as their influence on the following decisions.According to the analysis, the study found that, perceived quality of railway and stations both have a positive and direct effects on railway department image and passenger satisfaction, rail department image has a positive and direct effect on satisfaction of railway passengers, passenger satisfaction has a negative and direct effect on passenger complaint, the passenger satisfaction has a positive and direct effect on passenger loyalty of high speed railway passengers, and passenger complaint has a significant effect on loyalty of passengers. The passenger complaint effect on passenger loyalty was not stable, so the effect could be insignificant as supposed. This research provide methodology as well as support for high railway transportation departments to take initiatives to improve their services so as to better their images.