IMPACT OF OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN THE INDIAN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53555/hkag9240Keywords:
Customer satisfaction, Operational efficiency, Competitive advantage, Automobile industry, Indian marketAbstract
The paper shall explore relationship between the operational efficiency as well as customer satisfaction within Indian automobile sector with particular emphasis on the showroom level operation. The aim was to get insights into the effect of different operational determinants on overall customer happiness and long-term customer loyalty in a competitive and dynamic automotive market. An organized customer satisfaction questionnaire consisting of 25 statements was made as per the insights gained through the literature review. The tool was given to 75 participants who recently dealt with the employees in the showroom, which gave the opportunity to record the real-time impressions about the operational performance and the quality of services. These were investigated on the dependence between independent variables of operations and the satisfaction of customers using the descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The results showed that framework of proposed explanations (0.4429 percent) elucidated the variation in customer satisfaction, and the determinants (the selection) possess moderate explanatory strength. The operational aspects that were studied involved production lead time, quality of service after sales, efficiency of supply chain, inventory, reliability of the vehicle, its sustainability and green operations, and automation of technology and processes. Among these variables, production lead time has been found out to be the most significant factor in customer satisfaction. Although even post sales quality of service altered the customer loyalty and satisfaction only slightly and its contribution was insignificant as a statistical element, it is also a significant factor of customer loyalty and satisfaction. The results underline the significance of properly conveying the strengths of the operations to the customers. Better knowledge about efficiency-related programs will allow firms to achieve higher customer experience, enhance their competitive advantage, and develop a culture of operational excellence and long-term customer relationship in the automobile industry.
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