Evaluation the Quality of Banking Services Provided to Cooperative Sector Businesses Using the SERVQUAL Model

Cooperative businesses are an important part of the economy of countries and are important factors in creating wealth, entrepreneurship and job creation. Because of the importance of these businesses in entrepreneurship development, policymakers have designated institutions to facilitate their start-up and growth. One of the most important institutions is the Omid Entrepreneurship Fundation, which is responsible for providing part of the capital required for this type of business. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the quality of banking services provided to businesses in the cooperative sector. To achieve the goal, a service quality evaluation questionnaire was used which includes 22 items. The statistical population of the study also includes cooperative business entrepreneurs in Khorasan Razavi province in 2017, whose number according to the latest census is 6920 units. Sampling was done in a multi-stage method and a questionnaire was distributed among 370 entrepreneurs applying or receiving facilities from this fund in six cities of Khorasan Razavi province. To measure the quality of services, the gap between the expected services and the received services was measured and the hypotheses were tested. The results indicate a gap between perceived and expected services in all aspects of service quality. At the end of the research, in accordance with the results, suggestions were provided to improve service delivery in this section.