Service Quality Affecting Intention to Use Thai-Vientiane (Khamsavath) Railway Service through Customer Satisfaction

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to 1) to examine the levels of service quality, customer satisfaction, and intention to use the Thai-Vientiane (Khamsavath) railway service.  2) to study the influence of service quality on the intention to use, with customer satisfaction as a mediating variable and 3) to propose strategic guidelines for service development of     the Thai-Vientiane (KHAMSAVATH) railway service. The research employed a mixed-methods design, integrating both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative data were collected from 400 passengers through structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The qualitative component consisted of in-depth interviews with six key informants, with data  analyzed through content analysis. The quantitative findings revealed that service quality, customer satisfaction, and intention to use the service were all rated at high level. Service quality had a statistically significant positive influence on both customer satisfaction and intention to use. Furthermore, the analysis confirmed the role of customer satisfaction as         a mediator, demonstrating that service quality significantly influences the intention to use through customer satisfaction. The qualitative findings indicated that both passengers and railway personnel generally perceived service quality to be moderate to good. However, areas in need of improvement were identified, particularly the modernity of physical facilities, consistency of service, staff responsiveness, and accessibility of information and online systems.