Quality Service Delivery as a Competitive Weapon in Corporate Strategy: The Case of Zenith Bank of Nigeria Plc

Abstract

The study assessed quality service delivery of Zenith Bank of Nigeria to determine whether it confers competitive advantage on the Bank. A survey research method was adopted. A sample of the Bank’s branches in 4 towns in Anambra State was selected. Data were generated from questionnaires, interviews and internet as well as the audited accounts of Zenith Bank plc from 2005 to 2011. Z-test score was employed to test the formulated hypothesis one, while hypothesis two was analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test to test the results generated from the financial ratios to determine whether or not the means of the variables differ between pre-recession and post-recession periods. The findings of the study revealed that: quality service delivery strategies of Zenith Bank have attracted customers’ 3: www.afrrevjo.net/ijah 91 patronage and that there is no significant difference in the Bank’s financial position between  pre-recession and post-recession periods. The implication of the findings is that quality of service delivery has the potential of growing, sustaining and expanding businesses and it confers competitive edge on the Bank. Also, that the Bank’s management has to realize that total quality management is far from a rapid fix and that the quest for supremacy is a “never ending process”, therefore, should give room for continuous improvements. The study recommends, among other things, that the Bank’s management should see quality service delivery as a competitive weapon in corporate strategy.