Evaluating credit union members’ perception of service quality through service innovation

The financial market has undergone numerous changes in recent years, becoming more competitive and characterized by offers of increasingly similar products and services by competitors. An alternative for companies to stand out in this market is the introduction of innovations and quality in services. This study proposes to evaluate the perceived quality of financial services by the members of a credit union. The study was conducted at a service unit of a credit union in Paraná State, Brazil. A survey with a sample of 167 members was applied, together with a questionnaire based on the SERVQUAL scale. The expectations and perceptions of the members were compared regarding the quality of services provided. An analysis of the responses enabled an evaluation of the gap between what members expect and what they perceive in terms of service quality. The main contribution of this article lies in the application of the SERVQUAL scale and the concepts of service quality in a cooperative organization in a sector that has been the focus of few academic studies. The results can be used to promote improvement processes in the services of the sector.