Innovative Service Delivery and Competitive Advantage of Deposit Money Banks in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Excellent service delivery is important for any firm to establish a strong position in its industry. This study examined the relationship between innovative service delivery and competitive advantage of deposit money banks in Port Harcourt. Its specific objectives were to examine the relationship between each of the dimensions of innovative service delivery (process innovation and customer interaction) and competitive advantage of deposit money banks in Port Harcourt. The population of the study consisted of sixteen (16) deposit money banks in Port Harcourt. Data conveniently collected from 112 senior staff of the banks studied at the ratio of 7 staff per bank. The hypotheses were tested using Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient for the acceptance or rejection of the two hypotheses stated in the study. The findings showed a strong, positive and statistically significant relationship between innovative service delivery (process innovation and customer interaction) and competitive advantage (customer value) of deposit money banks in Port Harcourt. Therefore, the study concluded that innovative service delivery has a significant relationship with competitive advantage of deposit money banks in Port Harcourt and thus recommends that service firms especially the deposit money banks should endeavour to always integrate new methods that would help boost the ways through which customers can be attended to, thereby, aiding them to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. Keywords: Innovative Service Delivery, Competitive Advantage, Process Innovation, Customer Interaction, Customer Value