A Study on Beneficiaries' Satisfaction at Employees Provident Fund, Nepal

Abstract

This study is a descriptive research aimed at accessing and describing beneficiaries’ expectation and perception of service quality at Employees Provident Fund,Nepal and subsequently identifying the dimensions of service quality that drives customers' perceived service quality atEPF, Nepal. The target population of the study was beneficiaries' of EPF, Nepal. Of the total target population, 160 beneficiaries' of EPF in Kathmandu valley were selected as the sample size of the study. The critical dimensions of service quality ( SERVQUAL Model) at EPF, Nepal are examined in six dimensions: Tangibility, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, Empathy and Corporate Governance. The findings of the study revealed that beneficiaries' perception on service quality at EPF is found below their expectation. The average satisfaction level in all six dimensions is 77 percent.

Beneficiaries' perception level in all the dimensions is found lower than the beneficiaries' expectations. The findings of the study revealed that the most influential dimension that drives beneficiaries' perception of overall service quality is the corporate governance. The corporate governance dimension has shown the minimum expectation perception gap score. It is also found that background characteristics such as gender, service period, academic qualifications and service post of beneficiaries have significant influence on beneficiaries' perception and expectation of service quality. The study has also explored the present status of EPF in terms of its effectiveness in the area of its services such as social security benefits and loan schemes.

It is found that greater emphasis should be placed on Tangibility, Responsibility Reliability, Assurance, Empathy and Corporate Governance dimensions which have higher to lower gap score respectivelyto meet the expectations of the beneficiaries. Policy makers of EPF should focus on beneficiaries' expectations while formulating policies on improving service quality. Future studies are encouraged to perform a cross country comparison and compare their findings in other Asian countries with the results of current study.