Abstract
Despite the financial industry crash of 2008 not just in Ireland but on a global scale, the financial services industry remains a key cornerstone of the Irish economy and an important element of the Irish Government’s foreign direct investment strategy. However, research has been relatively limited in the context of the Irish Financial services industry, in terms of gaps in service quality and any potential opportunities that may exist. This study therefore lends itself well towards the analysis of the industry and researching improvements and opportunities in what remains a globally competitive industry.
Due to the exploratory nature of the research subject a qualitative approach was taken towards this study. This involved conducting four in-depth interviews with key elements within the industry in Ireland namely on the Fund Administration side and the Investment Manager side. Therefore the interviews covered the service provider side (Fund Administrators) and the customer/service user side (Investment Managers).
The outcome of the collected data provided some very important factors for the Irish industry to consider, focussing on the gaps in the industry and where opportunities exist. After the analysis and interpretation of the collaborated data, this study provides recommendations and conclusions regarding these service quality gaps and new prospects to be pursued.
Author keywords: Financial Services, Service Quality.
