Strategic Intelligence and Service Quality: Evidence from Customer Happiness Service Channels in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

This study analyzes the relationship between strategic intelligence and service quality from the perspective of customers using government service delivery channels in the United Arab Emirates, with application to the Emirate of Sharjah. The research is motivated by the growing importance of improving government services amid digital transformation, the diversification of service delivery channels, and rising customer expectations for faster, more flexible, reliable, and responsive services. Strategic intelligence was operationalized as the independent variable across five dimensions — foresight, organized thinking, strategic vision, strategic partnership, and motivation and stimulation — while service quality was operationalized as the dependent variable using the SERVQUAL dimensions of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, security and trustworthiness, and empathy (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1988). A quantitative, cross-sectional design was adopted, with data collected via a structured Likert-scale questionnaire from a sample of 400 customers of Sharjah's government service delivery channels, determined using the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) sample-size table. Data were analyzed in SPSS using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, and non-parametric difference tests (Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis H). Results indicate that both strategic intelligence and service quality were perceived at high levels by respondents. Multiple regression showed that the five dimensions of strategic intelligence jointly explained 80.4% of the variance in service quality (R = 0.897, R² = 0.804, Adjusted R² = 0.802, F(5, 394) = 323.236, p < .001), with all five dimensions contributing significant positive effects; motivation and stimulation (β = 0.397) and strategic partnership (β = 0.195) emerged as the strongest predictors, followed by strategic vision (β = 0.145), foresight (β = 0.132), and organized thinking (β = 0.129). Statistically significant differences in customers' perceptions of service quality were also found according to gender, educational qualification, and age. The findings suggest that improving government service quality depends not only on digital-channel development but substantially on institutional capacity for anticipation, organized service design, clear future orientation, inter-agency partnership, and workforce motivation. Practical recommendations are offered for government service providers, along with directions for future research.