The exploration of service quality and its measurement for private higher education institutions

Abstract

The strategic importance of service excellence for service industries places the focus on service quality leadership, service quality management systems, service quality dimensions and the measurement of service quality. Many businesses such as private higher education institutions (PHEIs) regard service quality excellence as the single most important and distinct competence for survival and sustainability. The paucity of literature on the topic does not reflect the substantial growth of PHEIs in South Africa, and this paper explores service quality in this context. This exploratory study focuses on service quality (general insights), the need for service quality management and measurement at PHEIs, and the practical value of the SERVQUAL methodologies. The research approach is exploratory in the sense that it involves a literature review and an empirical application of the SERVQUAL instrument at a PHEI. The results (with internal validity) indicate the following three factors: the increasing strategic importance of service quality at PHEIs; good service quality levels at the PHEI studied; and why and how SERVQUAL (and SERVPERF) can benefitt PHEIs.

Service Quality Framework for private higher open distance e-learning institutions in South -Africa

“…For the purpose of this article, service quality in PHE is defined as 'meeting and exceeding students' expectations and perceptions by constantly rendering a reliable service that conforms to pre-determined requirements for which the student is willing to pay, resulting in tangible and intangible benefits'. Soni and Govender (2018) referred to the work of Wang (2012) and Dirkse van Schalkwyk and Steenkamp (2014) on the role that service quality plays in South African HEIs, with Vivek et al (2019) who supported their argument by reflecting on Indian HEIs. The studies by Soni and Govender (2018), Marimon et al (2019), Kruja et al (2021), andParasuraman et al (1985) among others, to determine the dimensions of SQ in HEIs have identified different variations.…”

Chất Lượng Dịch Vụ Thuế Cho Doanh Nghiệp: Trường Hợp Nghiên Cứu Tại Thừa Thiên Huế

“…Có thể khẳng định rằng thang đo này phù hợp với mọi loại hình dịch vụ vì tính hợp lệ và độ tin cậy của nó [26], [27]. Hơn nữa, có rất nhiều lợi ích của việc sử dụng SERVQUAL đã được chỉ ra và sau đó, nó đã được chấp nhận như một thang đo tiêu chuẩn để đánh giá các khía cạnh khác biệt của chất lượng dịch vụ [38].…”

South Africa University students’ perceptions of key education service quality determinants

“…The majority of studies on higher education service quality in South Africa in the past decade focused on "gap" analyses, using the SERVQUAL scale (Veerasamy et al, 2012;Green, 2014;Naidoo, 2014;Van Schalkwyk & Steenkamp, 2014) and only one used the SERVPERF model (Diedericks, 2012). With the exception of the study by Radder and Han (2009, p. 116), no analyses were undertaken using cluster or predictive analyses techniques to determine statistically, whether there are specific factors that could predict higher education service quality.…”