Directory UMM :Data Elmu:jurnal:I:International Journal of Educational Management:Vol11.Issue2.1997:
Searching for excellence in business education: an
exploratory study of customer impressions of
service quality
Gaston LeBlanc
Unive rsity o f Mo nc to n, Mo nc to n, Ne w Brunswic k, Canada
Nha Nguyen
Unive rsity o f Mo nc to n, Mo nc to n, Ne w Brunswic k, Canada
Examines the concept of
service quality in business
education with data collected
from 388 students. Identifi es
seven factors which infl uence
student evaluations of service
quality. In descending order
of importance these factors
are: reputation, administrative personnel, faculty, curriculum, responsiveness,
physical evidence and access
to facilities. Describes the
implications for controlling
quality and for achieving
excellence in business
education.
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 ,2 [ 1997] 7 2 –7 9
© MCB Unive rsity Pre ss
[ ISSN 0951-354X]
[ 72 ]
Introduction
Th e iden tifica tion of th e dim en sion s wh ich
sign a l qu a lity a n d th e a ch ievem en t of excellen ce in bu sin ess edu ca tion h ave em er ged
th is deca de a s k ey issu es fa cin g th e a ca dem y.
In deed, lik e m a n y oth er or ga n iza tion s, bu sin ess sch ools m u st be con cer n ed n ow w ith
m a r k et sh a r e, pr odu ctivity, r etu r n on in vestm en t a n d th e qu a lity of ser vices offer ed to
th eir cu stom er s. Ser vice qu a lity ca n lea d to
excellen ce in bu sin ess edu ca tion a n d ca n
h ave la stin g effects on th e in stitu tion a n d th e
stu den ts it ser ves. Th is ca n in flu en ce stu den t
r ecom m en da tion s of th eir pr ogr a m m e to
oth er s, a s well a s th eir fu tu r e m on eta r y con tr ibu tion s in su ppor t of th eir u n iver sity
(Allen a n d Davis, 1991).
Despite th e im por ta n ce given to ser vice
qu a lity, Ster n a n d Tsen g (1993) r epor t th a t few
bu sin ess sch ools h ave a dopted a tota l qu a lity
m a n a gem en t (TQM) ph ilosoph y. As su ch , th is
h a s r esu lted in m u ch cr iticism dir ected a t
bu sin ess sch ools wh er e cu r r icu lu m a n d
cou r se con ten ts, tea ch in g m eth ods a n d peda gogy, a n d th e r eleva n ce of a ca dem ic r esea r ch
h ave been qu estion ed (Ca n n on a n d Sh eth ,
1994). In ter estin gly, given th e sta tu r e of bu sin ess sch ools a n d th e ten den cy to pla ce pr ofession a l ser vice pr ovider s on a pedesta l ba sed
on th eir r epu ta tion a n d per ceived qu a lity
(Sw a r tz a n d Br ow n , 1989), it is su r pr isin g to
discover th a t little r esea r ch h a s been
r epor ted on th e qu a lity of ser vices in bu sin ess edu ca tion .
F r om th e per spective of TQM, edu ca tion a l
offer in gs sh ou ld be im pr oved con tin u a lly in
or der to r eflect th e la test m eth ods a n d tr en ds
(Ca n n on a n d Sh eth , 1994) a n d better to sa tisfy
th e n eeds of cu stom er s. To th a t en d, Br ow n
a n d Koen ig (1993) r ecom m en d th a t cu stom er
eva lu a tion s of th e qu a lity of th eir edu ca tion
sh ou ld be a n in te gr a l pa r t of TQM
pr ogr a m m es in bu sin ess edu ca tion . In deed, a
better u n der sta n din g of h ow cu stom er s for m
im pr ession s of qu a lity ca n pr ovide va lu a ble
in for m a tion to m a n a gem en t for design in g
ser vice deliver y system s th a t en h a n ce cu stom er sa tisfa ction (Seym ou r, 1992) a n d for
a da ptin g th e u n iver sity en vir on m en t to th e
stu den ts’ n eeds (Ha m pton , 1993). In th e
design of qu a lity im pr ovem en t pr ogr a m m es
it is th u s th e cu stom er s’ defin ition s of qu a lity
wh ich cou n t, sin ce m a n a gem en t m ay m a k e
th e w r on g a ssu m ption s a s to h ow cu stom er s
a ctu a lly a ssess ser vice qu a lity. Assu m ption s
su ch a s th ese cou ld lea d to th e esta blish m en t
of im pr oper pr ior ities w ith r e ga r d to qu a lity
con tr ol sta n da r ds in bu sin ess edu ca tion
(N igh tin ga le, 1983). Ta k in g cu stom er sa tisfa ction in to con sider a tion , a k n ow ledge a n d
better u n der sta n din g of th e pr ocess a n d th e
va r iou s ch a r a cter istics, qu a lities a n d a ttr ibu tes wh ich u n der lie stu den ts’ per ception s of
qu a lity a r e w a r r a n ted.
Th e m a in pu r pose of th is stu dy is to ga in
m or e in sigh ts in to th e dim en sion s u sed by
bu sin ess stu den ts eva lu a tin g ser vice qu a lity
a n d to iden tify wh ich com pon en ts of th e ser vice deliver y pr ocess a r e m ost im por ta n t in
th eir ju dgem en t.
Review of the literature
Ser vice qu a lity is a n elu sive con str u ct,
m a in ly beca u se of th e u n iqu e fea tu r es th a t
differ en tia te ser vices fr om goods. In ta n gibility, in sepa r a bility of pr odu ction a n d
con su m ption , h eter ogen eity a n d per ish a bility a r e th e fou r well-docu m en ted fea tu r es of
ser vices a ck n ow ledged in th e ser vice m a r k etin g liter a tu r e (Ber r y, 1980; Bitn er, 1992; Lovelock , 1983; Zeith a m l et a l., 1985). Beca u se of
th ese u n iqu e fea tu r es, a n d th e difficu lties of
defin in g a n d delim itin g qu a lity a s it a pplies
to in ta n gibles, th e m ea su r em en t of ser vice
qu a lity in specific ser vice in du str ies still
r em a in s a ch a llen ge (Ba ba k u s a n d Boller,
1992).
A r eview of th e ser vices m a r k etin g liter a tu r e r evea ls th a t P a r a su r a m a n et a l. (1988,
1991, 1993) h ave u n der ta k en sign ifica n t wor k
to m ea su r e ser vice qu a lity a cr oss a br oa d
spectr u m of ser vices. Th e a u th or s developed
a n d r efi n ed SE RVQUAL, a 22-item in str u m en t
wh ich ca ptu r es cu stom er s’ expecta tion s of
ser vice a n d th eir per ception s of th e ser vice
r eceived. Accor din gly, P a r a su r a m a n et a l.
defin e expecta tion s of ser vice a s wh a t a cu stom er believes excellen t ser vice com pa n ies in
a pa r ticu la r ser vice in du str y sh ou ld offer a n d
per ception s of ser vice a s th e eva lu a tion of th e
ser vice offer ed by a pa r ticu la r fir m in th a t
Gasto n Le Blanc and
Nha Nguye n
Se arc hing fo r e xc e lle nc e in
busine ss e duc atio n: an
e xplo rato ry study o f c usto me r
impre ssio ns o f se rvic e quality
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 7 2 –7 9
in du str y. F a ctor a n a lysis of cu stom er s’ differ en ce scor es, i.e. th e differ en ce between expecta tion s a n d per for m a n ce r a tin gs on th e item s,
is th en u sed to iden tify th e dim en sion s th a t
sign a l qu a lity to con su m er s. F r om th is wor k ,
P a r a su r a m a n et a l. con ceptu a lize ser vice
qu a lity to be a five-dim en sion a l con str u ct
con sistin g of ta n gibles, r elia bility, r espon siven ess, a ssu r a n ce a n d em pa th y. Th ese five fa ctor s a r e descr ibed a s follow s:
1 Ta n gibles con sist m ostly of item s th a t a r e
a ssocia ted w ith th e ph ysica l en vir on m en t
wh er e th e ser vice is pr odu ced a n d con su m ed.
2 Relia bility con cer n s item s wh ich r ela te to
th e ser vice pr ovider s’ a bility to per for m
depen da bly a n d a ccu r a tely.
3 Respon siven ess com pr ises item s wh ich a r e
a ssocia ted w ith th e ser vice em ployees’
w illin gn ess to h elp cu stom er s a n d pr ovide
pr om pt ser vice.
4 Assu r a n ce is m a de u p of item s wh ich
descr ibe th e k n ow ledge a n d cou r tesy of
em ployees a n d th eir a bility to in spir e tr u st
a n d con fiden ce.
5 E m pa th y, for its pa r t, is loa ded w ith item s
wh ich cor r espon d to th e ca r in g, in dividu a lized a tten tion wh ich ser vice com pa n ies
give to th eir cu stom er s.
F r om th is wor k , P a r a su r a m a n et a l. (1991)
fou n d r elia bility to be th e m ost im por ta n t
fa ctor a ffectin g ju dgem en ts of qu a lity in fi ve
of th e con su m er gr ou ps th ey su r veyed.
Alth ou gh SE RVQUAL h a s ga in ed n otor iety,
its va lidity a s a five-dim en sion a l con str u ct
a n d its gen er a l a pplica bility a cr oss ser vice
in du str ies h ave n on eth eless been qu estion ed
(Cr on in a n d Taylor, 1994; Tea s, 1994). For
exa m ple, th e u se of differ en ce scor es h a s been
descr ibed a s su spect (Ca r m a n , 1990) beca u se
of th e poten tia l th r ea t of low r elia bility of th e
differ en ce scor e va r ia ble. Differ en ce scor es
a r e sa id to pr esen t poor r elia bility beca u se
positive cor r ela tion between th e com pon en t
scor es dim in ish es th e r elia bility of differ en ce
scor es (Br ow n et a l., 1993). Sim ila r ly, sin ce
expecta tion s va r y over tim e (Ca r m a n , 1990),
both th e expecta tion s a n d per for m a n ce m ea su r es sh ou ld n ot be ca ptu r ed du r in g th e sa m e
a dm in istr a tion of th e in str u m en t a s w ith
SE RVQUAL. In a ddition , per for m a n ce-ba sed
m ea su r es of ser vice qu a lity wer e fou n d to be
better for m ea su r in g th e ser vice qu a lity con str u ct (Cr on in a n d Taylor, 1992).
Th e design of qu a lity m ea su r es for specific
ser vice pr ovider s sh ou ld lea d to a better
u n der sta n din g of th e con str u ct a n d to th e
a da pta tion of qu a lity im pr ovem en t
pr ogr a m m es wh ich cor r espon d to ser vice
com pa n y n eeds. F r om th e design per spective,
depen da ble m ea su r es of ser vice qu a lity for
specific ser vice in du str ies a r e a via ble
r esea r ch str a te gy to pu r su e (Br ow n a n d
Koen ig, 1993; Ca r m a n , 1990; Cr on in a n d
Taylor, 1992; F in n a n d La m b, 1991; Zeith a m l,
1988). To th a t en d, P a r a su r a m a n et a l. (1993,
p. 145) sta te th a t “SE RVQUAL item s a r e th e
ba sic sk eleton u n der lyin g ser vice qu a lity th a t
ca n be su pplem en ted w ith con text specifi c
item s wh en n ecessa r y”.
F r om a r eview of th e ser vices m a r k etin g
liter a tu r e, a lter n a tive con ceptu a liza tion s of
th e ser vice qu a lity con str u ct a r e iden tified.
Gr ön r oos (1984), a lon g w ith Leth in en a n d
Leth in en (1982) iden tifies cor por a te im a ge a s
a n im por ta n t qu a lity in dica tor for cu stom er s.
Im a ge is descr ibed a s th e over a ll im pr ession
m a de on th e m in ds of cu stom er s (Dich ter,
1985). It is r ela ted to tr a dition , ideology, bu sin ess n a m e, r epu ta tion a n d va r iety of ser vices, a n d to th e im pr ession of qu a lity com m u n ica ted by ea ch per son in ter a ctin g w ith
cu stom er s (Solom on , 1985). Given th a t ser vices a r e in ta n gible, in vestiga tin g h ow r epu ta tion r ela tes to qu a lity a ppea r s w a r r a n ted.
Repu ta tion is descr ibed by Her big et a l. (1994)
a s th e con sisten cy of a n or ga n iza tion ’s
a ction s over tim e. As su ch , r epu ta tion stem s
fr om th e gu a r a n tee of r elia ble ser vice; it is
com pa r a ble to th e zer o defects ph ilosoph y.
Th e r epu ta tion of a ser vice fi r m is bu ilt
th r ou gh th e cr edible a ction s of m a n a gem en t,
i.e. th e believa bility th a t m a n a gem en t w ill
ca r r y ou t sta ted in ten tion s su ch a s wh en
u n con dition a l ser vice gu a r a n tees a r e offer ed
to cu stom er s (Ha r t, 1988). Ma n a gem en t plays
a pivota l r ole in bu ildin g r epu ta tion th r ou gh
a set of n oticea ble in dica tor s su ch a s lea der sh ip style, per son a lity, a n d th e foster in g of a n
or ga n iza tion a l clim a te dir ected a t m eetin g
th e n eeds of th e cu stom er s it ser ves. Th er efor e, r epu ta tion is closely tied to im a ge in
th a t it a ffects cu stom er expecta tion s w ith
r e ga r d to th e qu a lity of th e ser vice offer in g
(Yoon et a l., 1993).
Th e per for m a n ce of con ta ct per son n el a n d
th e per son n el-cu stom er in ter a ction s wh ich
ta k e pla ce du r in g ser vice deliver y a r e deem ed
to be im por ta n t in dica tor s of qu a lity (Hesk ett, 1987; Su r pr en a n t a n d Solom on , 1987).
Bitn er et a l. (1990) r epor t th a t th e h u m a n
in ter a ction com pon en t h a s a n im por ta n t
effect on th e cu stom er ’s eva lu a tive pr ocess
w ith r e ga r d to th e ser vice offer in g. Sim ila r ly,
r ela tion sh ip qu a lity is cr u cia l wh en th e ser vice is com plex a n d cu stom ized (Cr osby et a l.,
1990), a s in th e dyn a m ics of bu sin ess edu ca tion . In th is ligh t, Ca n n on a n d Sh eth (1994)
str ess th e im por ta n ce of bu ildin g a n d m a in ta in in g r ela tion sh ip qu a lity w ith th e va r iou s
sta k eh older gr ou ps wh ich in ter a ct w ith th e
or ga n iza tion .
[ 73 ]
Gasto n Le Blanc and
Nha Nguye n
Se arc hing fo r e xc e lle nc e in
busine ss e duc atio n: an
e xplo rato ry study o f c usto me r
impre ssio ns o f se rvic e quality
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 7 2 –7 9
Th e n a tu r e a n d th e qu a lity of th e r ela tion sh ips developed du r in g th e ser vice en cou n ter
a r e a lso in flu en ced by th e ph ysica l en vir on m en t. In th e a n a lysis of “ser vicesca pes”,
Bitn er (1990, 1992) pr oposes th a t cu es fr om
th e ph ysica l su r r ou n din gs a r e in dica tive of
th e ser vice fi r m ’s ca pa bilities a n d th e qu a lity
of its ser vices. In stu dies of fa cu lty office
design s, for exa m ple, stu den ts’ beliefs a bou t
th e per son occu pyin g th e office a n d th eir
per son a lity tr a its wer e fou n d to be in flu en ced
by su ch cu es a s diplom a s on th e w a ll, tidin ess
of office a n d desk pla cem en t (Wa r d et a l.,
1989). P h ysica l eviden ce h a s, th er efor e, a
str on g in flu en ce on em ployee m otiva tion s
a n d th e qu a lity of th e ser vice en cou n ter.
Th e r eview of th e liter a tu r e pr ovided th e
ba sis for a n explor a tor y stu dy of ser vice qu a lity in a bu sin ess edu ca tion settin g. Its objectives wer e to iden tify th e u n der lyin g dim en sion s u sed by stu den ts in th eir eva lu a tion of
th e qu a lity of edu ca tion th ey r eceived a n d to
deter m in e th e im por ta n ce of th ese in th eir
eva lu a tive pr ocess.
Methodology
Th e liter a tu r e r eview, a lon g w ith th r ee focu s
gr ou p in ter view s wh ich wer e h eld w ith a
tota l of 32 stu den ts, pr ovided th e ba sis for
developin g th e qu estion n a ir e u sed in th is
stu dy. Stu den ts a r e th e logica l gr ou p to u se
for gen er a tin g item s a n d idea s on h ow bu sin ess sch ools ca n im pr ove th e qu a lity of th eir
ser vices. To th is en d, th e gen er a l gu idelin es
r ecom m en ded for th ese in ter view s wer e followed (Fer n , 1982) a n d pa r ticipa n ts of both
sexes wer e selected, r epr esen tin g ea ch yea r of
th e bu sin ess pr ogr a m m e offer ed by th e bu sin ess sch ool. Du r in g th ese gr ou p in ter view s,
pa r ticipa n ts wer e a sk ed to descr ibe th eir
expecta tion s w ith r e ga r d to th e bu sin ess
sch ool, qu estion ed on va r iou s a spects su r r ou n din g th e ser vices a n d fa cilities offer ed,
a n d qu er ied on wh a t th ey con sider ed excellen t ser vice en cou n ter s to be in th e con text of
th eir bu sin ess sch ool.
Th e qu estion n a ir e con ta in ed 38 va r ia bles
r ela ted to differ en t a spects of th e bu sin ess
sch ool’s ser vice offer in g, su ch a s pr ojected
im a ge, ph ysica l fa cilities a n d in str u m en ts,
oper a tin g pr ocedu r es, ser vice deliver y, a lon g
w ith fa cu lty a n d a dm in istr a tive per son n el.
Ca r e w a s ta k en to in clu de item s th a t cor r espon ded to th e five SE RVQUAL dim en sion s
iden tified by P a r a su r a m a n et a l. (1991). Th e
item s wer e m ea su r ed on a 7-poin t, Lik er t-type
sca le th a t va r ied fr om 1 = m u ch wor se th a n
expected to 7 = m u ch better th a n expected,
a n d m id-poin ts on th e sca le wer e n ot la belled.
Alth ou gh th is sca le is r epor ted by Oliver
[ 74 ]
(1981) to be m or e m ea n in gfu l to r espon den ts
in ter m s of m a k in g com pa r ison s between
per ception s a n d expecta tion s, P r a k a sh a n d
Lou n sbu r y (1983) w a r n th a t it cou ld be bia sed
in th a t r espon den ts m igh t r a tion a lize th eir
pr e-pu r ch a se expecta tion s a t th e post-pu r ch a se sta ge.
Th e r espon den ts wer e a sk ed to wh a t de gr ee
th e qu a lity of th e ser vice offer ed by th e bu sin ess sch ool cor r espon ded to th eir expecta tion s on th e 38 va r ia bles r ela ted to ser vice.
Th is a ppr oa ch a gr ees w ith Ca r m a n ’s (1990)
pr oposition th a t both expecta tion s a n d per ception s of ser vice be ca ptu r ed in on e a dm in istr a tion in ter m s of th e per ception / expecta tion differ en ce.
Th e sa m ple of r espon den ts w a s ta k en fr om
a sm a ll bu sin ess sch ool. Th is bu sin ess sch ool
offer s both u n der gr a du a te a n d gr a du a te pr ogr a m m es a n d h a s a n en r olm en t of a ppr oxim a tely 700 stu den ts. To select th e sa m ple,
cla sses a cr oss th e bu sin ess sch ool wer e str a tified on th e ba sis of depa r tm en t a n d cla ss
level, a n d a con ven ien ce sa m ple of stu den ts
w a s selected to su r vey. Qu estion n a ir es wer e
a dm in ister ed in cla ss du r in g th e m id-ter m of
th e fa ll sem ester a fter stu den ts h a d r eceived
th e gr a din g of th eir fir st ser ies of exa m s. Th e
sa m plin g yielded 388 u sa ble qu estion n a ir es,
wh ich r epr esen t 55 per cen t of th e bu sin ess
sch ool’s stu den t popu la tion .
A pr in cipa l com pon en t fa ctor a n a lysis w ith
va r im a x r ota tion w a s con du cted on th e 38
va r ia bles r ela ted to ser vice qu a lity. Th is
a n a lysis yielded a seven fa ctor solu tion
wh ich expla in ed 56 per cen t of va r ia n ce.Th e
decision to in clu de a va r ia ble in a fa ctor w a s
ba sed on fa ctor loa din gs gr ea ter th a n 0.50 a n d
a ll fa ctor s wh ose eigen va lu e w a s gr ea ter th a n
on e wer e r eta in ed in th e fa ctor solu tion
(Ta ba ch n ick a n d F idell, 1989). To a ssess r elia bility of m ea su r es, Cr on ba ch ’s a lph a w a s
ca lcu la ted for th e va r ia bles r eta in ed for ea ch
fa ctor a n d coefficien ts gr ea ter th a n or equ a l
to 0.70 wer e con sider ed a ccepta ble a n d a good
in dica tion of con str u ct r elia bility (N u n n a lly,
1978). Th e seven or th ogon a l fa ctor s wer e th en
u sed in a stepw ise r e gr ession a n a lysis. Th e
depen den t va r ia ble, m ea su r ed on a 7-poin t,
Lik er t-type sca le, w a s th e stu den ts’ over a ll
eva lu a tion of th e qu a lity of ser vices offer ed
by th e bu sin ess sch ool, a n d th e in depen den t
va r ia bles wer e th e sta n da r dized fa ctor scor es
cr ea ted for ea ch in dividu a l, cor r espon din g to
th e seven fa ctor s.
Results
Of th e 388 stu den ts wh o r espon ded to th e
qu estion n a ir e 52 per cen t wer e m a le, a n d 51
per cen t wer e en r olled in th e secon d a n d th ir d
Gasto n Le Blanc and
Nha Nguye n
Se arc hing fo r e xc e lle nc e in
busine ss e duc atio n: an
e xplo rato ry study o f c usto me r
impre ssio ns o f se rvic e quality
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 7 2 –7 9
yea r of th e bu sin ess pr ogr a m m e. A tota l of 30
per cen t of r espon den ts wer e in th e gen er a l
bu sin ess pr ogr a m m e, wh ile 20 per cen t wer e
m a r k etin g m a jor s a n d a n oth er 16 per cen t
a ccou n tin g m a jor s. As for th e de gr ee of sa tisfa ction w ith th e ser vices offer ed by th e bu sin ess sch ool, 71 per cen t sa id th ey wer e sa tisfied w ith th eir pa st exper ien ces a n d 60 per
cen t in dica ted th a t th ey defin itely wou ld
r ecom m en d th e bu sin ess sch ool to oth er s.
Ta ble I sh ow s th e r esu lts of th e fa ctor a n a lysis in ter m s of fa ctor n a m e, th e va r ia bles
loa din g on ea ch fa ctor a n d th e va r ia n ce
expla in ed by ea ch fa ctor. Th e r esu lts of Cr on ba ch ’s r elia bility coefficien t a r e a lso sh ow n .
Th e seven fa ctor s iden tifi ed in Ta ble I ca n be
descr ibed a s follow s. F a ctor 1 (F 1), con ta ct
per son n el/ fa cu lty, con sists of item s wh ich a r e
r ela ted to th e per for m a n ce of pr ofessor s a n d
th eir a bility to in spir e tr u st a n d con fi den ce.
F a ctor 2 (F 2), r epu ta tion , r ela tes to th e bu sin ess sch ool’s ca pa city to position itself in th e
m in ds of its cu stom er s a n d is closely a ssocia ted w ith th e im a ge pr ojected by th e or ga n iza tion . For its pa r t, fa ctor 3 (F 3), ph ysica l
eviden ce, is loa ded w ith va r ia bles wh ich
descr ibe th e ta n gible cu es a ssocia ted w ith th e
bu sin ess sch ool’s ser vice deliver y system a n d
its fa cilities. F a ctor 4 (F 4), con ta ct per son n el/ a dm in istr a tion , is con cer n ed w ith
dim en sion s wh ich a r e lin k ed to
m a n a gem en t’s a bility to pr ovide per son a l
a tten tion to stu den ts in a pr ofession a l a n d
ca r in g m a n n er. F a ctor 5 (F 5), cu r r icu lu m ,
in volves dim en sion s r ela ted to m a n a gem en t’s
a n d fa cu lty’s ca pa city to pla n a n d deliver
ser vices wh ich m eet stu den t n eeds. F a ctor 6
(F 6), r espon siven ess, is con cer n ed w ith m a n a gem en t’s a bility to pr ovide ser vice in a
pr om pt a n d tim ely m a n n er. F a ctor 7 (F 7),
a ccess to fa cilities, descr ibes th e ea se w ith
wh ich stu den ts ca n a ppr oa ch th e ser vice
fa cilities w ith ou t h avin g to w a it for ser vice.
Th e r esu lts pr esen ted in Ta ble I a r e r ela ted
to th e deter m in a n ts of ser vice qu a lity a n d
su ppor t th e existin g k n ow ledge. In deed, con ta ct per son n el (F 1 a n d F 4) is pr oposed a s a n
im por ta n t qu a lity in dica tor by Su r pr en a n t
a n d Solom on (1985), a n d Cr osby et a l. (1990).
Repu ta tion (F 2), for its pa r t, is r ela ted closely
to th e in stitu tion ’s cor por a te im a ge, a n d
im a ge is descr ibed a s a n im por ta n t deter m in a n t of per ceived ser vice qu a lity by Gr ön r oos
(1984) a n d Leth in en a n d Leth in en (1982).
Sim ila r ly, th e ta n gible cu es pr ovided by th e
fa cilities wh er e ser vices a r e pr odu ced a n d
deliver ed (F 3) a r e sa id to be in dica tive of th e
qu a lity of ser vice (Bitn er, 1990, 1992; P a r a su r a m a n et a l., 1991). Respon siven ess (F 6) is a lso
iden tified by P a r a su r a m a n et a l. a s a qu a lity
in dica tor. Resu lts a lso iden tify cu r r icu lu m
developm en t (F 5) a n d a ccess to fa cilities (F 7)
a s poten tia l deter m in a n ts of ser vice qu a lity
in a bu sin ess sch ool settin g.
Ta ble II pr esen ts th e r esu lts of r e gr ession
a n a lysis a n d sh ow s, in or der of im por ta n ce,
th e fa ctor s wh ich expla in th e bu sin ess
sch ool’s ser vice qu a lity, ba sed on sta n da r dized beta coefficien ts. Resu lts in dica te th a t
ser vice qu a lity is der ived m a in ly fr om r epu ta tion (F 2), a fa ctor wh ich is tied closely to
m a n a gem en t’s ca pa city to foster a n or ga n iza tion a l clim a te dir ected a t ser vin g th e n eeds of
its cu stom er s a n d to th e im a ge of th e bu sin ess
sch ool. F a cu lty a n d a dm in istr a tive per son n el
(F 4 a n d F 1), th r ou gh th eir a bility to in spir e
tr u st a n d con fiden ce a n d pr ovide per son a l
a tten tion to stu den ts in a pr ofession a l a n d
ca r in g m a n n er, a lso in flu en ce qu a lity. Oth er
fa ctor s su ch a s cu r r icu lu m (F 5), r espon siven ess (F 6), ph ysica l eviden ce (F 3) a n d a ccess to
fa cilities (F 7) a r e a lso sign ifica n t qu a lity
fa ctor s.
Discussion and conclusion
Th e con cer n for excellen ce in bu sin ess edu ca tion a n d th e la ck of em pir ica l r esea r ch on th e
cu es th a t sign a l qu a lity to stu den ts wer e th e
ba ses for th is explor a tor y stu dy on ser vice
qu a lity. Alth ou gh th e SE RVQUAL sca le developed by P a r a su r a m a n et a l. (1988, 1991) h a s
been th e focu s of con sider a ble a tten tion in
r ecen t ser vice qu a lity r esea r ch , th e liter a tu r e
r eview r evea led a lter n a tive con ceptu a liza tion s of th e ser vice qu a lity con str u ct a n d
a ck n ow ledged th e n eed to iden tify th e deter m in a n ts of ser vice qu a lity in specific ser vice
or ga n iza tion s in or der to develop qu a lity
im pr ovem en t pr ogr a m m es better a da pted to
th e expecta tion s of th eir cu stom er s. To th a t
en d, th e pr esen t stu dy ca ptu r ed stu den t eva lu a tion s of th e qu a lity of th e edu ca tion a l exper ien ce w ith a 38-item qu estion n a ir e design ed
to fit th e specific n a tu r e of th e bu sin ess sch ool
u n der in vestiga tion . Th e stu dy con tr ibu ted to
a better u n der sta n din g of th e ser vice qu a lity
con str u ct in bu sin ess edu ca tion . Per ception s
of qu a lity wer e m ea su r ed on a 7-poin t sca le
th a t va r ied fr om “Mu ch wor se th a n expected”
to “Mu ch better th a n expected”. Sin ce expecta tion s va r y over tim e, th is a gr ees w ith Ca r m a n ’s (1990) pr oposition th a t both expecta tion s a n d per for m a n ce m ea su r es sh ou ld be
collected dir ectly in ter m s of th e per ception expecta tion differ en ce du r in g th e sa m e
a dm in istr a tion of th e qu estion n a ir e. As su ch ,
th e stu dy iden tifi ed seven fa ctor s wh ich h ave
a n im pa ct on qu a lity eva lu a tion s a n d wh ich
h ave im plica tion s for con tr ollin g a n d a ch ievin g excellen ce in bu sin ess edu ca tion .
Th e r esu lts of th is stu dy su ggest a sign ifica n t r ela tion sh ip between per ceived qu a lity
[ 75 ]
Gasto n Le Blanc and
Nha Nguye n
Se arc hing fo r e xc e lle nc e in
busine ss e duc atio n: an
e xplo rato ry study o f c usto me r
impre ssio ns o f se rvic e quality
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
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Table I
Se ve n se rvic e quality fac to rs ide ntifie d by princ ipal c o mpo ne nts fac to r analysis
Factor name
Factor
loading
Variables
F1 Contact personnel:
faculty
Appearanc e of professors
Professors are friendly and c ourteous
Professors researc h produc tivity
Communic ation skills: c ourses are well taught
Ac ademic c redentials of professors
Professors are innovative and agents of c hange
0.71
0.69
0.59
0.58
0.58
0.57
29.4
0.85
F2 Reputation
Business sc hool is innovative
Organizational c ulture, beliefs and values
Business sc hool’ s involvement in c ommunity
Degree to whic h c urric ulum is up to date
Administration has students’ best interest at heart
0.75
0.72
0.68
0.64
0.60
6.7
0.80
F3 Physical evidence
Layout of c lassrooms
Lighting in c lassrooms
Appearanc e of building and grounds
Overall c leanliness
Degree to whic h c lassrooms and study rooms are
c omfortable
Déc or and atmosphere
0.74
0.69
0.66
0.64
5.4
0.80
4.2
0.85
3.7
0.76
F4 Contact personnel:
administration
Availability of personnel
Friendly and c ourteous personnel
Capac ity to solve problems when they arise
Personnel has a good knowledge of rules and
proc edures
Appearanc e of personnel
0.61
0.59
0.75
0.75
0.68
0.66
0.61
Orientation of programmes and c ourse c ontent
Number of c ourses offered
Degree to whic h objec tives of programmes are
explained to students
0.62
F6 Responsiveness
Students are informed promptly of c hanges
Registration is timely and error-free
Rec ords are kept ac c urately
0.77
0.57
0.53
3.4
0.71
F7 Access to facilities
Available of parking
Ac c ess to c omputer fac ilities
Ac c ess to study rooms
0.70
0.66
0.55
3.1
0.55
F5 Curriculum
Table II
Re gre ssio n re sults base d o n fac to r sc o re s
Variables
Betas
Significance
Reputation
Contact personnel: administration (F4)
Contact personnel: faculty (F1)
Curriculum (F5)
Responsiveness (F6)
Physical evidence (F3)
Access to facilities (F6)
0.37
0.31
0.30
0.29
0.22
0.15
0.07
p<
p<
p<
p<
p<
p<
p<
0.001
0.001
0.001
0.001
0.001
0.001
0.05
Notes:
Dependent variable: respondent’ s overall evaluation of business sc hool’ s quality
Independent variables: seven orthogonal fac tors representing the c omponents of perc eived quality
R2 = 53 per c ent F = 43.82 p ≤ 0.001
[ 76 ]
Percentage Cronbach’s
of variance reliability
explained coefficient
0.68
0.63
a n d r epu ta tion ; i.e. th e bu sin ess sch ool’s
ca pa city to position itself in th e m in ds of
stu den ts a s bein g in n ova tive, u p to da te,
in volved w ith th e bu sin ess com m u n ity a n d
h avin g th e stu den ts’ n eeds a t h ea r t. Sin ce
r epu ta tion is bu ilt th r ou gh th e cr edible
a ction s of ea ch m em ber of th e or ga n iza tion
(Her big et a l., 1994), m a n a gem en t wor k in g in
close h a r m on y w ith per son n el a n d fa cu lty
sh ou ld set qu a lity sta n da r ds for a ll com pon en ts of th e ser vice deliver y system to en su r e
th a t stu den t expecta tion s a r e m et. Given th e
im por ta n ce of expecta tion s in th e esta blish m en t of qu a lity sta n da r ds, in ter n a l m a r k etin g r esea r ch sh ou ld be u n der ta k en to en su r e
th a t m a n a gem en t a n d fa cu lty expecta tion s of
Gasto n Le Blanc and
Nha Nguye n
Se arc hing fo r e xc e lle nc e in
busine ss e duc atio n: an
e xplo rato ry study o f c usto me r
impre ssio ns o f se rvic e quality
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 7 2 –7 9
ser vice a r e closely tied to stu den t expecta tion s (Ca n n on a n d Sh eth , 1994). E xpecta tion s
sh ou ld be exa m in ed a n d a n a lysed so a s to set
sta n da r ds fr om th e cu stom er s’ per spective
(Sw a r tz a n d Br ow n , 1989). Sim ila r ly, th e
pr ocess by wh ich stu den ts a cqu ir e th eir edu ca tion sh ou ld be im pr oved con tin u ou sly
(Seym ou r, 1992). For exa m ple, th e foster in g of
lia ison s w ith th e bu sin ess com m u n ity a n d
th e offer in g of co-oper a tive bu sin ess
pr ogr a m m es th a t em ph a size h a n ds-on exper ien ce sh ou ld h elp bu ild a str on g r epu ta tion for
th e or ga n iza tion . Ma k in g a favou r a ble
im pr ession on stu den ts a n d on va r iou s sta k eh older gr ou ps su ch a s pr ospective em ployer s,
gover n m en t a n d r esea r ch a gen cies, a lu m n i,
in dividu a ls a n d or ga n iza tion s wh ich don a te
fu n ds to th e u n iver sity sh ou ld be a k ey objective of m a n a gem en t (Allen a n d Davis, 1991;
Ca n n on a n d Sh eth , 1994). On ce a str on g r epu ta tion h a s been bu ilt, m a n a gem en t sh ou ld
en su r e th a t ever y step is ta k en to pr om ote
a n d m a in ta in its sta n din g (Bitn er et a l., 1990).
Resu lts of th e stu dy a lso r evea l th a t fa cu lty
a n d a dm in istr a tive per son n el h ave a dir ect
bea r in g on per ception s of qu a lity. For a dm in istr a tive per son n el, m a n a gem en t sh ou ld sta r t
by settin g qu a lity sta n da r ds for pr ocessr ela ted va r ia bles su ch a s r e gistr a tion ,
r ecor ds, a n d r u les a n d pr ocedu r es wh ich a r e
ea sier to con tr ol th a n th e a ca dem ic deliver y
of ser vice (Coa te, 1990). As for fa cu lty, sin ce
a ca dem ics a r e per ceived a s bein g in dividu a listic a n d loya l to th eir a ca dem ic u n its (Win ter s, 1991), m a n a gem en t sh ou ld con vin ce
fa cu lty th a t con cer n for qu a lity is pa r t of
th eir job (Sh etty, 1988) a n d a ll con ta ct per son n el sh ou ld be in volved wh en settin g goa ls a n d
qu a lity sta n da r ds for th e in stitu tion . F a cu lty
sh ou ld con tin u ou sly follow tr a in in g session s
a n d sem in a r s on effective tea ch in g m eth ods
a n d sh ou ld be en cou r a ged to exh ibit exem pla r y a ttitu des a n d beh aviou r w ith stu den ts
so th a t stu den t exper ien ces w ith ser vice a r e
to th eir sa tisfa ction . Sim ila r ly, sin ce stu den t
cou r se eva lu a tion s m u st be a n in te gr a l pa r t
of qu a lity im pr ovem en t pr ogr a m m es (Br igh tm a n et a l., 1993), eva lu a tion s n eed to a ddr ess
n ot on ly th e per for m a n ce of fa cu lty, bu t a lso
th e va r iou s a spects su r r ou n din g th e edu ca tion a l exper ien ce, su ch a s objectives of th e
bu sin ess pr ogr a m m e, ph ysica l a n d com pu ter
fa cilities, a n d th e m u ltitu de of su ppor t a n d
a dvisor y ser vices offer ed by th e u n iver sity.
Mor eover, m a n a gem en t wor k in g closely w ith
fa cu lty sh ou ld pr epa r e br och u r es wh ich ou tlin e th e qu a lity sta n da r ds ea ch m em ber of th e
or ga n iza tion m u st a dh er e to in th e deliver y of
ser vice a n d pr om ote th ese sta n da r ds to va r iou s sta k eh older gr ou ps.
Resu lts a lso r evea l cu r r icu lu m , ph ysica l
eviden ce, r espon siven ess a n d a ccess to
fa cilities a s a ddition a l fa ctor s wh ich expla in
ser vice qu a lity. Th ese fa ctor s a r e r ela ted
dir ectly to th e pr ocess of ser vice deliver y, a r e
h igh in exper ien ce qu a lities (Nelson , 1974) a n d
r ein for ce th e belief th a t qu a lity con tr ol m ea su r es m u st be a pplied a lon g th e ser vice deliver y system . Th e or ien ta tion of pr ogr a m m es
a n d cou r se con ten ts h ave a dir ect bea r in g on
th e bu sin ess sch ool’s ca pa city to m eet th e
n eeds of pr ospective em ployer s a n d m u st be
m a n a ged ca r efu lly to bu ild r epu ta tion . Sim ila r ly, th e in stitu tion m u st be r espon sive a n d
en deavou r to pr ovide pr om pt r elia ble ser vice,
sin ce w a itin g for ser vice ca n h ave n ega tive
effects on ser vice eva lu a tion s (Taylor, 1994)
a n d qu a lity, especia lly in situ a tion s wh er e th e
ser vice pr ovider is per ceived a s h avin g con tr ol
over th e w a it, a s in th e ca se of bu sin ess edu ca tion . Assu r in g th a t fa cilities a r e a ccessible to
stu den ts a n d pr ovidin g stu den ts w ith n ew a n d
in n ova tive ser vices su ch a s a u tom a ted teleph on e r egistr a tion a r e exa m ples of h ow bu sin ess sch ools ca n im pr ove qu a lity on pr ocessr elated va r ia bles. As for th e elem en ts a ssocia ted w ith ph ysica l eviden ce, m a n a gem en t
m u st r ea lize th a t a tm osph er ics h ave a dir ect
bea r in g on cu stom er expecta tion s (Ba ker,
1987) a n d give a tten tion to deta il. At th is sta ge,
fa cu lty a n d stu den ts sh ou ld h ave a say sin ce
th ey a r e, for th e m ost pa r t, exper ien cin g th e
ser vice in th e cla ssr oom . Hen ce, a tten tion
m u st be given to deta ils to en su r e th a t th e
physica l envir on m en t is com for table, a dequ a te for th e deliver y of ser vice a n d th a t it
sen ds ou t a ppr opr ia te cu es to stu den ts. In deed,
th e ph ysica l envir on m en t ca n becom e a su r r oga te in dica tor of th e in stitu tion ’s ca pa city to
offer ser vice in a n or ga n ized a n d pr ofession a l
m a n n er (Bitn er, 1992).
As for th e lim ita tion s of th is stu dy, th e
r esu lts r epr esen t stu den ts’ per ception s of
ser vice qu a lity in a sm a ll bu sin ess sch ool,
a n d per ception s of ser vice cou ld ea sily va r y
a ccor din g to th e size, h istor y a n d sta tu r e of
th e bu sin ess sch ool in qu estion .
Con sequ en tly, sin ce it is th e m ea su r es of
ser vice qu a lity for specific ser vice pr ovider s
th a t cou n t, du e ca r e m u st exer cised so a s n ot
to gen er a lize r esu lts to a ll in stitu tion s
(Br ow n a n d Koen ig, 1993; Ca r m a n , 1990;
Cr on in a n d Taylor, 1992; F in n a n d La m b, 1991;
Zeith a m l, 1988). Sim ila r ly, th e r esea r ch m ea su r ed on ly per ception s of ser vice, a n d stu dies
sh ou ld a ttem pt to iden tify h ow stu den ts for m
expecta tion s of bu sin ess sch ools, h ow expecta tion s va r y over tim e a n d h ow in for m a tion
sou r ces in fl u en ce cu stom er expecta tion s of
ser vice (Mu r r ay, 1991). Resu lts m igh t va r y if
a n a lysed for differ en t se gm en ts of th e stu den t
popu la tion , su ch a s cla ss level; elected m a jor ;
m a les a n d fem a les; a n d pa r t-tim e a n d fu lltim e stu den ts. Accor din gly, a n a lysin g qu a lity
[ 77 ]
Gasto n Le Blanc and
Nha Nguye n
Se arc hing fo r e xc e lle nc e in
busine ss e duc atio n: an
e xplo rato ry study o f c usto me r
impre ssio ns o f se rvic e quality
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 7 2 –7 9
per ception s for differ en t se gm en ts sh ou ld
h elp m a n a gem en t in th e for m u la tion of
str a te gies wh ich pr om ise to m eet th e specifi c
expecta tion s of th ese va r iou s gr ou ps. Th e low
r elia bility of th e a ccess to fa cilities fa ctor is
a n oth er lim ita tion . A m or e r elia ble m ea su r e
m igh t a ccen tu a te th e r ela tion sh ip between
th is fa ctor a n d th e over a ll ju dgem en t of ser vice qu a lity. Th e con ven ien ce sa m ple of
r espon den ts m u st a lso be a ck n ow ledged. At
th is sta ge, som e m igh t a r gu e th a t stu den ts
a r e n ot th e logica l gr ou p to su r vey w ith
r e ga r d to wh a t excellen t bu sin ess sch ools
sh ou ld be offer in g, sin ce th ey a r e in th e
pr ocess of a cqu ir in g th eir edu ca tion a n d, for
th e m ost pa r t, m ay h ave little k n ow ledge of
wh a t sh ou ld be expected of u n iver sities a lon g
k ey qu a lity dim en sion s. Con sequ en tly, in
fu tu r e stu dies, th e over a ll per for m a n ce of
bu sin ess sch ools sh ou ld be a n a lysed fr om th e
per spective of th e va r iou s sta k eh older gr ou ps
wh ich in ter a ct w ith th e in stitu tion . In deed, a
better u n der sta n din g of h ow va r iou s sta k eh older gr ou ps, su ch a s th e bu sin ess com m u n ity, a lu m n i, gover n m en t a gen cies, a lon g
w ith th e com m u n ity, for m qu a lity
ju dgem en ts is w a r r a n ted fr om th e TQM per spective. Addition a l r esea r ch is n eeded on th e
in ter r ela tion sh ip th a t exists between qu a lity
a n d r epu ta tion . Alth ou gh th ese two
con str u cts a r e r ela ted, r esea r ch sh ou ld
a ddr ess th e dyn a m ics of th e r ela tion sh ip. For
exa m ple, a r e fa ctor s su ch a s con ta ct per son n el, cu r r icu lu m , r espon siven ess a n d ph ysica l
eviden ce deter m in a n ts of ser vice qu a lity or
of r epu ta tion ? Sim ila r ly, a better com pr eh en sion of h ow r epu ta tion im pa cts stu den ts
wh en ch oosin g a bu sin ess sch ool, a n d th e
im por ta n ce given to th is cr iter ion by pr ospective em ployer s, sh ou ld con cer n m a n a gem en t.
Th e a ch ievem en t of excellen ce in bu sin ess
edu ca tion a n d th e n eed to con tr ol th e qu a lity
of ser vices offer ed to stu den ts for m ed th e
ba sis of th is stu dy on th e cu es wh ich sign a l
qu a lity. Th e r esea r ch sh ow s th a t r epu ta tion ,
m a n a gem en t, fa cu lty a n d pr ocess-r ela ted
va r ia bles a r e im por ta n t to stu den ts in th eir
ju dgem en t of qu a lity. Th e r esu lts a r e en cou r a gin g a n d w ill lea d u s to pu r su e ou r qu est for
excellen ce in edu ca tion .
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Gasto n Le Blanc and
Nha Nguye n
Se arc hing fo r e xc e lle nc e in
busine ss e duc atio n: an
e xplo rato ry study o f c usto me r
impre ssio ns o f se rvic e quality
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[ 79 ]
exploratory study of customer impressions of
service quality
Gaston LeBlanc
Unive rsity o f Mo nc to n, Mo nc to n, Ne w Brunswic k, Canada
Nha Nguyen
Unive rsity o f Mo nc to n, Mo nc to n, Ne w Brunswic k, Canada
Examines the concept of
service quality in business
education with data collected
from 388 students. Identifi es
seven factors which infl uence
student evaluations of service
quality. In descending order
of importance these factors
are: reputation, administrative personnel, faculty, curriculum, responsiveness,
physical evidence and access
to facilities. Describes the
implications for controlling
quality and for achieving
excellence in business
education.
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 ,2 [ 1997] 7 2 –7 9
© MCB Unive rsity Pre ss
[ ISSN 0951-354X]
[ 72 ]
Introduction
Th e iden tifica tion of th e dim en sion s wh ich
sign a l qu a lity a n d th e a ch ievem en t of excellen ce in bu sin ess edu ca tion h ave em er ged
th is deca de a s k ey issu es fa cin g th e a ca dem y.
In deed, lik e m a n y oth er or ga n iza tion s, bu sin ess sch ools m u st be con cer n ed n ow w ith
m a r k et sh a r e, pr odu ctivity, r etu r n on in vestm en t a n d th e qu a lity of ser vices offer ed to
th eir cu stom er s. Ser vice qu a lity ca n lea d to
excellen ce in bu sin ess edu ca tion a n d ca n
h ave la stin g effects on th e in stitu tion a n d th e
stu den ts it ser ves. Th is ca n in flu en ce stu den t
r ecom m en da tion s of th eir pr ogr a m m e to
oth er s, a s well a s th eir fu tu r e m on eta r y con tr ibu tion s in su ppor t of th eir u n iver sity
(Allen a n d Davis, 1991).
Despite th e im por ta n ce given to ser vice
qu a lity, Ster n a n d Tsen g (1993) r epor t th a t few
bu sin ess sch ools h ave a dopted a tota l qu a lity
m a n a gem en t (TQM) ph ilosoph y. As su ch , th is
h a s r esu lted in m u ch cr iticism dir ected a t
bu sin ess sch ools wh er e cu r r icu lu m a n d
cou r se con ten ts, tea ch in g m eth ods a n d peda gogy, a n d th e r eleva n ce of a ca dem ic r esea r ch
h ave been qu estion ed (Ca n n on a n d Sh eth ,
1994). In ter estin gly, given th e sta tu r e of bu sin ess sch ools a n d th e ten den cy to pla ce pr ofession a l ser vice pr ovider s on a pedesta l ba sed
on th eir r epu ta tion a n d per ceived qu a lity
(Sw a r tz a n d Br ow n , 1989), it is su r pr isin g to
discover th a t little r esea r ch h a s been
r epor ted on th e qu a lity of ser vices in bu sin ess edu ca tion .
F r om th e per spective of TQM, edu ca tion a l
offer in gs sh ou ld be im pr oved con tin u a lly in
or der to r eflect th e la test m eth ods a n d tr en ds
(Ca n n on a n d Sh eth , 1994) a n d better to sa tisfy
th e n eeds of cu stom er s. To th a t en d, Br ow n
a n d Koen ig (1993) r ecom m en d th a t cu stom er
eva lu a tion s of th e qu a lity of th eir edu ca tion
sh ou ld be a n in te gr a l pa r t of TQM
pr ogr a m m es in bu sin ess edu ca tion . In deed, a
better u n der sta n din g of h ow cu stom er s for m
im pr ession s of qu a lity ca n pr ovide va lu a ble
in for m a tion to m a n a gem en t for design in g
ser vice deliver y system s th a t en h a n ce cu stom er sa tisfa ction (Seym ou r, 1992) a n d for
a da ptin g th e u n iver sity en vir on m en t to th e
stu den ts’ n eeds (Ha m pton , 1993). In th e
design of qu a lity im pr ovem en t pr ogr a m m es
it is th u s th e cu stom er s’ defin ition s of qu a lity
wh ich cou n t, sin ce m a n a gem en t m ay m a k e
th e w r on g a ssu m ption s a s to h ow cu stom er s
a ctu a lly a ssess ser vice qu a lity. Assu m ption s
su ch a s th ese cou ld lea d to th e esta blish m en t
of im pr oper pr ior ities w ith r e ga r d to qu a lity
con tr ol sta n da r ds in bu sin ess edu ca tion
(N igh tin ga le, 1983). Ta k in g cu stom er sa tisfa ction in to con sider a tion , a k n ow ledge a n d
better u n der sta n din g of th e pr ocess a n d th e
va r iou s ch a r a cter istics, qu a lities a n d a ttr ibu tes wh ich u n der lie stu den ts’ per ception s of
qu a lity a r e w a r r a n ted.
Th e m a in pu r pose of th is stu dy is to ga in
m or e in sigh ts in to th e dim en sion s u sed by
bu sin ess stu den ts eva lu a tin g ser vice qu a lity
a n d to iden tify wh ich com pon en ts of th e ser vice deliver y pr ocess a r e m ost im por ta n t in
th eir ju dgem en t.
Review of the literature
Ser vice qu a lity is a n elu sive con str u ct,
m a in ly beca u se of th e u n iqu e fea tu r es th a t
differ en tia te ser vices fr om goods. In ta n gibility, in sepa r a bility of pr odu ction a n d
con su m ption , h eter ogen eity a n d per ish a bility a r e th e fou r well-docu m en ted fea tu r es of
ser vices a ck n ow ledged in th e ser vice m a r k etin g liter a tu r e (Ber r y, 1980; Bitn er, 1992; Lovelock , 1983; Zeith a m l et a l., 1985). Beca u se of
th ese u n iqu e fea tu r es, a n d th e difficu lties of
defin in g a n d delim itin g qu a lity a s it a pplies
to in ta n gibles, th e m ea su r em en t of ser vice
qu a lity in specific ser vice in du str ies still
r em a in s a ch a llen ge (Ba ba k u s a n d Boller,
1992).
A r eview of th e ser vices m a r k etin g liter a tu r e r evea ls th a t P a r a su r a m a n et a l. (1988,
1991, 1993) h ave u n der ta k en sign ifica n t wor k
to m ea su r e ser vice qu a lity a cr oss a br oa d
spectr u m of ser vices. Th e a u th or s developed
a n d r efi n ed SE RVQUAL, a 22-item in str u m en t
wh ich ca ptu r es cu stom er s’ expecta tion s of
ser vice a n d th eir per ception s of th e ser vice
r eceived. Accor din gly, P a r a su r a m a n et a l.
defin e expecta tion s of ser vice a s wh a t a cu stom er believes excellen t ser vice com pa n ies in
a pa r ticu la r ser vice in du str y sh ou ld offer a n d
per ception s of ser vice a s th e eva lu a tion of th e
ser vice offer ed by a pa r ticu la r fir m in th a t
Gasto n Le Blanc and
Nha Nguye n
Se arc hing fo r e xc e lle nc e in
busine ss e duc atio n: an
e xplo rato ry study o f c usto me r
impre ssio ns o f se rvic e quality
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 7 2 –7 9
in du str y. F a ctor a n a lysis of cu stom er s’ differ en ce scor es, i.e. th e differ en ce between expecta tion s a n d per for m a n ce r a tin gs on th e item s,
is th en u sed to iden tify th e dim en sion s th a t
sign a l qu a lity to con su m er s. F r om th is wor k ,
P a r a su r a m a n et a l. con ceptu a lize ser vice
qu a lity to be a five-dim en sion a l con str u ct
con sistin g of ta n gibles, r elia bility, r espon siven ess, a ssu r a n ce a n d em pa th y. Th ese five fa ctor s a r e descr ibed a s follow s:
1 Ta n gibles con sist m ostly of item s th a t a r e
a ssocia ted w ith th e ph ysica l en vir on m en t
wh er e th e ser vice is pr odu ced a n d con su m ed.
2 Relia bility con cer n s item s wh ich r ela te to
th e ser vice pr ovider s’ a bility to per for m
depen da bly a n d a ccu r a tely.
3 Respon siven ess com pr ises item s wh ich a r e
a ssocia ted w ith th e ser vice em ployees’
w illin gn ess to h elp cu stom er s a n d pr ovide
pr om pt ser vice.
4 Assu r a n ce is m a de u p of item s wh ich
descr ibe th e k n ow ledge a n d cou r tesy of
em ployees a n d th eir a bility to in spir e tr u st
a n d con fiden ce.
5 E m pa th y, for its pa r t, is loa ded w ith item s
wh ich cor r espon d to th e ca r in g, in dividu a lized a tten tion wh ich ser vice com pa n ies
give to th eir cu stom er s.
F r om th is wor k , P a r a su r a m a n et a l. (1991)
fou n d r elia bility to be th e m ost im por ta n t
fa ctor a ffectin g ju dgem en ts of qu a lity in fi ve
of th e con su m er gr ou ps th ey su r veyed.
Alth ou gh SE RVQUAL h a s ga in ed n otor iety,
its va lidity a s a five-dim en sion a l con str u ct
a n d its gen er a l a pplica bility a cr oss ser vice
in du str ies h ave n on eth eless been qu estion ed
(Cr on in a n d Taylor, 1994; Tea s, 1994). For
exa m ple, th e u se of differ en ce scor es h a s been
descr ibed a s su spect (Ca r m a n , 1990) beca u se
of th e poten tia l th r ea t of low r elia bility of th e
differ en ce scor e va r ia ble. Differ en ce scor es
a r e sa id to pr esen t poor r elia bility beca u se
positive cor r ela tion between th e com pon en t
scor es dim in ish es th e r elia bility of differ en ce
scor es (Br ow n et a l., 1993). Sim ila r ly, sin ce
expecta tion s va r y over tim e (Ca r m a n , 1990),
both th e expecta tion s a n d per for m a n ce m ea su r es sh ou ld n ot be ca ptu r ed du r in g th e sa m e
a dm in istr a tion of th e in str u m en t a s w ith
SE RVQUAL. In a ddition , per for m a n ce-ba sed
m ea su r es of ser vice qu a lity wer e fou n d to be
better for m ea su r in g th e ser vice qu a lity con str u ct (Cr on in a n d Taylor, 1992).
Th e design of qu a lity m ea su r es for specific
ser vice pr ovider s sh ou ld lea d to a better
u n der sta n din g of th e con str u ct a n d to th e
a da pta tion of qu a lity im pr ovem en t
pr ogr a m m es wh ich cor r espon d to ser vice
com pa n y n eeds. F r om th e design per spective,
depen da ble m ea su r es of ser vice qu a lity for
specific ser vice in du str ies a r e a via ble
r esea r ch str a te gy to pu r su e (Br ow n a n d
Koen ig, 1993; Ca r m a n , 1990; Cr on in a n d
Taylor, 1992; F in n a n d La m b, 1991; Zeith a m l,
1988). To th a t en d, P a r a su r a m a n et a l. (1993,
p. 145) sta te th a t “SE RVQUAL item s a r e th e
ba sic sk eleton u n der lyin g ser vice qu a lity th a t
ca n be su pplem en ted w ith con text specifi c
item s wh en n ecessa r y”.
F r om a r eview of th e ser vices m a r k etin g
liter a tu r e, a lter n a tive con ceptu a liza tion s of
th e ser vice qu a lity con str u ct a r e iden tified.
Gr ön r oos (1984), a lon g w ith Leth in en a n d
Leth in en (1982) iden tifies cor por a te im a ge a s
a n im por ta n t qu a lity in dica tor for cu stom er s.
Im a ge is descr ibed a s th e over a ll im pr ession
m a de on th e m in ds of cu stom er s (Dich ter,
1985). It is r ela ted to tr a dition , ideology, bu sin ess n a m e, r epu ta tion a n d va r iety of ser vices, a n d to th e im pr ession of qu a lity com m u n ica ted by ea ch per son in ter a ctin g w ith
cu stom er s (Solom on , 1985). Given th a t ser vices a r e in ta n gible, in vestiga tin g h ow r epu ta tion r ela tes to qu a lity a ppea r s w a r r a n ted.
Repu ta tion is descr ibed by Her big et a l. (1994)
a s th e con sisten cy of a n or ga n iza tion ’s
a ction s over tim e. As su ch , r epu ta tion stem s
fr om th e gu a r a n tee of r elia ble ser vice; it is
com pa r a ble to th e zer o defects ph ilosoph y.
Th e r epu ta tion of a ser vice fi r m is bu ilt
th r ou gh th e cr edible a ction s of m a n a gem en t,
i.e. th e believa bility th a t m a n a gem en t w ill
ca r r y ou t sta ted in ten tion s su ch a s wh en
u n con dition a l ser vice gu a r a n tees a r e offer ed
to cu stom er s (Ha r t, 1988). Ma n a gem en t plays
a pivota l r ole in bu ildin g r epu ta tion th r ou gh
a set of n oticea ble in dica tor s su ch a s lea der sh ip style, per son a lity, a n d th e foster in g of a n
or ga n iza tion a l clim a te dir ected a t m eetin g
th e n eeds of th e cu stom er s it ser ves. Th er efor e, r epu ta tion is closely tied to im a ge in
th a t it a ffects cu stom er expecta tion s w ith
r e ga r d to th e qu a lity of th e ser vice offer in g
(Yoon et a l., 1993).
Th e per for m a n ce of con ta ct per son n el a n d
th e per son n el-cu stom er in ter a ction s wh ich
ta k e pla ce du r in g ser vice deliver y a r e deem ed
to be im por ta n t in dica tor s of qu a lity (Hesk ett, 1987; Su r pr en a n t a n d Solom on , 1987).
Bitn er et a l. (1990) r epor t th a t th e h u m a n
in ter a ction com pon en t h a s a n im por ta n t
effect on th e cu stom er ’s eva lu a tive pr ocess
w ith r e ga r d to th e ser vice offer in g. Sim ila r ly,
r ela tion sh ip qu a lity is cr u cia l wh en th e ser vice is com plex a n d cu stom ized (Cr osby et a l.,
1990), a s in th e dyn a m ics of bu sin ess edu ca tion . In th is ligh t, Ca n n on a n d Sh eth (1994)
str ess th e im por ta n ce of bu ildin g a n d m a in ta in in g r ela tion sh ip qu a lity w ith th e va r iou s
sta k eh older gr ou ps wh ich in ter a ct w ith th e
or ga n iza tion .
[ 73 ]
Gasto n Le Blanc and
Nha Nguye n
Se arc hing fo r e xc e lle nc e in
busine ss e duc atio n: an
e xplo rato ry study o f c usto me r
impre ssio ns o f se rvic e quality
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 7 2 –7 9
Th e n a tu r e a n d th e qu a lity of th e r ela tion sh ips developed du r in g th e ser vice en cou n ter
a r e a lso in flu en ced by th e ph ysica l en vir on m en t. In th e a n a lysis of “ser vicesca pes”,
Bitn er (1990, 1992) pr oposes th a t cu es fr om
th e ph ysica l su r r ou n din gs a r e in dica tive of
th e ser vice fi r m ’s ca pa bilities a n d th e qu a lity
of its ser vices. In stu dies of fa cu lty office
design s, for exa m ple, stu den ts’ beliefs a bou t
th e per son occu pyin g th e office a n d th eir
per son a lity tr a its wer e fou n d to be in flu en ced
by su ch cu es a s diplom a s on th e w a ll, tidin ess
of office a n d desk pla cem en t (Wa r d et a l.,
1989). P h ysica l eviden ce h a s, th er efor e, a
str on g in flu en ce on em ployee m otiva tion s
a n d th e qu a lity of th e ser vice en cou n ter.
Th e r eview of th e liter a tu r e pr ovided th e
ba sis for a n explor a tor y stu dy of ser vice qu a lity in a bu sin ess edu ca tion settin g. Its objectives wer e to iden tify th e u n der lyin g dim en sion s u sed by stu den ts in th eir eva lu a tion of
th e qu a lity of edu ca tion th ey r eceived a n d to
deter m in e th e im por ta n ce of th ese in th eir
eva lu a tive pr ocess.
Methodology
Th e liter a tu r e r eview, a lon g w ith th r ee focu s
gr ou p in ter view s wh ich wer e h eld w ith a
tota l of 32 stu den ts, pr ovided th e ba sis for
developin g th e qu estion n a ir e u sed in th is
stu dy. Stu den ts a r e th e logica l gr ou p to u se
for gen er a tin g item s a n d idea s on h ow bu sin ess sch ools ca n im pr ove th e qu a lity of th eir
ser vices. To th is en d, th e gen er a l gu idelin es
r ecom m en ded for th ese in ter view s wer e followed (Fer n , 1982) a n d pa r ticipa n ts of both
sexes wer e selected, r epr esen tin g ea ch yea r of
th e bu sin ess pr ogr a m m e offer ed by th e bu sin ess sch ool. Du r in g th ese gr ou p in ter view s,
pa r ticipa n ts wer e a sk ed to descr ibe th eir
expecta tion s w ith r e ga r d to th e bu sin ess
sch ool, qu estion ed on va r iou s a spects su r r ou n din g th e ser vices a n d fa cilities offer ed,
a n d qu er ied on wh a t th ey con sider ed excellen t ser vice en cou n ter s to be in th e con text of
th eir bu sin ess sch ool.
Th e qu estion n a ir e con ta in ed 38 va r ia bles
r ela ted to differ en t a spects of th e bu sin ess
sch ool’s ser vice offer in g, su ch a s pr ojected
im a ge, ph ysica l fa cilities a n d in str u m en ts,
oper a tin g pr ocedu r es, ser vice deliver y, a lon g
w ith fa cu lty a n d a dm in istr a tive per son n el.
Ca r e w a s ta k en to in clu de item s th a t cor r espon ded to th e five SE RVQUAL dim en sion s
iden tified by P a r a su r a m a n et a l. (1991). Th e
item s wer e m ea su r ed on a 7-poin t, Lik er t-type
sca le th a t va r ied fr om 1 = m u ch wor se th a n
expected to 7 = m u ch better th a n expected,
a n d m id-poin ts on th e sca le wer e n ot la belled.
Alth ou gh th is sca le is r epor ted by Oliver
[ 74 ]
(1981) to be m or e m ea n in gfu l to r espon den ts
in ter m s of m a k in g com pa r ison s between
per ception s a n d expecta tion s, P r a k a sh a n d
Lou n sbu r y (1983) w a r n th a t it cou ld be bia sed
in th a t r espon den ts m igh t r a tion a lize th eir
pr e-pu r ch a se expecta tion s a t th e post-pu r ch a se sta ge.
Th e r espon den ts wer e a sk ed to wh a t de gr ee
th e qu a lity of th e ser vice offer ed by th e bu sin ess sch ool cor r espon ded to th eir expecta tion s on th e 38 va r ia bles r ela ted to ser vice.
Th is a ppr oa ch a gr ees w ith Ca r m a n ’s (1990)
pr oposition th a t both expecta tion s a n d per ception s of ser vice be ca ptu r ed in on e a dm in istr a tion in ter m s of th e per ception / expecta tion differ en ce.
Th e sa m ple of r espon den ts w a s ta k en fr om
a sm a ll bu sin ess sch ool. Th is bu sin ess sch ool
offer s both u n der gr a du a te a n d gr a du a te pr ogr a m m es a n d h a s a n en r olm en t of a ppr oxim a tely 700 stu den ts. To select th e sa m ple,
cla sses a cr oss th e bu sin ess sch ool wer e str a tified on th e ba sis of depa r tm en t a n d cla ss
level, a n d a con ven ien ce sa m ple of stu den ts
w a s selected to su r vey. Qu estion n a ir es wer e
a dm in ister ed in cla ss du r in g th e m id-ter m of
th e fa ll sem ester a fter stu den ts h a d r eceived
th e gr a din g of th eir fir st ser ies of exa m s. Th e
sa m plin g yielded 388 u sa ble qu estion n a ir es,
wh ich r epr esen t 55 per cen t of th e bu sin ess
sch ool’s stu den t popu la tion .
A pr in cipa l com pon en t fa ctor a n a lysis w ith
va r im a x r ota tion w a s con du cted on th e 38
va r ia bles r ela ted to ser vice qu a lity. Th is
a n a lysis yielded a seven fa ctor solu tion
wh ich expla in ed 56 per cen t of va r ia n ce.Th e
decision to in clu de a va r ia ble in a fa ctor w a s
ba sed on fa ctor loa din gs gr ea ter th a n 0.50 a n d
a ll fa ctor s wh ose eigen va lu e w a s gr ea ter th a n
on e wer e r eta in ed in th e fa ctor solu tion
(Ta ba ch n ick a n d F idell, 1989). To a ssess r elia bility of m ea su r es, Cr on ba ch ’s a lph a w a s
ca lcu la ted for th e va r ia bles r eta in ed for ea ch
fa ctor a n d coefficien ts gr ea ter th a n or equ a l
to 0.70 wer e con sider ed a ccepta ble a n d a good
in dica tion of con str u ct r elia bility (N u n n a lly,
1978). Th e seven or th ogon a l fa ctor s wer e th en
u sed in a stepw ise r e gr ession a n a lysis. Th e
depen den t va r ia ble, m ea su r ed on a 7-poin t,
Lik er t-type sca le, w a s th e stu den ts’ over a ll
eva lu a tion of th e qu a lity of ser vices offer ed
by th e bu sin ess sch ool, a n d th e in depen den t
va r ia bles wer e th e sta n da r dized fa ctor scor es
cr ea ted for ea ch in dividu a l, cor r espon din g to
th e seven fa ctor s.
Results
Of th e 388 stu den ts wh o r espon ded to th e
qu estion n a ir e 52 per cen t wer e m a le, a n d 51
per cen t wer e en r olled in th e secon d a n d th ir d
Gasto n Le Blanc and
Nha Nguye n
Se arc hing fo r e xc e lle nc e in
busine ss e duc atio n: an
e xplo rato ry study o f c usto me r
impre ssio ns o f se rvic e quality
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 7 2 –7 9
yea r of th e bu sin ess pr ogr a m m e. A tota l of 30
per cen t of r espon den ts wer e in th e gen er a l
bu sin ess pr ogr a m m e, wh ile 20 per cen t wer e
m a r k etin g m a jor s a n d a n oth er 16 per cen t
a ccou n tin g m a jor s. As for th e de gr ee of sa tisfa ction w ith th e ser vices offer ed by th e bu sin ess sch ool, 71 per cen t sa id th ey wer e sa tisfied w ith th eir pa st exper ien ces a n d 60 per
cen t in dica ted th a t th ey defin itely wou ld
r ecom m en d th e bu sin ess sch ool to oth er s.
Ta ble I sh ow s th e r esu lts of th e fa ctor a n a lysis in ter m s of fa ctor n a m e, th e va r ia bles
loa din g on ea ch fa ctor a n d th e va r ia n ce
expla in ed by ea ch fa ctor. Th e r esu lts of Cr on ba ch ’s r elia bility coefficien t a r e a lso sh ow n .
Th e seven fa ctor s iden tifi ed in Ta ble I ca n be
descr ibed a s follow s. F a ctor 1 (F 1), con ta ct
per son n el/ fa cu lty, con sists of item s wh ich a r e
r ela ted to th e per for m a n ce of pr ofessor s a n d
th eir a bility to in spir e tr u st a n d con fi den ce.
F a ctor 2 (F 2), r epu ta tion , r ela tes to th e bu sin ess sch ool’s ca pa city to position itself in th e
m in ds of its cu stom er s a n d is closely a ssocia ted w ith th e im a ge pr ojected by th e or ga n iza tion . For its pa r t, fa ctor 3 (F 3), ph ysica l
eviden ce, is loa ded w ith va r ia bles wh ich
descr ibe th e ta n gible cu es a ssocia ted w ith th e
bu sin ess sch ool’s ser vice deliver y system a n d
its fa cilities. F a ctor 4 (F 4), con ta ct per son n el/ a dm in istr a tion , is con cer n ed w ith
dim en sion s wh ich a r e lin k ed to
m a n a gem en t’s a bility to pr ovide per son a l
a tten tion to stu den ts in a pr ofession a l a n d
ca r in g m a n n er. F a ctor 5 (F 5), cu r r icu lu m ,
in volves dim en sion s r ela ted to m a n a gem en t’s
a n d fa cu lty’s ca pa city to pla n a n d deliver
ser vices wh ich m eet stu den t n eeds. F a ctor 6
(F 6), r espon siven ess, is con cer n ed w ith m a n a gem en t’s a bility to pr ovide ser vice in a
pr om pt a n d tim ely m a n n er. F a ctor 7 (F 7),
a ccess to fa cilities, descr ibes th e ea se w ith
wh ich stu den ts ca n a ppr oa ch th e ser vice
fa cilities w ith ou t h avin g to w a it for ser vice.
Th e r esu lts pr esen ted in Ta ble I a r e r ela ted
to th e deter m in a n ts of ser vice qu a lity a n d
su ppor t th e existin g k n ow ledge. In deed, con ta ct per son n el (F 1 a n d F 4) is pr oposed a s a n
im por ta n t qu a lity in dica tor by Su r pr en a n t
a n d Solom on (1985), a n d Cr osby et a l. (1990).
Repu ta tion (F 2), for its pa r t, is r ela ted closely
to th e in stitu tion ’s cor por a te im a ge, a n d
im a ge is descr ibed a s a n im por ta n t deter m in a n t of per ceived ser vice qu a lity by Gr ön r oos
(1984) a n d Leth in en a n d Leth in en (1982).
Sim ila r ly, th e ta n gible cu es pr ovided by th e
fa cilities wh er e ser vices a r e pr odu ced a n d
deliver ed (F 3) a r e sa id to be in dica tive of th e
qu a lity of ser vice (Bitn er, 1990, 1992; P a r a su r a m a n et a l., 1991). Respon siven ess (F 6) is a lso
iden tified by P a r a su r a m a n et a l. a s a qu a lity
in dica tor. Resu lts a lso iden tify cu r r icu lu m
developm en t (F 5) a n d a ccess to fa cilities (F 7)
a s poten tia l deter m in a n ts of ser vice qu a lity
in a bu sin ess sch ool settin g.
Ta ble II pr esen ts th e r esu lts of r e gr ession
a n a lysis a n d sh ow s, in or der of im por ta n ce,
th e fa ctor s wh ich expla in th e bu sin ess
sch ool’s ser vice qu a lity, ba sed on sta n da r dized beta coefficien ts. Resu lts in dica te th a t
ser vice qu a lity is der ived m a in ly fr om r epu ta tion (F 2), a fa ctor wh ich is tied closely to
m a n a gem en t’s ca pa city to foster a n or ga n iza tion a l clim a te dir ected a t ser vin g th e n eeds of
its cu stom er s a n d to th e im a ge of th e bu sin ess
sch ool. F a cu lty a n d a dm in istr a tive per son n el
(F 4 a n d F 1), th r ou gh th eir a bility to in spir e
tr u st a n d con fiden ce a n d pr ovide per son a l
a tten tion to stu den ts in a pr ofession a l a n d
ca r in g m a n n er, a lso in flu en ce qu a lity. Oth er
fa ctor s su ch a s cu r r icu lu m (F 5), r espon siven ess (F 6), ph ysica l eviden ce (F 3) a n d a ccess to
fa cilities (F 7) a r e a lso sign ifica n t qu a lity
fa ctor s.
Discussion and conclusion
Th e con cer n for excellen ce in bu sin ess edu ca tion a n d th e la ck of em pir ica l r esea r ch on th e
cu es th a t sign a l qu a lity to stu den ts wer e th e
ba ses for th is explor a tor y stu dy on ser vice
qu a lity. Alth ou gh th e SE RVQUAL sca le developed by P a r a su r a m a n et a l. (1988, 1991) h a s
been th e focu s of con sider a ble a tten tion in
r ecen t ser vice qu a lity r esea r ch , th e liter a tu r e
r eview r evea led a lter n a tive con ceptu a liza tion s of th e ser vice qu a lity con str u ct a n d
a ck n ow ledged th e n eed to iden tify th e deter m in a n ts of ser vice qu a lity in specific ser vice
or ga n iza tion s in or der to develop qu a lity
im pr ovem en t pr ogr a m m es better a da pted to
th e expecta tion s of th eir cu stom er s. To th a t
en d, th e pr esen t stu dy ca ptu r ed stu den t eva lu a tion s of th e qu a lity of th e edu ca tion a l exper ien ce w ith a 38-item qu estion n a ir e design ed
to fit th e specific n a tu r e of th e bu sin ess sch ool
u n der in vestiga tion . Th e stu dy con tr ibu ted to
a better u n der sta n din g of th e ser vice qu a lity
con str u ct in bu sin ess edu ca tion . Per ception s
of qu a lity wer e m ea su r ed on a 7-poin t sca le
th a t va r ied fr om “Mu ch wor se th a n expected”
to “Mu ch better th a n expected”. Sin ce expecta tion s va r y over tim e, th is a gr ees w ith Ca r m a n ’s (1990) pr oposition th a t both expecta tion s a n d per for m a n ce m ea su r es sh ou ld be
collected dir ectly in ter m s of th e per ception expecta tion differ en ce du r in g th e sa m e
a dm in istr a tion of th e qu estion n a ir e. As su ch ,
th e stu dy iden tifi ed seven fa ctor s wh ich h ave
a n im pa ct on qu a lity eva lu a tion s a n d wh ich
h ave im plica tion s for con tr ollin g a n d a ch ievin g excellen ce in bu sin ess edu ca tion .
Th e r esu lts of th is stu dy su ggest a sign ifica n t r ela tion sh ip between per ceived qu a lity
[ 75 ]
Gasto n Le Blanc and
Nha Nguye n
Se arc hing fo r e xc e lle nc e in
busine ss e duc atio n: an
e xplo rato ry study o f c usto me r
impre ssio ns o f se rvic e quality
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 7 2 –7 9
Table I
Se ve n se rvic e quality fac to rs ide ntifie d by princ ipal c o mpo ne nts fac to r analysis
Factor name
Factor
loading
Variables
F1 Contact personnel:
faculty
Appearanc e of professors
Professors are friendly and c ourteous
Professors researc h produc tivity
Communic ation skills: c ourses are well taught
Ac ademic c redentials of professors
Professors are innovative and agents of c hange
0.71
0.69
0.59
0.58
0.58
0.57
29.4
0.85
F2 Reputation
Business sc hool is innovative
Organizational c ulture, beliefs and values
Business sc hool’ s involvement in c ommunity
Degree to whic h c urric ulum is up to date
Administration has students’ best interest at heart
0.75
0.72
0.68
0.64
0.60
6.7
0.80
F3 Physical evidence
Layout of c lassrooms
Lighting in c lassrooms
Appearanc e of building and grounds
Overall c leanliness
Degree to whic h c lassrooms and study rooms are
c omfortable
Déc or and atmosphere
0.74
0.69
0.66
0.64
5.4
0.80
4.2
0.85
3.7
0.76
F4 Contact personnel:
administration
Availability of personnel
Friendly and c ourteous personnel
Capac ity to solve problems when they arise
Personnel has a good knowledge of rules and
proc edures
Appearanc e of personnel
0.61
0.59
0.75
0.75
0.68
0.66
0.61
Orientation of programmes and c ourse c ontent
Number of c ourses offered
Degree to whic h objec tives of programmes are
explained to students
0.62
F6 Responsiveness
Students are informed promptly of c hanges
Registration is timely and error-free
Rec ords are kept ac c urately
0.77
0.57
0.53
3.4
0.71
F7 Access to facilities
Available of parking
Ac c ess to c omputer fac ilities
Ac c ess to study rooms
0.70
0.66
0.55
3.1
0.55
F5 Curriculum
Table II
Re gre ssio n re sults base d o n fac to r sc o re s
Variables
Betas
Significance
Reputation
Contact personnel: administration (F4)
Contact personnel: faculty (F1)
Curriculum (F5)
Responsiveness (F6)
Physical evidence (F3)
Access to facilities (F6)
0.37
0.31
0.30
0.29
0.22
0.15
0.07
p<
p<
p<
p<
p<
p<
p<
0.001
0.001
0.001
0.001
0.001
0.001
0.05
Notes:
Dependent variable: respondent’ s overall evaluation of business sc hool’ s quality
Independent variables: seven orthogonal fac tors representing the c omponents of perc eived quality
R2 = 53 per c ent F = 43.82 p ≤ 0.001
[ 76 ]
Percentage Cronbach’s
of variance reliability
explained coefficient
0.68
0.63
a n d r epu ta tion ; i.e. th e bu sin ess sch ool’s
ca pa city to position itself in th e m in ds of
stu den ts a s bein g in n ova tive, u p to da te,
in volved w ith th e bu sin ess com m u n ity a n d
h avin g th e stu den ts’ n eeds a t h ea r t. Sin ce
r epu ta tion is bu ilt th r ou gh th e cr edible
a ction s of ea ch m em ber of th e or ga n iza tion
(Her big et a l., 1994), m a n a gem en t wor k in g in
close h a r m on y w ith per son n el a n d fa cu lty
sh ou ld set qu a lity sta n da r ds for a ll com pon en ts of th e ser vice deliver y system to en su r e
th a t stu den t expecta tion s a r e m et. Given th e
im por ta n ce of expecta tion s in th e esta blish m en t of qu a lity sta n da r ds, in ter n a l m a r k etin g r esea r ch sh ou ld be u n der ta k en to en su r e
th a t m a n a gem en t a n d fa cu lty expecta tion s of
Gasto n Le Blanc and
Nha Nguye n
Se arc hing fo r e xc e lle nc e in
busine ss e duc atio n: an
e xplo rato ry study o f c usto me r
impre ssio ns o f se rvic e quality
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 7 2 –7 9
ser vice a r e closely tied to stu den t expecta tion s (Ca n n on a n d Sh eth , 1994). E xpecta tion s
sh ou ld be exa m in ed a n d a n a lysed so a s to set
sta n da r ds fr om th e cu stom er s’ per spective
(Sw a r tz a n d Br ow n , 1989). Sim ila r ly, th e
pr ocess by wh ich stu den ts a cqu ir e th eir edu ca tion sh ou ld be im pr oved con tin u ou sly
(Seym ou r, 1992). For exa m ple, th e foster in g of
lia ison s w ith th e bu sin ess com m u n ity a n d
th e offer in g of co-oper a tive bu sin ess
pr ogr a m m es th a t em ph a size h a n ds-on exper ien ce sh ou ld h elp bu ild a str on g r epu ta tion for
th e or ga n iza tion . Ma k in g a favou r a ble
im pr ession on stu den ts a n d on va r iou s sta k eh older gr ou ps su ch a s pr ospective em ployer s,
gover n m en t a n d r esea r ch a gen cies, a lu m n i,
in dividu a ls a n d or ga n iza tion s wh ich don a te
fu n ds to th e u n iver sity sh ou ld be a k ey objective of m a n a gem en t (Allen a n d Davis, 1991;
Ca n n on a n d Sh eth , 1994). On ce a str on g r epu ta tion h a s been bu ilt, m a n a gem en t sh ou ld
en su r e th a t ever y step is ta k en to pr om ote
a n d m a in ta in its sta n din g (Bitn er et a l., 1990).
Resu lts of th e stu dy a lso r evea l th a t fa cu lty
a n d a dm in istr a tive per son n el h ave a dir ect
bea r in g on per ception s of qu a lity. For a dm in istr a tive per son n el, m a n a gem en t sh ou ld sta r t
by settin g qu a lity sta n da r ds for pr ocessr ela ted va r ia bles su ch a s r e gistr a tion ,
r ecor ds, a n d r u les a n d pr ocedu r es wh ich a r e
ea sier to con tr ol th a n th e a ca dem ic deliver y
of ser vice (Coa te, 1990). As for fa cu lty, sin ce
a ca dem ics a r e per ceived a s bein g in dividu a listic a n d loya l to th eir a ca dem ic u n its (Win ter s, 1991), m a n a gem en t sh ou ld con vin ce
fa cu lty th a t con cer n for qu a lity is pa r t of
th eir job (Sh etty, 1988) a n d a ll con ta ct per son n el sh ou ld be in volved wh en settin g goa ls a n d
qu a lity sta n da r ds for th e in stitu tion . F a cu lty
sh ou ld con tin u ou sly follow tr a in in g session s
a n d sem in a r s on effective tea ch in g m eth ods
a n d sh ou ld be en cou r a ged to exh ibit exem pla r y a ttitu des a n d beh aviou r w ith stu den ts
so th a t stu den t exper ien ces w ith ser vice a r e
to th eir sa tisfa ction . Sim ila r ly, sin ce stu den t
cou r se eva lu a tion s m u st be a n in te gr a l pa r t
of qu a lity im pr ovem en t pr ogr a m m es (Br igh tm a n et a l., 1993), eva lu a tion s n eed to a ddr ess
n ot on ly th e per for m a n ce of fa cu lty, bu t a lso
th e va r iou s a spects su r r ou n din g th e edu ca tion a l exper ien ce, su ch a s objectives of th e
bu sin ess pr ogr a m m e, ph ysica l a n d com pu ter
fa cilities, a n d th e m u ltitu de of su ppor t a n d
a dvisor y ser vices offer ed by th e u n iver sity.
Mor eover, m a n a gem en t wor k in g closely w ith
fa cu lty sh ou ld pr epa r e br och u r es wh ich ou tlin e th e qu a lity sta n da r ds ea ch m em ber of th e
or ga n iza tion m u st a dh er e to in th e deliver y of
ser vice a n d pr om ote th ese sta n da r ds to va r iou s sta k eh older gr ou ps.
Resu lts a lso r evea l cu r r icu lu m , ph ysica l
eviden ce, r espon siven ess a n d a ccess to
fa cilities a s a ddition a l fa ctor s wh ich expla in
ser vice qu a lity. Th ese fa ctor s a r e r ela ted
dir ectly to th e pr ocess of ser vice deliver y, a r e
h igh in exper ien ce qu a lities (Nelson , 1974) a n d
r ein for ce th e belief th a t qu a lity con tr ol m ea su r es m u st be a pplied a lon g th e ser vice deliver y system . Th e or ien ta tion of pr ogr a m m es
a n d cou r se con ten ts h ave a dir ect bea r in g on
th e bu sin ess sch ool’s ca pa city to m eet th e
n eeds of pr ospective em ployer s a n d m u st be
m a n a ged ca r efu lly to bu ild r epu ta tion . Sim ila r ly, th e in stitu tion m u st be r espon sive a n d
en deavou r to pr ovide pr om pt r elia ble ser vice,
sin ce w a itin g for ser vice ca n h ave n ega tive
effects on ser vice eva lu a tion s (Taylor, 1994)
a n d qu a lity, especia lly in situ a tion s wh er e th e
ser vice pr ovider is per ceived a s h avin g con tr ol
over th e w a it, a s in th e ca se of bu sin ess edu ca tion . Assu r in g th a t fa cilities a r e a ccessible to
stu den ts a n d pr ovidin g stu den ts w ith n ew a n d
in n ova tive ser vices su ch a s a u tom a ted teleph on e r egistr a tion a r e exa m ples of h ow bu sin ess sch ools ca n im pr ove qu a lity on pr ocessr elated va r ia bles. As for th e elem en ts a ssocia ted w ith ph ysica l eviden ce, m a n a gem en t
m u st r ea lize th a t a tm osph er ics h ave a dir ect
bea r in g on cu stom er expecta tion s (Ba ker,
1987) a n d give a tten tion to deta il. At th is sta ge,
fa cu lty a n d stu den ts sh ou ld h ave a say sin ce
th ey a r e, for th e m ost pa r t, exper ien cin g th e
ser vice in th e cla ssr oom . Hen ce, a tten tion
m u st be given to deta ils to en su r e th a t th e
physica l envir on m en t is com for table, a dequ a te for th e deliver y of ser vice a n d th a t it
sen ds ou t a ppr opr ia te cu es to stu den ts. In deed,
th e ph ysica l envir on m en t ca n becom e a su r r oga te in dica tor of th e in stitu tion ’s ca pa city to
offer ser vice in a n or ga n ized a n d pr ofession a l
m a n n er (Bitn er, 1992).
As for th e lim ita tion s of th is stu dy, th e
r esu lts r epr esen t stu den ts’ per ception s of
ser vice qu a lity in a sm a ll bu sin ess sch ool,
a n d per ception s of ser vice cou ld ea sily va r y
a ccor din g to th e size, h istor y a n d sta tu r e of
th e bu sin ess sch ool in qu estion .
Con sequ en tly, sin ce it is th e m ea su r es of
ser vice qu a lity for specific ser vice pr ovider s
th a t cou n t, du e ca r e m u st exer cised so a s n ot
to gen er a lize r esu lts to a ll in stitu tion s
(Br ow n a n d Koen ig, 1993; Ca r m a n , 1990;
Cr on in a n d Taylor, 1992; F in n a n d La m b, 1991;
Zeith a m l, 1988). Sim ila r ly, th e r esea r ch m ea su r ed on ly per ception s of ser vice, a n d stu dies
sh ou ld a ttem pt to iden tify h ow stu den ts for m
expecta tion s of bu sin ess sch ools, h ow expecta tion s va r y over tim e a n d h ow in for m a tion
sou r ces in fl u en ce cu stom er expecta tion s of
ser vice (Mu r r ay, 1991). Resu lts m igh t va r y if
a n a lysed for differ en t se gm en ts of th e stu den t
popu la tion , su ch a s cla ss level; elected m a jor ;
m a les a n d fem a les; a n d pa r t-tim e a n d fu lltim e stu den ts. Accor din gly, a n a lysin g qu a lity
[ 77 ]
Gasto n Le Blanc and
Nha Nguye n
Se arc hing fo r e xc e lle nc e in
busine ss e duc atio n: an
e xplo rato ry study o f c usto me r
impre ssio ns o f se rvic e quality
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 1 / 2 [1 9 9 7 ] 7 2 –7 9
per ception s for differ en t se gm en ts sh ou ld
h elp m a n a gem en t in th e for m u la tion of
str a te gies wh ich pr om ise to m eet th e specifi c
expecta tion s of th ese va r iou s gr ou ps. Th e low
r elia bility of th e a ccess to fa cilities fa ctor is
a n oth er lim ita tion . A m or e r elia ble m ea su r e
m igh t a ccen tu a te th e r ela tion sh ip between
th is fa ctor a n d th e over a ll ju dgem en t of ser vice qu a lity. Th e con ven ien ce sa m ple of
r espon den ts m u st a lso be a ck n ow ledged. At
th is sta ge, som e m igh t a r gu e th a t stu den ts
a r e n ot th e logica l gr ou p to su r vey w ith
r e ga r d to wh a t excellen t bu sin ess sch ools
sh ou ld be offer in g, sin ce th ey a r e in th e
pr ocess of a cqu ir in g th eir edu ca tion a n d, for
th e m ost pa r t, m ay h ave little k n ow ledge of
wh a t sh ou ld be expected of u n iver sities a lon g
k ey qu a lity dim en sion s. Con sequ en tly, in
fu tu r e stu dies, th e over a ll per for m a n ce of
bu sin ess sch ools sh ou ld be a n a lysed fr om th e
per spective of th e va r iou s sta k eh older gr ou ps
wh ich in ter a ct w ith th e in stitu tion . In deed, a
better u n der sta n din g of h ow va r iou s sta k eh older gr ou ps, su ch a s th e bu sin ess com m u n ity, a lu m n i, gover n m en t a gen cies, a lon g
w ith th e com m u n ity, for m qu a lity
ju dgem en ts is w a r r a n ted fr om th e TQM per spective. Addition a l r esea r ch is n eeded on th e
in ter r ela tion sh ip th a t exists between qu a lity
a n d r epu ta tion . Alth ou gh th ese two
con str u cts a r e r ela ted, r esea r ch sh ou ld
a ddr ess th e dyn a m ics of th e r ela tion sh ip. For
exa m ple, a r e fa ctor s su ch a s con ta ct per son n el, cu r r icu lu m , r espon siven ess a n d ph ysica l
eviden ce deter m in a n ts of ser vice qu a lity or
of r epu ta tion ? Sim ila r ly, a better com pr eh en sion of h ow r epu ta tion im pa cts stu den ts
wh en ch oosin g a bu sin ess sch ool, a n d th e
im por ta n ce given to th is cr iter ion by pr ospective em ployer s, sh ou ld con cer n m a n a gem en t.
Th e a ch ievem en t of excellen ce in bu sin ess
edu ca tion a n d th e n eed to con tr ol th e qu a lity
of ser vices offer ed to stu den ts for m ed th e
ba sis of th is stu dy on th e cu es wh ich sign a l
qu a lity. Th e r esea r ch sh ow s th a t r epu ta tion ,
m a n a gem en t, fa cu lty a n d pr ocess-r ela ted
va r ia bles a r e im por ta n t to stu den ts in th eir
ju dgem en t of qu a lity. Th e r esu lts a r e en cou r a gin g a n d w ill lea d u s to pu r su e ou r qu est for
excellen ce in edu ca tion .
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