Service Industry Marketing: Service Quality in Higher Education Report

This report presents an annotated bibliography focusing on service quality within the higher education sector. It analyzes five journal articles published between 2014 and 2019, covering various aspects such as the impact of service quality on university brand performance, student satisfaction, and the role of branding. The included studies explore integrated process models, the effects of service separation, and the use of ranking systems as measures of quality. Each annotation summarizes the article's objectives, methods, findings, and limitations, offering a comprehensive overview of the current research landscape. The report highlights the importance of service quality in attracting students, enhancing institutional reputation, and fostering a positive learning environment, ultimately concluding that improving service standards is crucial for the long-term success of higher education institutions.

SERVICE QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Table of Contents
Abstract............................................................................................................................................4
Introduction......................................................................................................................................5
Bibliography 1:................................................................................................................................6
Sultan, P., & Yin Wong, H. (2014). An integrated-process model of service quality, institutional
brand and behavioural intentions: The case of a University. Managing Service Quality, 24(5),
487-521............................................................................................................................................6
Bibliography 2:................................................................................................................................7
Sultan, P., & Wong, H. Y. (2018). How service quality affects university brand performance,
university brand image and behavioural intention: the mediating effects of satisfaction and trust
and moderating roles of gender and study mode. Journal of Brand Management, downloaded
from: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-018-0131-3..........................................................................7
Bibliography 3:................................................................................................................................8
Keh, H. T., Hartley, N., & Wang, D. (2019). The differential effects of separated vs. unseparated
services: The roles of performance risk and regulatory focus. Journal of Service Theory and
Practice, 29(1), 93-118....................................................................................................................8
Bibliography 4:................................................................................................................................9
Saviano, M., Barile, S., Spohrer, J. C., & Caputo, F. (2017). A service research contribution to
the global challenge of sustainability. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 27(5), 951-976.. .9
Bibliography 5:..............................................................................................................................10
Page 2 of 12

Berbegal-Mirabent, J., & Ribeiro-Soriano, D. E. (2015). Behind league tables and ranking
systems: a critical perspective of how university quality is measured. Journal of Service Theory
and Practice, 25(3), 242-266.........................................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
References:....................................................................................................................................12
Page 3 of 12

Abstract
Education system may be conceived to be the backbone of a society in terms of its development
and growth for the long-term. Hence, the service quality management in the higher education
may be construed to be critical and significant success critical factors for the decision makers.
The paper delves into such analysis to establish the relative importance of the service quality in
higher education segment. The research has been carried out by way of literature review of 5
journal articles relevant in the given field of research.
Page 4 of 12

Introduction
The evaluation of the present study is done in the form of annotated bibliography. Herein, 5
different journal articles between the period of 2014-2018 have been selected to evaluate the
subject matter, service management in the higher education system. The researcher in this project
had selected authentic sources that carried high-quality content to explore the selected topic.
Each of the journals was evaluated on the grounds of factors like their purposes, objectives,
methods, findings and conclusions. All the journals have followed the argumentative approach to
showcase both the pros and cons of the topic. Based on which a final conclusion would be
derived.
Page 5 of 12

Bibliography 1:
Sultan, P., & Yin Wong, H. (2014). An integrated-process model of service quality,
institutional brand and behavioural intentions: The case of a University. Managing Service
Quality, 24(5), 487-521.
The foremost objective of the current journal is developing and examining the integrated process
model by implementing the factors and the consequences of perceived service quality (PSQ).
The journal highlights the fact that the higher education market is facing fast-changing and
diverse global market, where regulations and modules are altered within a very short span. It has
been observed that employment prospects and proximity to home have been the major factors
influencing students' choice of the study programme. In recent time, students are being extremely
analytical and critical in terms of selecting their educational institutions. While doing so, they
seek for the service standards offered by the institutes before making the high-risk decisions of
choosing a University. The article has opted for an argumentative approach, where several
scholars have placed their viewpoints that brands play a major role in terms of influencing
students' selection criteria and also attracting for companies to offer their placement criteria.
Moreover, the journal has opted for both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The
authors have gathered data from three research groups conducted at Australian University to
generate the key themes and their correlation ship. The findings show that the consequences of
PSQ involve high trusts, behavioural intentions and satisfaction. Overall, the project indicates a
positive outcome in which institutes are making a firm effort to improve its quality standards to
enrich a student's professional career.
Page 6 of 12

Bibliography 2:
Sultan, P., & Wong, H. Y. (2018). How service quality affects university brand
performance, university brand image and behavioural intention: the mediating effects of
satisfaction and trust and moderating roles of gender and study mode. Journal of Brand
Management, downloaded from: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-018-0131-3.
The present journal intends to evaluate the concept of University Brand (UniBrand). The journals
further aim to supervise the ways perceived service quality tends to impact on the performance
criteria of UniBrand. Further evaluations are made to explore the fact that branding has become
one of the most significant marketing tools for almost every university. It generally managed to
attract students, retain them and encourage them to pursue the service lines to sustain the
completive higher education environment. The paper almost discussed that universities are
relatively required to follow customer-oriented marketing and branding initiatives to augment
their funding index by attracting greater figures of both domestic and international students. The
authors herein had considered the conceptual model to validate the usage of its structural
qualities framework. The project also attempts for an innovative theoretical contribution by
developing an interrelationship between brand performance, brand image, its aspects and their
consequences. Furthermore, in the journal, the authors have used the extrapolation method to
evaluate the feasibility of the responses collected from the primary sources. The concluding
statement of the project highlights that it has several limitations as the initial samples were drawn
from a single Australian university and second from a lower response rate. Hence, the outcome is
totally received in a biased form which cannot be relied upon.
Page 7 of 12

Bibliography 3:
Keh, H. T., Hartley, N., & Wang, D. (2019). The differential effects of separated vs.
unseparated services: The roles of performance risk and regulatory focus. Journal of
Service Theory and Practice, 29(1), 93-118.
The present journal aims to evaluate the relationship between the effects of service separation on
the perceived value and the intention to enroll in the higher education. The context puts emphasis
on the fact that how intellectual capital is being developed in the process of higher education. In
short, the mutual relationship between the perceived performance risk and individual’s
regulatory focus may form the essence of the journal and thereby the primary objective of the
journal. The article attempts to discuss that educational institutes are following science approach
of higher education to continuously experience a relative increase in the knowledge-based capital
margin. It further reflected that the assessment of the internal provision of the higher education
system and its quality standards at universities are developed on the grounds of the competency
approach. In this context, it may be noted that the students, at times, may perceive the higher
education courses and programs with higher perceived risk which eventually may lower the
perceived value. The researchers here have adopted four experimental studies out of which one is
the pilot program and rest are main studies which aim to substantiate the correlation of these two
variables as mentioned previously. The identified gaps are also backed up with relevant
recommendations that can facilitate the education sector to retain its capital development
practices without any long term interruptions. The argumentative method has been followed
herein, where the statement and facts are critically acclaimed by other researchers on the chosen
ground. Based on which a definite conclusion is derived.
Page 8 of 12

Bibliography 4:
Saviano, M., Barile, S., Spohrer, J. C., & Caputo, F. (2017). A service research contribution
to the global challenge of sustainability. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 27(5), 951-
976.
The journal article focuses on the evaluation of the contributions made by the service research
towards the sustainability issues as prevalent worldwide and thereby recommendation as to the
initiatives to be undertaken for the education of managers. The focus here therefore may be
considered to be the corporate houses where the education is being provided to the managers.
In other words, the researchers have identified as the corporate body members as the potential
students and their satisfaction rate are directly linked with the organizational performance.
Therefore, the education is perceived to be successful if the same may purport the value to be
inculcated has been circulated within the corporate atmosphere through a sustainable educational
model. In short, the theme of the journal revolves around the evaluation of the students'
satisfaction rate against the service standards followed in the higher education system. The
article additionally discussed that the emergence of higher education is experiencing a speedy
rise with the tight competition in both the public and private sector. It also aims to determine the
extent to which quality of service impacts on students’ satisfaction. The researchers in this
journal have conducted secondary approach to identify the principal requirements of the
engagement at a global level in the challenge of sustainable development and its relationship
with service research and thereby the need for education of managers. The study also provided a
suitable recommendation that can help the institutes to improve their ser4vice offering range that
can help students to pursue a stable career in future.
Page 9 of 12

Bibliography 5:
Berbegal-Mirabent, J., & Ribeiro-Soriano, D. E. (2015). Behind league tables and ranking
systems: a critical perspective of how university quality is measured. Journal of Service
Theory and Practice, 25(3), 242-266.
The journal aims to evaluate the ranking system in the universities as a measure of service
quality assessment. It has been observed that the different compilers have been used by the
universities across the world to compile, measure and assess the student data and thereby provide
the requisite service delivery. However, the journal article puts emphasis on the assessment of
such tools and its connection with the students’ satisfaction rate. To conduct the study, the
researcher has adopted a two-step approach wherein the quality parameters used in few chosen
Spanish rankings have been analyzed. Thereafter, an empirical analysis has been conducted in
order to recognize the dissimilarities between university rankings.
Several dissimilar underlying relationships between the elements recognized from both students’
and teachers’ insights were also recognized and used in the journals to figure a solitary
viewpoint. The usage of technologies and the platform through which the e-learning process is
initiated and continues have also been highlighted herein. The results have revealed that there
have been number of dissimilarities between the chosen indicators. However, the impact on the
quality of the education has still been positive. The paper has been authentic in terms of its
originality in the Spanish context and the said research also bears a significant impact on the
managerial implications for enhancing the quality of these benchmarking tools. In other words,
the experts have also followed a mixed method in terms of evaluating the primary data and
triangulated with relevant secondary details to maintain data authenticity.
Page 10 of 12

Conclusion
Based on the discussion and analysis performed in the preceding sections of the paper, the
researcher arrives at the concluding line of this project that states that the journals are well fitted
to effectively discuss the essence of the project which is service management in the higher
education system. Finally, therefore, it may be concluded that the majority of the institutes are
emphasizing on improving the quality range to attract greater student base and helping them to
attain a stable career in future.
Page 11 of 12

References:
Berbegal-Mirabent, J., & Ribeiro-Soriano, D. E. (2015). Behind league tables and ranking
systems: a critical perspective of how university quality is measured. Journal of Service
Theory and Practice, 25(3), 242-266.
Keh, H. T., Hartley, N., & Wang, D. (2019). The differential effects of separated vs. unseparated
services: The roles of performance risk and regulatory focus. Journal of Service Theory
and Practice, 29(1), 93-118.
Saviano, M., Barile, S., Spohrer, J. C., & Caputo, F. (2017). A service research contribution to
the global challenge of sustainability. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 27(5),
951-976.
Sultan, P., & Wong, H. Y. (2018). How service quality affects university brand performance,
university brand image and behavioural intention: the mediating effects of satisfaction
and trust and moderating roles of gender and study mode. Journal of Brand Management,
downloaded from:https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-018-0131-3.
Sultan, P., & Yin Wong, H. (2014). An integrated-process model of service quality, institutional
brand and behavioural intentions: The case of a University. Managing Service Quality,
24(5), 487-521.
Page 12 of 12