Factors influencing student satisfaction in universities in the Gulf region: does gender of students matter?

Abstract

While various research studies have focused on antecedents and consequences of student satisfaction, few studies have done so in the Gulf region. The objective of the present study was therefore to design and empirically examine a model of student satisfaction in a private university in the Gulf region that operates in a high-technology-enabled environment. Based on a literature review and conducted focus groups, draft measures for the study constructs were developed. Data were collected from 217 students and an exploratory factor analysis identified 6 factors that potentially influenced satisfaction. After scale development, multiple regression analysis was used to test the research questions. It was found that the two genders displayed a difference in the factors influencing their satisfaction. For female students, only reputation (beta = .499, p < .01) was significant, while for male students, both reputation (beta = .763, p < .01) and perceived faculty academic competence (beta = .301, p < .01) were significant. Various theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Keywords:

• student satisfaction
• gender
• higher education
• service quality
• Gulf region
• technology-enabled environment

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the insightful comments of the editors and the anonymous reviewers that helped to improve the final version of this paper.