Analysing Service Quality: The Case of Post-Graduate Chinese Students

Abstract

The competitive state of the Chinese higher education industry is set to intensify over the forthcoming years. Where previously institutions may have been able to obtain high returns for relatively little effort, the future most certainly will be tougher. In response, an ‘action research’ process is adopted initially using a modified SERVQUAL instrument to investigate expectations and perceptions of service quality among a sample of post-graduate Chinese students at a leading business and management school in the UK. Research into service quality in a higher educational context is somewhat scant, and where investigations have been undertaken, very little has been concluded among post-graduates – particularly regarding the significant number of Chinese post-graduate students. The research findings suggest that the instrument is suitable for use in a Chinese and post-graduate context, and the statements load on the five original SERVQUAL dimensions. In an attempt to raise service quality, several managerial recommendations are extracted, and some direction for future research is suggested.

Keywords:

• SERVQUAL
• action research
• service quality
• services marketing