A Thesis Proposal on

Impact of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction on Educational

Consultancies of Kathmandu – Application of SERVQUAL Method

Submitted by:

Anup Manandhar

For Partial fulfillment of the degree of Masters of Business Administration

May 2016

CG Institute of Management
Limkokwing University of Creative Technology
May 2020
 ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to investigate service quality in Educational Consultancies

in Kathmandu. Specifically, this study seeks to investigate the five dimensions of
SERVQUAL instrumentation (reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, and
responsiveness).

The gap analysis between service perceptions and expectations of customers will be
analysed to put front the service improvements efforts needed to be fulfilled to enhance
the service quality by the consultancies.

Factors that improve the service delivery needed to decrease the gap between
customers’ perceptions and expectations will be analysed which will aid Educational
consultancies to understand the factors affecting the service quality which directly affects
the customer’s satisfaction and help them to retain their customers consequently
increasing their profit.
.

ii
 Contents
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... ii
ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................................... iv
LIST OF FIGURES....................................................................................................................... v
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Problem Statement........................................................................................................ 2
1.3 Significance .................................................................................................................... 3
1.4 Research Questions...................................................................................................... 3
1.5 Research Objectives ..................................................................................................... 3
1.6 Hypotheses ..................................................................................................................... 4
1.7 Scopes and Limitations ................................................................................................ 4
1.8 Definition of terms.......................................................................................................... 5
1.8.1 Independent Variables .......................................................................................... 5
1.8.2 Dependent Variable ............................................................................................... 6
1.9 Summary ......................................................................................................................... 6
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................... 7
2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 7
2.1.1 SERVQUAL Model ................................................................................................. 7
2.1.2 Customer Satisfaction ........................................................................................... 8
2.1.3 Service Quality........................................................................................................ 8
2.2 Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 10
2.3 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................... 11
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................. 12
3.1 Research Design ......................................................................................................... 12
3.2 Survey Instrument ....................................................................................................... 12
3.3 Population and Sample data...................................................................................... 13
3.4 Data analysis Procedures .......................................................................................... 13
CHAPTER 4: Expected Results ............................................................................................... 15
4.1 Anticipated benefits ..................................................................................................... 15
4.2 Expected Outcomes .................................................................................................... 15
4.3 Constraints and Limitations of the study .................................................................. 15
Annotated Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 16
References .................................................................................................................................. 18

iii
 ABBREVIATIONS

NOC No Objection Certificate

iv
 LIST OF FIGURES

2.3.1 Independent and dependent variables according to SERVQUAL Method 11

v
 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction
Service quality has gained a considerable amount of interest for researchers and
practitioners in the past two decades. The practitioners believe that service quality can
increase the performance of a firm (Black, Briggs, & Keogh, 2001; Caruana, Money, &
Berthon, 2000; Cheruiyot & Maru, 2013; Haynes & Fryer, 2000; Yoo & Park, 2007).
However, practitioners refer service quality and customer satisfaction as interchangeable
terms. Past studies relate the concept of service quality and customer satisfaction to each
other (Amin & Isa, 2008;). Further, a considerable amount of work has been done in
different service industries to better understand the dimensions of service quality and
customer satisfaction (Chumpitaz & Paparoidamis, 2004; Zhu et al., 2002). This research
tries to associate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in
the educational consultancies of Kathmandu.

An Educational Consultancy is an organization which helps parents/students and

organizations with educational planning. It is established with an objective of catering
proper information and guidance to parents interested in sending their offspring for
abroad studies. They are the chain between the students and international
universities/colleges. They provide the services such as counselling, preparing financial
documents and VISA processing. Some also do provide preparation services of
Language Efficiency Tests such as IELTS, TOEFL and PTE. It is one of the emerging
service sectors in Nepal as more students seek to aboard for their further study.

Education is a significant institution given the shift to a knowledge economy. The

marketplace of international higher education institutions has led to their students being
increasingly concerned as customer. Higher education has become a global business
and universities have to continuously explore options for exporting higher education
services (Mohamad Yusof, Hassan, Abdul Rahman, & Ghouri, 2012). Moreover, the
education sector where no true products are involved; service provided will represent the
competitive demarcation between institutions in terms of their superiority in creating
unique experiences (Khodayari & Khodayari, 2011). While there is competition in
outcomes such as research and innovation, educational consultancies are also expected
to deliver high service quality. The assessment of the service quality in educational
consultancy can provide an important contribution and inputs which will be useful for
management and staff to continue improving the quality of education (Al-Alak & Alnaser,
2012).

Outbound mobility of students has been booming since 2000, the number of Nepali
students enrolled in degree programs abroad soared by 835 percent and stood at 44,255
students in 2017 (UIS). Nepal’s outbound mobility ratio almost doubled over the past
decade and is now more than twelve times as high as in neighbouring India. In 2016,
Nepal’s mobility ratio was 12.3 percent, compared to 0.9 percent, 1.9 percent and 3
percent in India, China and Vietnam, respectively (UIS).

It is likely that outbound student mobility from Nepal is going to increase further in the
near term. The country’s population is becoming more affluent and is growing – the
government expects the population to increase from 29 million to 33.6 million by 2031.
Demographically, Nepal is currently experiencing a “youth bulge phase”: World Bank
data shows that the share of university-age youths among the Nepali population (ages
20 to 29) stood at about 36 percent in 2016 and analysts expect Nepal to be among the
countries with the fastest growing population of 18 to 22-year-olds in the coming years.
With all this data, we can see that Educational Consultancy business in Nepal is in
booming phase and the increasing trend will continue to rise in future. The major clients
of this industry are the students who seek to pursue their career in aboard. These
students have large number of choices in case of Educational consultancies. Thus, it is
a challenge for the institutions to improve their service quality, so that they could provide
best services to their clients. This research aims to apply SERVQUAL method to
determine the factors that influence the customer satisfaction in Educational Consultancy
industry.

1.2 Problem Statement

Previously, many studies have been conducted in the context of service quality and
customer satisfaction (Ahmed et al., 2010; Arasli et al., 2005; Caruana et. al., 2000;
Peterson & Wilson, 1992; Rust & Oliver, 1994; Taylor & Baker, 1994). These studies
suggest that service quality and customer satisfaction are key factors of service industry.
Parasuraman et al. (1985) argued that the service quality concept is inconclusive in the
context of customer satisfaction.

2
Despite the existing literature on service quality, fewer studies have been conducted on
service quality and customer satisfaction in the Educational Consultancy sector. Up till
now, to the best of my personal knowledge and research, no such studies have been
found relative to service quality dimensions and customer satisfaction specifically in
Educational Consultancy in Nepal.

This research tries to quantify the impact of service quality to the customer satisfaction
through SERVQUAL model.

1.3 Significance
The findings from the study will aid Educational consultancies to understand the factors
affecting the service quality which directly affects the customer’s satisfaction and help
them to retain their customers consequently increasing their profit. The study will guide
the future researchers to understand the main factors that affects the service quality of a
firm. With the help of this study, companies could develop strategies and services that
would help them to satisfy customer’s needs.

1.4 Research Questions

• Does the Reliability (ability to perform services accurately) affect the customer
satisfaction of Education Consultancies of Kathmandu?
• Does the Tangibles (physical facilities, staff, equipment, building, appearance etc.)
affect the customer satisfaction of Education Consultancies of Kathmandu?
• Does the Responsiveness (willingness to help and respond to customer needs)
affect the customer satisfaction of Education Consultancies of Kathmandu?
• Does the Empathy (attention, caring and individual service is given to the
customer) affect the customer satisfaction of Education Consultancies of
Kathmandu.
• Does the Assurance (staff ability to inspire, confidence, trust and courtesy) affect
the customer satisfaction of Education Consultancies of Kathmandu?

1.5 Research Objectives

The objective of this research is to examine SERVQUAL factors affecting the customer
satisfaction in Educational Consultancies in Kathmandu:
• To examine the impact of Reliability (ability to perform services accurately) on
customer satisfaction of Education Consultancies of Kathmandu.
• To examine the impact of Tangibles (physical facilities, staff, equipment,

3
 building, appearance etc.) on customer satisfaction of Education Consultancies
of Kathmandu.
• To examine the impact of Responsiveness (willingness to help and respond to
customer needs) on customer satisfaction of Education Consultancies of
Kathmandu.
• To examine the impact of Empathy (attention, caring and individual service is
given to the customer) on customer satisfaction of Education Consultancies of
Kathmandu.
• To examine the impact of Assurance (staff ability to inspire, confidence, trust
and courtesy) on customer satisfaction of Education Consultancies of
Kathmandu.

1.6 Hypotheses
Based on past empirical findings, the research hypotheses of the present study are as
follows:
• H1: Reliability dimension of service quality will have a positive impact on
customer satisfaction.
• H2: Tangibility dimension of service quality will have a positive impact on
customer satisfaction.
• H3: Responsiveness dimension of service quality will have a positive impact
on customer satisfaction.
• H4: Assurance dimension of service quality will have a positive impact on
customer satisfaction.

• H5: Empathy dimension of service quality will have a positive impact on

customer satisfaction.

1.7 Scopes and Limitations

This study will have some limitations. This study will primarily limit to its small sample size
(i.e. few responses in Kathmandu district will be studied). A larger sample with a greater
number of participants would have benefitted results and enhanced the generalizability
of the study. However, results fit with those of other researchers. Further, over the time,
perceptual and actual performance may change so the findings of the study may vary.

4
1.8 Definition of terms

1.8.1 Independent Variables

The Independent variables are briefly described below:

Reliability
Reliability refers to ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. It
depicts the answer for the questions like is the company reliable in providing the service?
Does it provide as promised? Reliability reflects a company’s consistency and certainty
in terms of performance. Reliability is the most important dimension for the consumer of
services.

Tangibility
Tangibility refers to physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of personnel. It depicts
the answer for the questions like how are the service provider’s physical installations,
equipment, people and communication material? Since there is no physical element to
be assessed in services, clients often trust the tangible evidence that surrounds it when
making their assessment.

Responsiveness
Responsiveness refers to willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. It
depicts the answers to the questions like are company employees helpful and capable of
providing fast service? It is responsible for measuring company and employee
receptiveness towards clients.

Assurance
Assurance refers to knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust
and confidence. It depicts the answers to the questions like are employees well-informed,
educated, competent and trustworthy? This dimension encompasses the company’s
competence, courtesy and precision

Empathy
Empathy refers to caring, the individualized attention the firm provides its customers. This
is the capacity a person has to experience another’s feelings. It depicts the answer to the
question of Does the service company provide careful and personalized attention?

5
1.8.2 Dependent Variable

Customer Satisfaction
It is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass
customer expectation. Customer satisfaction is defined as "the number of customers, or
percentage of total customers, whose reported experience with a firm, its products, or its
services (ratings) exceeds specified satisfaction goals.

1.9 Summary
The aim of this research is to determine the important factors that can influence the
consumer satisfaction in educational consultancy industry. Furthermore, the next section
will discuss the theoretical foundation of independent SERVQUAL variables affecting
consumer satisfaction which will lead to objective and rationale of the study.

6
 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction
The research requires the study of some of the major concepts and literature related to
consumers services, consumer behavior and consumer switching which have been
discussed in this section.

2.1.1 SERVQUAL Model

The SERVQUAL scale was developed based on a marketing perspective with the support
of the Marketing Science Institute (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1988). Its purpose
was to provide an instrument for measuring service quality that would apply across a
broad range of services with minor modifications in the scale. SERVQUAL provides a
foundation for a growing body of research that pertains to the creation of quality among
service industries. The developers of the scale contend that, while each service industry
is unique in some aspects, there are five dimensions of service quality that are applicable
to service-providing organizations in general. These dimensions are: (1) tangibles-
physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of personnel; (2) reliability-ability to
perform the promised service dependably and accurately; (3) responsiveness/willingness
to help customers and provide prompt service; (4) assurance-knowledge and courtesy of
employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence; and (5) empathy-caring, the
individualized attention the firm provides its customers (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and
Berry 1988). The scale was developed and tested across four service environments:
banking, credit card services, repair and maintenance, and long-distance telephone
services. In its final form, SERVQUAL contains 22 pairs of items. Half of these items are
intended to measure consumers) expected level of service for a particular industry
(expectations). The other 22 matching items are intended to measure consumer
perceptions of the present level of service provided by a particular organization
(perceptions). Both sets of items are presented in seven-point Likert response format,
with the anchors "strongly agree" and "strongly disagree." Service quality is measured on
the basis of the difference scores by subtracting expectation scores from the
corresponding perception scores. Putting service quality into operation as a difference or
"gap" score is a consistent extension of the theoretical work of Parasuraman and his
colleagues on the determinants of service quality. It is unique in the sense that the
definition of the construct is based on the difference between expectations and
perceptions. The construct is differentiated from consumer satisfaction in a way that

7
defines the expectations/ perceptions "gap" as an enduring perception about the overall
excellence of a particular firm. While it should be pointed out that SERVQUAL is intended
to measure functional quality rather than technical quality, this limitation is inherent in the
fact that the technical aspects of the delivery process. Hence, SERVQUAL can help
researchers to identify general principles of functional service quality and to test the
effectiveness of a given model among service-providing industries.

2.1.2 Customer Satisfaction

In 1980, Oliver referred customer satisfaction to the complete fulfilment of one’s
expectations. It is an attitude or feeling that results from having used some product or
service. Marketing activities are directly linked to customer satisfaction and sometimes it
is associated with consumer buying behavior. If a customer is satisfied with a service or
product after having used it, then the chances are increases in repeat purchase of that
service or product (East, 1997). The intentions to repeatedly purchase the product rely
heavily on customer satisfaction (Taylor & Baker, 1994). Not only this, the satisfied
customer shares his positive experience with others and becomes a source of word-of-
mouth advertising. On the other hand, a dissatisfied customer results in negative word-
of-mouth advertising and is more likely to switch the brand or product.

2.1.3 Service Quality

Quality in a service organization is a measure of the range to which the service delivered
meets the customer’s expectations. The characteristics of service consist of intangibility,
heterogeneity and inseparability. Quality as defined for higher education has been
identified by Harvey and Knight (1996). They suggested that quality reflects exceptional,
consistency, fitness for purpose, value for money, and transformative.

Research on service quality gained a major push forward in the early 1980s. A number
of researchers posit that service quality involves a comparison of expectations with
performance. Lewis and Booms (1983) argued that service quality is a measure of how
well the service level delivered matches customer expectations. Grönroos (1984)
identified two dimensions of service quality namely functional quality — which involves
the performance in which the service delivered and technical quality -- the actual outcome
of the service. Finally, Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985) conceptualized service
quality using a disconfirmation model that assesses customer’s expectations and

8
perceptions, with development and subsequent refinement in 1988 and 1991 of the
SERVQUAL instrumentation (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1991).

The SERVQUAL model used to assess service quality is determined by the size and
direction of the so-called internal gaps. The gaps are defined as: Gap 1 (positioning gap)
- between customer expectations and management perceptions of those expectations;
Gap 2 (specification gap) - concerned with management perceptions of customer
expectations and the firm’s service quality specifications; Gap 3 (delivery gap) - between
service quality specifications and actual service delivery by employee; Gap 4
(communication gap) - pertains to actual service delivery and external communications
about the service (Khodayari & Khodayari, 2011). The SERVQUAL instrument is based
on Gap 5 (perception gap) is the difference between the customer’s internal perception
and expectation of the services (Zeithaml, Parasuraman, & Berry, 1990; Akter, Upal &
Hani, 2008).

The original SERVQUAL scale was comprised of ten dimensions, which following further
testing by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) reduced from ten to five dimensions.
The five key dimensions of service quality namely reliability, responsiveness, assurance
and empathy, and tangibles, is one of the most used models for evaluating customer
expectations and their perceptions of the service quality (Abu Hasan et al., 2008; Al-Alak
& Alnaser, 2012; Khodayari & Khodayari, 2011; Zarei et al., 2012; Pakdil & Aydln, 2007).
These five dimensions are identified as follows:

• Reliability – refers to the ability to perform the promised service dependably and
accurately.
• Responsiveness – refers to the willingness to help customers and to provide
prompt service.
• Assurance – refers to the knowledge, courtesy of employees and ability to convey
trust and confidence in the customer towards the service provider.
• Empathy - refers to the provision of caring, individualized attention provided to
customers.
• Tangibles – refers to the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel
and communication materials.

9
These dimensions are captured in the SERVQUAL instrument which consists of a total
of 22 scale items. Each item is measured on the basis of responses of two statements:
the first, measures customer expectations concerning a service (E) and the second, is
the perception of the actual service delivered by the firms within that service sector (P).
The gap for each item is calculated as the perceptions score minus the expectations
score (P - E). The results of computation were as follows:
• A positive gap score implied that expectations have been met or exceeded, service
quality is perceived to be satisfied.
• A negative gap score implied that expectations have not being met, quality is
perceived to be unsatisfactory.
Gap scores can be analyzed for each individual statement and can be aggregated to give
an overall gap score for each dimension (Parasuraman et al., 1988; Ramseook-
Munhurrun, Naidoo, & Nundlall, 2010). Moreover, SERVQUAL has been applied widely
by researchers in higher education to assess customer perceptions of service quality
(Khodayari & Khodayari, 2011; Mohamad Yusof et al., 2012; Al-Alak & Alnaser, 2012;
Amelia, Hidayanto, & Hapsari, 2011).

2.2 Literature Review

The literature review has shown that numerous studies used the SERVQUAL instrument
to measure service quality in higher education.

Osman, Bakur and Isalam (2017) studied the relationship between the SERVQUAL
dimensions of service quality and student satisfaction. Factor analysis, multiple
regression, t- test, and ANOVA were employed to analyze data. A sample size of 119
was gathered from four private universities in Dhaka and respondents were students.
Finally, 117 were found suitable for analysis. The study reveals that responsiveness,
assurance, empathy, and student quality have significant influence on student
satisfaction. Among these, assurance illustrated the strongest influence on student
satisfaction followed by empathy and student quality. In this endeavor, student quality is
being incorporated as an additional dimension of SERVQUAL. The study discloses that
overall service quality has a positive significant influence on student satisfaction.

Hamzah, Z., Purwati, A. A., and Hamzah, M. L. (2019) studied the service quality of
private universities in Pekanbaru, Riau, based on students’ perspective using
SERVQUAL and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) approaches. Sampling method

10
employed in this research was random sampling technique in four (4) private universities
in Pekanbaru. Data was analysed using SERVQUAL gap analysis and QFD. The result
showed that there were four customer requirements which are handled by the
universities- Inquiries, requests and claims of students are handled and resolved timely
and promptly, Readiness of academic staffs to serve students and can be contacted
easily, Academic staff pays special attention and provides help to students in resolving
their problems, Teaching materials are available and up-to-date.

Mohamad Yusof et al. (2012) studied to service quality in higher education between
research universities and non research universities finding that the tangibles dimension
was most important, whereas empathy and assurance were least important. The result
of this study helps academics and administrators allocate their resources accordingly.

Al-Alak and Alnaser (2012) examined the relationship between service quality
dimensions (tangibles, responsiveness, reliability, assurance and empathy) and overall
service quality with undergraduate students’ satisfaction in the Faculty of Business at the
University of Jordan. Their findings indicated that the assurance and reliability dimensions
of service quality were two most important dimensions related to improvement.

2.3 Theoretical Framework

Reliability

Tangibility

Customer
Empathy
Satisfaction

Responsiveness

Assurance

Independent variable Dependent variable

Fig. 2.3.1 Independent and dependent variables according to SERVQUAL Method

11
 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
This chapter will discuss the methodology opted for the study. A brief discussion on
research design will follow first, and then sample will be determined, followed by an
examination of the data collected, namely closed ended and structured questions. This
chapter will also discuss the data analysis process and ends with the limitations of the
methodology opted.

3.1 Research Design

Quantitative methods emphasize objective measurements and the statistical,
mathematical, or numerical analysis of data collected through polls, questionnaires, and
surveys, or by manipulating pre-existing statistical data using computational techniques.
Quantitative research focuses on gathering numerical data and generalizing it across
groups of people or to explain a particular phenomenon.

Therefore, based on this approach, this study will examine impact of service quality on
customer satisfaction through SERVQUAL method on Educational Consultancies of
Kathmandu.

3.2 Survey Instrument

The study questionnaire will consist of 2 parts; in the first part, demographic
characteristics of the students, such as age, gender, and educational qualification. In the
second part, the SERVQUAL questionnaire will be used to assess undergraduate
students’ expectations and perceptions of service quality which will include 21 items
representing 5 the five service quality dimensions tangibles (5 items), reliability (5 items),
responsiveness (3 items), assurance (4 items) and empathy (4 items).

Data collection will be based on a 5-point Likert scaling questionnaire which was adopted
in the previous literature. It is therefore confirmed that all items are relevant and it is
convenient to understand the instrument. A 5-point Likert scale ranging from (1) ‘strongly
disagree’, (2) ‘disagree’, (3) ‘neutral’, (4) ‘agree’ and (5) ‘strongly agree’ is to be used to
measure the perception of service quality.

The Cronbach alpha results of pilot test will be used to test the scale reliability for
expectation scores and perception scores respectively. Churchill (1979) indicates that a
reliability estimate of 0.80 or more was acceptable, hence the reliability results of this pilot
study will be checked.

12
3.3 Population and Sample data
This study will use primary data, the source of which will be a structured questionnaire,
delivered to students who are currently processing through various consultancies of
Kathmandu valley. The population size for the study is 62,109 (Ministry of Education,
2018/19) as per the number of NOC issued.

With the confidence level of 95% , Margin of Error of 5% and population of 62,109, the
sample size was calculated to be 383 by the formula,

A self-administrated questionnaire survey was administered to collect empirical data from

the students who are currently processing through various consultancies from five
reputed educational consultancies in Kathmandu during the session 2019/2020 as
sample randomly.

A convenience sampling of 400 students will be selected in order to collect quantitative

data for the study, a total of 400 questionnaires will be administered through printing and
google forms and distributed for the purpose of data analysis.

3.4 Data analysis Procedures

The data analysis for this study will be conducted using the Statistical Package for Social
Science software of SPSS. This study will also test the reliability of the SERVQUAL
instrument so as to ensure robust and valid results.

The SERVQUAL five dimensions are suggested by Parasuraman (1998), Jabnoun and
Hassan Al-Tamimi (2003) and Othman and Owen (2001, 2002), which are further
modified and adapted by this study. Questionnaire items are to be modified and
substituted carefully in the service industry, specifically Educational Consultancies of
Kathmandu. A pilot study is to be conducted and the questionnaire is to be distributed to
students who are currently processing and who have gone to aboard for higher studies
through educational consultancies.

Data collection is to be done via survey method – questionnaires and Google Forms
based on 5-point Likert scaling questionnaires. This study aims to target those students
who are processing and who have gone to aboard for higher studies through educational

13
consultancies. The present study is to be conducted in Apr-June 2020, and a non-
probability sampling technique (convenience sampling) is to be applied.

During the data collection time, all respondents and their information will be kept
confidential. In addition, the questionnaire will be based on service quality dimensions
(independent variables) such as reliability, tangibility, responsiveness, assurance and
empathy will be tested with these service quality dimensions.

The basic regression model would be used as follows:

yn = a +bxn +1ɛn,

where ‘y’ denotes a dependent variable (customer satisfaction) and ‘a’ denotes the
intercept term. ‘x’ represents explanatory variables (reliability, tangibility, empathy,
responsiveness and assurance), while b represents the regression coefficient. The basic
functional form of the study model is as follows:

Customer satisfaction = f (reliability, tangibility, empathy, responsiveness and assurance)

The following regression model is used in this study:

CSn = a + b3RELn + b3TANn + b3EMPn + b3RESn + b2ASRn + ɛn ,

where CSn represents customer satisfaction, REL is reliability, TAN shows tangibility,
EMP reflects empathy RES denotes responsiveness and ASR represents assurance,
while ɛn is the error term.

14
 CHAPTER 4: Expected Results

4.1 Anticipated benefits

The findings from the study will aid Educational consultancies to understand the factors
affecting the service quality which directly affects the customer’s satisfaction and help
them to retain their customers consequently increasing their profit. The study will guide
the future researchers to understand the main factors that affects the service quality of a
firm. With the help of this study, companies could develop strategies and services that
would help them to satisfy customer’s needs.

4.2 Expected Outcomes

The results of the research are expected to provide us with the degree of relationship of
the independent variables i.e. Reliability, Tangibility, Responsiveness, Empathy and
Assurance with dependent variable, Customer Satisfaction in aspect to the Education
Consultancy Industry of Kathmandu Valley.

4.3 Constraints and Limitations of the study

This study will have some limitations. This study will primarily limit to its small sample size
(i.e. few responses in Kathmandu district will be studied). A larger sample with a greater
number of participants would have benefitted results and enhanced the generalizability
of the study. However, results fit with those of other researchers. Further, over the time,
perceptual and actual performance may change so the findings of the study may vary.

15
 Annotated Bibliography

Al-Alak, B. A., & Alnaser, A. S. M. (2012). Assessing the relationship between higher
education service quality dimensions and student satisfaction. Australian Journal of Basic
and Applied Sciences, 6(1), 156-164.

The journal examines the relationship between service quality dimensions

(tangibles, responsiveness, reliability, assurance and empathy) and overall service
quality with undergraduate students’ satisfaction in the Faculty of Business at the
University of Jordan. The findings indicated that the assurance and reliability
dimensions of service quality were two most important dimensions related to
improvement.

Hamzah, Z., Purwati, A. A., & Hamzah, M. L. (2019). A Servqual and Quality Function
Deployment (QFD) Approach in Measuring Total Quality Management at Private
Universities in Pekanbaru, Riau, Indonesia. Journal of Economic Info, 6(1), 1–4.

Hamzah, Z., Purwati, A. A., and Hamzah, M. L. studied the service quality of private
universities in Pekanbaru, Riau, based on students’ perspective using SERVQUAL
and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) approaches. Sampling method employed
in this research was random sampling technique in four private universities in
Pekanbaru. Data was analyzed using SERVQUAL gap analysis and QFD. The
result showed that there were four customer requirements which are handled by the
universities- Inquiries, requests and claims of students are handled and resolved
timely and promptly, Readiness of academic staffs to serve students and can be
contacted easily, Academic staff pays special attention and provides help to
students in resolving their problems, Teaching materials are available and up-to-
date.

16
Mohamad Yusof, A.R., Hassan, Z., Abdul Rah man, S., & Ghouri, A. M. (2012).
Educational service quality at public higher educational institutions: A proposed
framework and importance of the sub – dimensions. International Journal of Economics
Business and Management Studies, 1(2), 36-49.

Yusof, Hassan and Rah studied service quality in higher education between
research universities and non-research universities finding that the tangibles
dimension was most important, whereas empathy and assurance were least
important. The result of this study helps academics and administrators allocate their
resources accordingly.

Osman, A.R, Sarkar, J.B. and Islam, S. (2017) 'REVISITING STUDENT SATISFACTION
THROUGH SERVQUAL: PRIVATE TERTIARY EDUCATION PERSPECTIVE
Dr.', British Journal of Education, 5(1), pp. 119-137.

The article represents the relationship between the SERVQUAL dimensions of

service quality and student satisfaction. Factor analysis, multiple regression, t- test,
and ANOVA were employed to analyze data. A sample size of 119 was gathered
from four private universities in Dhaka and respondents were students. Finally, 117
were found suitable for analysis. The study reveals that responsiveness, assurance,
empathy, and student quality have significant influence on student satisfaction.
Among these, assurance illustrated the strongest influence on student satisfaction
followed by empathy and student quality. In this endeavor, student quality is being
incorporated as an additional dimension of SERVQUAL. The study discloses that
overall service quality has a positive significant influence on student satisfaction.

17
 References
Abu Hasan, H. F., Ilias, A., Abd Rahman, R., & Abd Razak, M. Z. (2008). Service quality
and student satisfaction:A case study at private higher education institutions.
International Business Research, 1(3), 163-175.

Amin,M.,& Isa,Z.(2008).An examination of the relationship between service quality

perception and customer satisfaction: A SEM approach towards Malaysian Islamic
banking. International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management,
1(3), 191–209.

Bitran, G., & Lojo, M. (1993). A framework for analyzing the quality of the customer
interface. European Management Journal, 11(4), 385–396.

Carman, J. M. (1990). Consumer perceptions of service quality: An assessment of the

SERVQUAL dimensions. Journal of Retailing, 66(1), 33–55.

Caruana, A., Money, A. H., & Berthon, P. R. (2000). Service quality and satisfaction-the
moderating role of value. European Journal of Marketing, 34(11/12), 1338–1353.

Cheruiyot, T. K., & Maru, L. C. (2013). Service quality and relative performance of public
universities in East Africa. The TQM Journal, 25(5), 533–546.

Chumpitaz, R., & Paparoidamis, N. G. (2004). Service quality and marketing performance
in business-to-business markets: Exploring the mediating role of client satisfaction.
Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, 14(2/3), 235–248.

East, R. (1997). Consumer behavior: Advances and applications in marketing. London:

Prentice Hall.

Khodayari, F., & Khodayari, B. (2011). Service quality in higher education.

Interdisciplinary Journal of Research in Business, 1(9), 38-46.

Legčević, J. (2009). Quality gap of educational services in viewpoints of students.

Ekonoska Misao Praksa DBK.GOD, 18 (2), 279-298.

Oliver, R. L. (1981). Measurement and evaluation of satisfaction processes in retail

settings. Journal of Retailing, 57(3), 25–48.

Parasuraman, A. (1998). Customer service in business-to-business markets: An agenda

18
for research. The Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 13(4), 309.

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1985). A conceptual model of service
quality and its implications for future research. The Journal of Marketing, 49, 41–50.

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1988). Servqual. Journal of Retailing,
64(1), 12–40

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1994). Alternative scales for measuring
service quality: A comparative assessment based on psychometric and diagnostic
criteria. Journal of Retailing, 70(3), 201–230

Peterson, R. A., & Wilson, W. R. (1992). Measuring customer satisfaction: Fact and
artifact. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 20(1), 61–71.

Rust, R. T., & Oliver, R. L. (1994). Service quality: New directions in theory and practice.
London: Sage.

Zeshan, A., Afridi, T., & Khan, S. M. (2010). Assessing service quality in business
schools: implications for improvement. The 3rd International Conference on Assessing
Quality in Higher Education, December 6-8, 2010, Lahore – Pakistan, 220-232.

19