PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on the design and use of a questionnaire to measure student satisfaction at Liverpool John Moores University's Faculty of Business and Law.Design/methodology/approachThe paper utilised the concept of the service‐product bundle to design the survey questionnaire and then used SPSS and Quadrant Analysis to analyse the results to determine which aspects of the University's services were most important and the degree to which they satisfied the students.FindingsThe most important aspects were those associated with teaching and learning, while the least important were those associated with the physical facilities.Practical implicationsThe concept of the service‐product bundle is a valid and reliable tool for the design of a satisfaction survey and segments a University's service offering in such a way as to allow management to target resources at those areas that are perceived to be low satisfaction and high importance. The questionnaire can be utilised in most education establishments.Originality/valueUtilising the concept service‐product bundle places responsibility for questionnaire content and design firmly on the service provider rather than the user.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to introduce a conceptual model of student satisfaction with their higher education (HE) experience, based on the identification of the variable determinants of student perceived quality and the impact of those variables on student satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction with the overall student experience. The paper will also identify those determinants most likely to have either a positive or negative impact on subsequent student loyalty behaviours.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports the results of a study of 163 undergraduate students at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK, which utilised Critical Incident Technique (CIT) as the method that encouraged the recording of situations that the students themselves perceive as critical incidents. It is envisaged that these situations have occurred in their experience of HE teaching, learning and assessment and their experience of other university ancillary service aspects, i.e. within and beyond the classroom experience.FindingsThe results of this study indicate that responsiveness, communication and access are the critical areas that Education Managers need to focus upon. Also the CIT method of data capture could be adapted and adopted by the wider Higher Education sector.Research limitations/implicationsThere are a number of limitations with this study. For the quantitative results, the sample size was relatively small and involved only one Faculty within a University. There is also an assumption that the statements made in relation to the loyalty behaviours would actually be acted upon, i.e. they would do what they say. The study is based on the respondents' recollections of past events and it is assumed that these were accurate.Practical implicationsThe implications for university managers are that creating and maintaining a responsive, communicative and useful environment is necessary across the teaching, learning and assessment areas, whilst within the Ancillary areas responsiveness, access and socialising are the important factors. Reducing the number of dissatisfying experiences may not be an easy task, but if successful, then improved student recruitment, retention and ultimately financial stability for the Institution should ensue. The wider implication is that CIT should be considered by HEIs as a means of collecting student intelligence.Originality/valueCritical Incident Technique is a method that is already attractive to many researchers. However, within higher education, the norm is to use traditional student feedback questionnaires which restricts the student to questions that have been predetermined. CIT allows respondents to freely describe their experiences and unreservedly express their feelings without being constrained to specific areas.

Purpose-To determine the critical success factors (CSFs) for continuous improvement projects in the public sector. Design/methodology/approach-Theoretical paper based on a literature review. Findings-It would appear that there are factors that are important in manufacturing organisations that do not figure in service/public sector organisations and vice versa. Research limitations/implications-As few papers were identified, further research must be carried out into the CSFs to see if the differences between manufacturing, service and public sector organisations are substantiated. Practical implications-This work identifies aspects that must be in place for the successful implementation of a continuous improvement project and should be used by those wishing to initiate a project within their organisation. Originality/value-This paper highlights the similarities and differences between manufacturing, service and public sector organisations.

PurposeQuality 4.0 is concerned with managing quality in the Industry 4.0 era. Specifically, its focus is on which digital tools are used to enhance an organization’s ability to reliably give customers high-quality products. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the key ingredients for the effective implementation of Quality 4.0.Design/methodology/approachA narrative literature review was conducted on the extant works to collate and analyse previous studies in this relatively new field.FindingsThe study revealed eight key ingredients for the effective implementation of Quality 4.0 in organizations, namely: (1) handling big data, (2) improving prescriptive analytics, (3) using Quality 4.0 for effective vertical, horizontal and end-to-end integration, (4) using Quality 4.0 for strategic advantage, (5) leadership in Quality 4.0, (6) training in Quality 4.0, (7) organizational culture for Quality 4.0 and, lastly, (8) top management support for Quality 4.0. These findings have provided a steer for the future research agenda of Quality 4.0.Practical implicationsOrganizations can use the eight ingredients to perform a self-assessment on the current state of each element within their own organization. When implementing Quality 4.0, each ingredient should be effectively analysed, and measures taken so that the implementation of Quality 4.0 is effective.Originality/valueThe paper makes the first attempt to present the key ingredients an organization should possess to effectively implement Quality 4.0.

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