Purpose The past decade has seen a proliferation of research on service quality in education. However, little attempt has been made to understand the impact of student perceived service quality on sustainability practices of the university or the effect of such practices on student satisfaction. To bridge this gap, this paper aims to propose a conceptual framework to examine the relationships between service quality, sustainable practices and student satisfaction from the perspective of students. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative methodology was employed, and data were collected through an online structured questionnaire. Responses were gathered from undergraduate students (n = 419) studying in four colleges affiliated to a university in Delhi, India. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to validate the instruments. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the associations between the constructs. Findings The research revealed that student perceived service quality in education has a significant effect on their perception of sustainable practices of the university and student satisfaction. Further, sustainable practices predict student satisfaction. Research limitations/implications The findings may guide the key decision-makers in the education industry to incorporate service quality and sustainable practices in their strategy and thereby enhance student satisfaction. Originality/value This research is the first of its kind to examine the impact of service quality as perceived by students on the perception of sustainability practices of the university. Further, it empirically tests the effect of perceived sustainability practices on student satisfaction.

No abstract

Purpose Materialism has become a topic of increasing interest to researchers and policymakers because it can influence consumer behavior. However, a clear picture of how this phenomenon impacts consumers has proven to be elusive. Using an integrated framework, this paper aims to derive hypotheses from theoretical concepts of materialism and consumer decision-making styles and uses a survey of 1,216 respondents in India to test the hypotheses. Design/methodology/approach The present study is the first of its kind to test the impact of materialist values on consumer decision-making styles among a sample of 13-18 years old school children. The constructs are validated through a first- and second-order confirmatory factor analysis and an integrated second-order structural model is developed. Findings This study finds that materialism is a positive predictor of “recreation/ hedonistic”,; “confused by over-choice”; “brand consciousness”; “perfectionistic high-quality consciousness”; and “habitual brand loyal” style of consumers. Further, materialism has a negative impact on “price value consciousness” of consumers. These findings have important implications for theory and practice. Research limitations/implications This study is restricted to school children in the National Capital Region and hence cannot be generalized to the whole young population in India. Originality/value Conceptualizing both materialism and consumer decision-making styles as second-order constructs, this is a maiden study that examines the impact of materialistic values on the consumer decision-making styles of young consumers.

Despite the importance of materialism as an influencer of consumer value, scant research has focused on its underlying association with socialization and consumer decision-making styles (CDMS). Based on the stimulus–response model, this study examined whether the relationship between socialization and hedonistic and utilitarian types of CDMS is mediated by materialism. Survey data from a sample of 1,050 young consumers from six schools of the national capital region of India were used to test the hypothesis. Confirmatory factor analysis affirmed socialization agents, materialism and CDMS as second-order constructs. Regression analyses were used to assess mediation effects in the relationship between socialization and hedonistic and utilitarian CDMS. Results show that materialism partially mediates the relationship between socialization agents and hedonistic CDMS but fully mediates the relationship between socialization and utilitarian CDMS. The results offer implications for practice and policymakers concerning young consumers. To further generalize the findings of this study, youngsters from different age groups with varying economic backgrounds should be probed. This is the first empirical article to investigate the mediating role of materialism in the context of socialization and CDMS.

No abstract