Determinants of customer-perceived service quality in higher education: the roles of job satisfaction and organizational commitment

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine the constructs of job satisfaction and organizational commitment (OC) as the determinants of customer-perceived service quality in higher education context. It also explores the role of OC in mediating the dynamics of the relationship. Design/methodology/approach It applied the cross-sectional, ex post facto survey method to acquire data from 1,776 respondents at Aden University. Two sets of questionnaires on job satisfaction, OC and perceived service quality were filled out by 296 academic staff and 1,480 students. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings The results showed that job satisfaction exercised a significant positive effect on OC and students’ perception of service quality (i.e. the quality of lectures delivered in class that shaped their learning experiences). OC also significantly affected students’ perception of service quality and partially mediated the effect of job satisfaction on perceived service quality. Research limitations/implications The current research only investigated the outcomes of job satisfaction and did not cover critical antecedents of job satisfaction, such as employee training and development, rewards and benefits and the like. Its outcomes have important implications for managing the link between organizational practices and customers perception of service quality in higher education context. Practical implications The results have accentuated the importance of universities’ ensuring and increasing faculty’s job satisfaction and commitment if they seek to enhance students’ perception of service quality. Universities can do so by improving their organizational practices, which are expected to result in faculty well-being and improved working conditions. Originality/value The results have contributed new insights into the current understanding of the dynamics between and among job satisfaction, OC and customers’ perceptions of service quality. It has demonstrated how OC is shaped by job satisfaction and can influence the quality of services rendered by employees if they are happy and satisfied with the organization.

How stress and satisfaction influence customer service quality in banking industry

“…Moreover, they also have high working motivation to work harder as they like the current roles or positions. Similarly, previous studies also emphasize that when employees feel happy to work, they start having a sense of belonging and developing a strong bond with their organizations [ 18 ].…”

“…Furthermore, the indirect impact of job satisfaction on developing customer service quality in banking industry cannot be ignored. Satisfaction among bank employees can promote positive attitudes to work such as feeling positive with their current career development [ 18 , 73 ], having more desire to work with their co-workers [ 19 ] and increasing intrinsic motivation [ 48 , 74 ] to continue working for their banks. All of these give hopes to bank employees to commit working and improving their work productivities for the banks.…”

“…To authors’ best understanding, job stress and satisfaction have been conducted to investigate employee behaviours in various areas but not limited to higher education sector [ 18 ], supermarket service sector [ 19 ], public service sector [ 20 ], health care sector [ 15 ] and athlete education sector [ 21 ]. However, examining impacts of job stress and satisfaction on organizational commitment which customer service quality in banking industry is cultivated has been narrowly studied.…”