Exploring the Dynamics of Service Quality, Satisfaction, and Loyalty in Malaysian Private Higher Education Institutions

In this pilot study, we set out to better understand the connections between service quality, satisfaction, perceived value, and loyalty within Malaysian private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) from the students’ perspective. While research in these areas has been quite crowded, we noticed that few looked closely at satisfaction and perceived value as mediator and moderating role of trust, especially in the context of Malaysian private HEI. Using the SERVQUAL framework, we surveyed 113 students to validate the research instruments and refine the methodology for a full-scale study of 1,000 respondents. Upon analysing the data using SmartPLS-SEM, we observed a pattern where four out of five dimensions of SERVQUAL (tangibility, reliability, assurance, and empathy) significantly influence Satisfaction, while at the same time, Satisfaction served as a mediator in the Service Quality-Loyalty relationship. However, Perceived Value showed limited mediating effects, and we are unable to show that trust moderate Satisfaction-Loyalty and Perceived value-Loyalty relationships. That said, we believe these early findings provide a good insight for future full-scale study as well as help private HEIs to fine tune on their service delivery. The study also may contribute to the broader discussion on service quality dynamics.