A conceptual model development of the impact of higher education service quality in guaranteeing edu‐tourists' satisfaction and behavioral intentions

• Author: Sima Rahimizhian,Kayode K. Eluwole,Turgay Avci
• Date: 01 August 2020
• Published date: 01 August 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2085

ACADEMIC PAPER

A conceptual model development of the impact of higher

education service quality in guaranteeing edu-tourists'

satisfaction and behavioral intentions

Sima Rahimizhian | Turgay Avci | Kayode K. Eluwole

Faculty of Tourism, Eastern Mediterranean

University, Famagusta, Turkey

Correspondence

Kayode K. Eluwole, Faculty of Tourism,

Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta,

North Cyprus Via Mersin 10, Turkey.

Email: kayode.eluwole@emu.edu.tr

This conceptual study proposed that university service quality is of significant influ-

ence in guaranteeing education tourist's (edu-tourist) satisfaction, recommendation

intention, and repurchase intention. The study considers the universities as tourism

markets that attract edu-tourists and put forward that the level of service quality pro-

vided by institutions can influence on the satisfaction of edu-tourist and their post-

behavioral intention in an educational tourism context. This paper analyzed several

previous studies and discussed service quality factors affecting edu-tourist's satisfac-

tion and behavioral intentions using various databases such as social sciences and

psychology. The theoretical framework of the means-end approach was used to eval-

uate service quality dimensions. The findings revealed the most significant factors

affecting edu-tourist's perception of service quality, satisfaction, and behavioral

intentions. Overall, the campus facilities perceived to be the most prominent factor

in satisfying edu-tourists. Recommendations for future research relating the crucial

determinants of service quality in influencing consumers' behavior are discussed.

1|INTRODUCTION

Both education and tourism industries are growing very rapidly all

over the world in recent decades and are recognized as industries that

influence both economic and social aspects (Eluwole, Lasisi, Elidemir, &

Guzel, 2019). Historically, universities were known as institutions that

create and develop knowledge. Nowadays, however, the university is

a place in which several young people arrive to prepare themselves

for a future career. Thus, a high-quality higher education learning by

universities is needed due to its significance in business performance,

cost reduction, and student satisfaction (Ali & Mohamed, 2014;

Noaman, Ragab, Fayoumi, Khedra, & Madbouly, 2013). Also, Ezeokoli

and Ayodele (2014) noted the role of universities in promoting sus-

tainable development in society.

The majority of universities all over the world are competing to

gain more students by increasing their staff's skills and professional

experience and by adopting new technologies in their teaching pro-

cess (Borges, Santos, & Leal, 2014; Spector & Kim, 2014). Nowadays,

the fast-growing edu-tourism has forced universities to adopt new

marketing strategies to create a competitive advantage and attract

more edu-tourists. Customer satisfaction is necessary for organization

survival (Okumus & Genc, 2013). Also, many studies have revealed

that it is more costly to attract new customers than retain existing

ones (Helm, Eggert, & Garnefeld, 2010; Pizam et al., 2016; Xu &

Goedegebuure, 2005). This leads to the challenge of understanding

customer expectations and providing quality services and products.

Understanding customers' needs and expectations is necessary

because “it provides a knowledge of how the customer defines the

quality of service and products, and facilitates the development of

customer satisfaction questionnaires”(Hayes, 1997, p. 7). Moreover,

customer satisfaction plays a significant role in the spread of word of

mouth (WOM) and repeat purchases that can affect all commercial

companies (Abubakar & Mavondo, 2014; Abubakar, Ilkan, Al-Tal, &

Eluwole, 2017; Kwun, Ellyn, & Choi, 2013; Park, Sung, Son, Na, & Kim,

2019; Pizam et al., 2016).

Higher education institutions should provide quality services, and

students are supposed to invest their educational expenses. There-

fore, universities should lessen their focus on selling products rather

than shift their strategy from product-led to a more customer-led

approach. It is believed that students consider service quality in their

Received: 26 November 2019 Revised: 11 December 2019 Accepted: 18 January 2020

DOI: 10.1002/pa.2085

J Public Affairs. 2020;20:e2085. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 1of8

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2085