Cultural and Technological Influences on Global Business Bryan Christiansen PryMarke, LLC, USA Ekaterina Turkina HEC Montreal, Canada Nigel Williams Bournemouth University, UK
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Cultural and technological influences on global business / Bryan Christiansen, Ekaterina Turkina and Nigel Williams, editors. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. Summary: “This book emphasizes the importance of deeply exploring developing cultures and technologies and their effects on the business sector”--Provided by publisher. ISBN 978-1-4666-3966-9 (hardcover) -- ISBN 978-1-4666-3967-6 (ebook) -- ISBN 978-1-4666-3968-3 (print & perpetual access) 1. International business enterprises. 2. Management--Cross-cultural studies. 3. International trade. 4. Information technology--Management. I. Christiansen, Bryan, 1960- II. Turkina, Ekaterina. III. Williams, Nigel. HD2755.5.C846 2013 658.3008--dc23 2013002772
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Chapter 24
Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality: The Case of Central Queensland University, Australia Parves Sultan Central Queensland University, Australia Ho Yin Wong Deakin University, Australia
ABSTRACT This study compares students’ cultural influence on global assessment of higher education service quality. In particular, this study surveyed the full-time students (that is at least 24 credit points of study in a semester) studying at the Central Queensland University (CQU), Australia. CQU has ten campuses and is one of the largest universities in Australia, with more than 14,000 students, in which 3,000 students are enrolled as full-time students and 11,000 as part-time students. An online survey was undertaken, and 227 responses from full-time students were returned for data analysis. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed to determine valid and reliable dimensions of perceived service quality. Tests of differences such as ANOVA and t-test were conducted to examine the differences of perceived service quality in terms of four cultural dimensions; namely, power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity. Findings show that different cultures perceive service quality differently; especially administrative service quality and physical facilities service quality.
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-3966-9.ch024
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Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
INTRODUCTION Australian higher education institutions are popular destinations for both domestic and international students. However, the Bradley, Noonan, Nugent & Scales (2008) report states there is a clear sign that the quality of the educational experience is declining in Australia. One of the significant recommendations of this study emphasises course experience as perceived by the students (Bradley, et al., 2008). Current studies develop a number of measures of service quality in commercial service settings. Of these service quality measures, most of the studies have used either the SERVQUAL (perception–minus–expectation) measure (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1985, 1988) or the SERVPERF (perception–only) measure (Cronin & Taylor, 1992, 1994). Although there are debates in relation to superiority of these service quality measures, the SERVPERF measure of service quality has been termed as an effective measure for the purpose of explaining variance in dependent constructs (Cronin, Brady, & Hult, 2000; Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1994; Zeithaml, Berry, & Parasuraman, 1996). Therefore, the present research is centred upon the SERVPERF measure. Although the service quality measure in higher education is relatively new, the HEdPERF measure (Abdullah, 2005) and the PHEd measure (Sultan & Wong, 2010a) may be considered as comprehensive scales, as these measures include a broad range of service attributes in the context of higher education. The HEdPERF measure and the PHEd measure were conceptualised on the perception–only scale. However, there is little evidence as to how one’s culture affects service quality assessment in a global higher education context. This study is expected to fill in this research gap by furnishing empirical evidence. The direction of this study is to compare students’ cultural influence on global assessment of higher education service quality. Particularly, the objectives of this study are:
448
1. To study the impacts of one’s culture on service quality assessment in a global higher education context. 2. To examine if there is any significant difference between two or more cultures in terms of service quality assessment in a global higher education context. 3. To understand the implications of this difference in terms of service delivery.
LITERATURE REVIEW Service Quality and Its Dimensions in Higher Education Service quality is defined as the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs (Johnson & Winchell, 1988). Perceived service quality is based on one’s experience and is a function of attitude (Sultan & Wong, 2010a). Service quality has also been viewed as a critical determinant of competitiveness (Lewis, 1989), as a source of lasting competitive advantage through service differentiation (Moore, 1987), and as a driver of corporate financial and marketing performance (Buttle, 1996). The higher education service quality has been the predominant area of research to both academics and practitioners for the last decade. Table 1 shows the service quality dimensions in higher education across various countries and cultures developed between 1997 and 2010. There are two major approaches to determine service quality, the supply-side approach and the demand-side approach (Gatfield, Barker, & Graham, 1999). A handful of studies (Abdullah, 2005, 2006a, 2006b, 2006c; Angell, Heffernan, & Megicks, 2008; Gatfield, et al., 1999; Kwan & Ng, 1999; LeBlanc & Nguyen, 1997; Sultan & Wong, 2011) examined service quality dimensions within the higher education sector from the students’ perspective, essentially a demand-side perspective
Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
Table 1. Service quality dimensions in higher education across various countries and cultures Author, Date
No. of Items
Dimensions
Country/University
(Sultan and Wong, 2010a)
67 Items
Dependability, effectiveness, capability, efficiency, competencies, assurance, unusual situation management and semester–syllabus
Japan
(Rojas-Me´ndez, et al., 2009)
18 Items
Instructors, program director, secretaries, service attitude and competence development.
Chilean University
(Stodnick and Rogers, 2008)
18 Items
Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy and Responsiveness
One course, Southwestern University, USA
(Angell, et al., 2008)
18 Items
Academic, leisure, industry links and cost
One university, UK
(Smith, et al., 2007)
22 Items
Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy and Responsiveness
IT Department, one university, UK
(Abdullah, 2006c)
41 Items
Non–academic, academic, reputation, access, program and understanding
Malaysia
(Abdullah, 2005, 2006a, 2006b)
35 Items
Non–academic, academic, reliability and empathy
Malaysia
(Gatfield, et al., 1999)
26 Items
Academic instruction, campus life, guidance, recognition
One Australian University
(Kwan and Ng, 1999)
31 Items
Course content, concern for students, facilities, assessment, medium of instruction, social activities and people.
China and Hong Kong
(Li and Kaye, 1998)
27 Items
Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy and Responsiveness
One university, UK
(Joseph and Joseph, 1997)
—
Program, academic reputation, physical aspects, career opportunities, location, time and other
New Zealand
(LeBlanc and Nguyen, 1997)
38 Items
Contact personnel/faculty, contact personnel/administration, responsiveness, reputation, curriculum, physical evidence and access to facilities
Business School, one university, Canada
of determining service quality. These studies have identified several dimensions in the context of higher education institutions across various countries and cultures. The current study takes a view from a demand-side perspective in determining service quality and its key dimensions, and examines the role of cultural differences in global assessment of higher education service quality. In any higher education institution, academics are perceived to be highly important to students (Angell, et al., 2008; Gatfield, et al., 1999). In general, good teaching practices, after-hour consultancy, problem solving, fair grading, course content and easy access to faculty were perceived
by the students as some common and desirable teaching characteristics in current studies (Gatfield, et al., 1999; Sultan & Wong, 2010a). The administrative aspect of service quality is essential to enabling students to fulfil their study obligations, and is perceived as a set of several key attributes including: ability and willingness of administrative staff to support students, equal treatment, safeguarding confidentiality of information, prompt and effective services, positive attitudes, and good communication skills (Abdullah, 2005). Research also demonstrates a number of dimensions (see Table 1) apart from academic and non-academic (or administrative) aspects of 449
Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
service quality in higher education. These dimensions vary across study perspectives, nations, and cultures. However, the commonalities in those dimensions are that they are based on facilities available to students and auxiliary services’ management. Gatfield et al. (1999) suggest nationality could be an important factor in designing and operationalising academic instruction programmes. They stated that “it is inevitable that universities should adopt a common programme for Australian and international students to achieve uniform academic standards and to achieve a measure of economy of scale” (Gatfield, et al., 1999, p. 249). Current literature has yet to adequately address the extent to which culture or nationality influence the assessment of service quality at global higher education institutions.
Culture and Its Dimensions Culture is an important factor in global business because it shapes how people perceive the outside world and affects what people do. With the highly human interactive nature of service industries, individuals’ cultural backgrounds can be an important factor in determining service standards from the service providers’ perspective and influencing perceived service standards from the point of view of the service receivers. Service quality dimensions are subjective and relativistic. People with different cultural backgrounds may have different values and beliefs that affect their perception with regard to service quality (Furrer, Liu, & shudharshan, 2000). Thus, people’s cultural backgrounds can be an important factor that affects the perception of service quality. Culture is rather hard to understand and define, considering that it is an extremely abstract concept that is programmed in individuals’ minds. Culture is complex, multifaceted phenomenon that is expressed through behaviours, language, and traditions (Dedic & Pavlovic, 2011). It is considered as an umbrella concept which includes elements such as shared values, beliefs and norms that can collectively distinguish a particular group 450
of people from others (Pizam & Reichel, 1997). Not only does the international business discipline study culture, but also other disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, and even arts and communications. The diversity of approaches in studying culture makes it harder to understand completely the nature of culture (Groeschel & Doherty, 2000). Doubts have been cast that culture cannot be generalised on a national basis due to the fact that individuals within one national do not necessarily all hold the same value (Dedic & Pavlovic, 2011). Nevertheless, Steenkamp (2001) argues that when a culture within a country is quite homogenous and there are cultural differences between countries, it is reasonable to use national boundaries and citizenship of a certain country as a proxy measure for culture. This argument emphasises that not all people within a national boundary are the same in terms of cultural values, but “there are forces pushing to a meaningful degree of within country commonality” (Steenkamp, 2001, p. 36). These forces are embedded in a nation’s social, education, religion, media, and even political (Hofstede, 1980) and legislative systems. The consequence of these forces congregates similar values systems shared by the majority of group members in a nation. Some prominent classifications based on these values systems include the empirical works of Hofstede (1980, 1991) and Trompenaars (1994). In this study, we use Hofstede’s influential work (Hofstede, 1980) as a theoretical background to examine the cultural impacts on the perception of service quality. Even though Hofstede’s cultural study has received criticism, his study is still one of the most widely used cultural studies in international marketing and management (Laroche, Ueltschy, Abe, Cleveland, & Yannopoulos, 2004; Sodergaard, 1994). Hofstede (1980, p. 25) defines culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from those of another.” This definition emphasises that culture is not something which is easily obtained, but a slow reception process of individuals within a society.
Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
Hofstede’s study gathered 80,000 questionnaire data from IBM employees in 66 countries across seven occupations (Furrer, et al., 2000). After analysing the data with factor analysis, he found four distinctive dimensions of national culture; those are individualism, power distance, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance. Individualism indicates “the relationship between the individual and the collectivity that prevails in a given society” (Hofstede, 1980, p. 148). Capturing people’s social behaviour toward the group, individualism describes the extent to which welfare of the individual is valued more than the group. It can be considered as the degree of social/community integration (Jones, 2007). Individualistic culture emphasises “I” rather than “we”. The individuals tend to be motivated by personal preferences, needs and rights, and for personal goals. Not only do they express selfinterest seeking behaviour, but also promote this behaviour. On the other end of a bipolar continuum is collectivism, which is the tendency of people to belong to groups and to take care of each other in exchange for loyalty. In collectivistic cultures, the groups’ interests are more important than the individuals’, and there is a tendency that people are motivated by the norms and duties set by the in-group. According to Trandis, Bontempo and Villareal (1988), individualistic cultures are more likely to support competition, independence, self-orientation, freedom, self-confidence, and fairness; while collectivistic cultures favour cooperation, interdependence, other-orientation, harmony, conformity, friendship, forgiveness, and social usefulness. Power distance is the extent to which members of groups accept power inequality between classes. The classes can be found in terms of the level of hierarchy in workplaces and distance between social levels. High power distance cultures tend to be more hierarchical, and group members expect the power to be distributed unequally on the bases of one’s position, authority, competence, and resources (Hofstede, 1991). Power is placed at the top and is predominantly centralised. Relying
on the instructions from authority and organisations, members in high power distance cultures show great tolerance for the absence of autonomy. Low power distance cultures, on the other hand, tend to value quality and fairness. Individuals lean away from blindly obeying the orders from the top. Power is more evenly allocated among group members. Uncertainty avoidance is defined as “the extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain and ambiguous situations” (Hofstede, 1980, p. 45). It is concerned with the way in which people deal with the future. Hofstede recognises that people are aware of the unpredictable nature of the future as part of human lives. The focus is how people in different cultures handle this nature in different ways. High uncertainty avoidance cultures tend not to tolerate ambiguity and risk. Rejecting new ideas or behaviours, individuals in high uncertainty avoidance cultures are characterised by their intention of reducing risk and ambiguity. They prefer security, known and stable situations, and stay within a comfort zone. Low uncertainty avoidance cultures, in contrast, are more willing to accept the fact that risks are unavoidable and that life must go on regardless of this. Ambiguity does not create the same level of anxiety or stress, compared to high uncertainty avoidance, when the individuals try new ideas or new products. In general, they are more willing to take risk and to tolerate deviance from existing patterns. Masculinity is “a situation in which the dominant values in society are success, money, and things” (Hofstede, 1980, pp. 419-420). At the other end of the continuum is femininity, a term used to describe “a situation in which the dominant values in society are caring for others and the quality of life” (Hofstede, 1980, p. 420). Masculinity is concerned with tough traits such as assertiveness, achievement, competition, authority, caring less about the welfare of others, and performance. People in masculinity cultures tend to be more possession-oriented. An empirical study found that they own more expensive watches and clothing (Smith, Dugan, Peterson, & Leung, 451
Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
1998). Feminine cultures, on the other hand, are relationship oriented. People in feminine cultures tend to emphasise the importance of cooperation, a friendly atmosphere, quality of life, and people. Conflicts are less likely to occur.
Impact of Culture on Perceived Service Quality In service industries, service providers and customers interact extensively in economic activities. It is mainly due to the unique natures of services; namely, intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity and perishability (Wong & Merrilees, 2009; Zeithaml, Parasuraman, & Berry, 1985). Contrary to product marketing, wherein the focal point is a product, an exchange in a service industry relies more on human delivery. Service marketers need to take pre-emptive and adjustment actions to position their services, in terms of service quality, that are perceived by their target customers matching their characteristics Imrie, Cadogan, & McNaughton, 2002). Culture’s influence comes into play at this stage because of the human involvement in providing services and perceiving service quality. While service quality measurement instruments such as SERVQUAL and SERVPERF are being developed and refined, academics have called for studies examining the potential impacts of cultural influences on service quality (Anderson & Fornell, 1994; Dedic & Pavlovic, 2011). One early attempt to understand the impacts of culture on service quality is the conceptual paper proposed by Malhotra, Ulgado, Agarwal, and Baalbaki (1994). They hypothesised that there were differences between developed and developing countries in terms of service quality dimensions and external factors. However, the major limitation of this chapter is the lack of empirical evidence. Winsted (1997), in an empirical study, found that the U.S. and Japanese cultures from the perspective of service encounter were significantly different. Nevertheless, her work was critiqued as not rendering a theoretical framework about culture and service encounter satisfaction (Mat452
tila, 1999). Mattila (1999) examined the impact of culture on customer evaluations of luxury hotels. It was found that Asian and Western customers were different in terms of choosing personalised service and pleasant physical environment. The Western customers tend to rely on the tangible cues from the physical environment and rate the hedonic dimension of the consumption experience higher than their Asian counterparts. The major limitation of Mattila’s study lies in the fact that the Western and Asian samples are not well defined. Within Western countries, customers in the USA are very different from German customers. Thus, the study in fact used the U.S. customers as a proxy indicator of western customers. A more recent empirical study of Ladhari, Pons, Bressolles and Zins (2011) established that the Canadians and French are different in perceiving bank service quality. Similar to Mattila’s (1999) work, the sample of their study is limited to only a handful of cultural backgrounds. A more comprehensive study was done by Crotts and Erdmann (2000), who examined consumers’ evaluation of travel services from passengers of five different countries; namely, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, and the UK. The passengers were classified into high, medium and low groups based on Hofstede’s (1980) cultural dimensions. The results show that these three groups are statistically significantly different, except in one aspect: departure time. While all these studies shed light on the cultural impacts on consumer behaviour, there is a lack of comprehensive, large scale study of the impacts of various cultures on service quality assessment. Most of the existing literature, except for the Crotts and Erdmann (2000) study, use a correlational data analysis method with the consequence of not being able to identify exactly which items within the dimensions of service quality are different among various cultures. In addition, there is little empirical evidence as to how one’s culture influences service quality assessment in a global higher education context. This research proposes to fill this gap.
Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
RESEARCH HYPOTHESES Impact of Power Distance on Perceived Service Quality Power distance mirrors how a culture deals with inequality. Cultures with high power distance have more respect for authority because they believe that power and authority are facts of life (Hofstede, 1991). Consequently, students classified as high power distance culture are more likely to tolerate sub-standard service quality provided by service providers. Their cultural background emphasises that obedience to authority such as academic and non-academic staff is anticipated; and teachers can be acceptably autocratic. On the contrary, students classified as low power distance culture tend to respect individuality with the consequence of accentuating decisions. Expecting autonomy in the service process, they expect the university to deliver good service quality in such areas as learning experience, physical facilities, and academic support. Due to cultural background differences in terms of power distance, students may have very different service quality perceptions about the same service provisions. Thus, H1: With respect to service quality perception, students with high power distance cultures are different to those with low power distance cultures.
Impact of Individualism/Collectivism on Perceived Service Quality The dimension of individualism or collectivism is concerned with how close the ties are between individuals within a given culture. People with a high level of individualistic culture tend to be more concerned with themselves and make decisions based on their own needs (Hofstede, 1991). They possess greater self-confidence, self-drive, and self-responsibility principles, and they demand others to be efficient and are more demanding
than people are in collectivist cultures (Furrer, et al., 2000). Having high expectations on service quality and expecting service providers to deliver services right, they have low tolerance on belowpar services. Collectivistic cultures, on the other hand, emphasise harmony within a group. Customers with high collectivistic cultures are more likely to blend in and avoid conflict. They opt not to express dissatisfaction of service quality that is not up to their expectations because it may create conflict with the group. Owing to different cultural backgrounds in terms of power distance, students may perceive the same service quality differently. Thus, H2: With respect to service quality perceptions, students with high individualistic cultures are different to those with low individualistic cultures.
Impact of Uncertainty Avoidance on Perceived Service Quality This cultural dimension centres on how cultures deal with uncertainty. High uncertainty avoidance cultures are less tolerant of unusual ideas, as they prefer specific details. Customers with high uncertainty avoidance cultures would use tangible cues as a proxy of service quality (Donthu & Boonghee, 1998). Used as a means of reducing risk, physical facilities such as academic buildings, campus environment, and library setups are visible evidence and indicators of service quality. Timely feedbacks and more personal contacts can be considered as factors that can minimise risk and lessen ambiguity with the consequence of signalling service quality. In contrast, low uncertainty avoidance cultures tend to accept difference and deviance. Customers with this cultural background are less unlikely to rely on physical facilities as the surrogates of service quality. In general, the cultural differences in uncertainty avoidance create dissimilar perceptions with regard to service quality. Thus,
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Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
H3: Wit h respect to ser vice quality perception,students with high uncertainty avoidance cultures are different to those with low uncertainty avoidance cultures.
Impact of Masculinity/Femininity on Perceived Service Quality This cultural dimension focuses on the extent to which a society emphasises achievement on the one hand, and nurture and caring on the other. Masculine and feminine cultures can be considered as having “tough” and “tender” values, respectively (Schumann et al., 2010). Customers with masculinity cultures tend to perceive big and fast things as beautiful (Hofstede, 1991). As a result, service quality is consideredgood when physical buildings and set-ups are splendid. The same is true when feedback is fast and problems can be solved in a short period of time. Contrary to masculine cultures, feminine cultures stress sympathy for the weak, and perceive small and slow things as beautiful. Customers classified with feminine cultures have a tendency to cooperate with others and try to create a sociable and pleasant learning environment. It is suggested that even the gender of service providers can generate different service quality perceptions (Furrer, et al., 2000). The orientations of masculine and feminine cultures possess such big differences. Thus, H4: Wit h respect to ser vice quality perception,students with masculinity cultures are different to those with feminine cultures.
CONSTRUCT DEVELOPMENT The construct development process followed the current literature and focus group findings. Three focus group discussions were conducted at the Rockhampton campus of CQU to get more insights about perceived service quality. A description of
454
the focus groups technique can be in found the research method section. Relevant literature describes service quality as a set of satisfying features (Johnson & Winchell, 1988). The focus group findings, however, reveal that perceived service quality is a cognitive process of quality assessment, meaning that service quality assessment is a psychological result of perception, learning, reasoning and understanding of the service attributes. In this context, one respondent stated that: I think we add–up the issues like recent experience, present performance and our interests in a subconscious manner.... In regards to critical service quality aspects, the focus group findings reveal three critical aspects--namely academic, administrative, and facilities. Academic service quality refers to those service attributes that provide core academic values including teaching quality and ability, course development, and teacher–student relationships. The following are some specific quotes: To me the delivery of lecture should be good and lecturers should be interactive, so that I can understand what I am learning. I think the quality of lecturers and how entertaining they are is most important. The lecture should not be boring, and after lecture availability is also important. ...they should have research expertise and intellectual capacity to conduct research and supervise the research students. The academic activities in a university context are the core values. The academic aspect of perceived service quality as evidenced from focus group findings is consistent with the current literature (Abdullah, 2005, 2006a, 2006b, 2006c; Angell, et al., 2008; Gatfield, et al., 1999). The
Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
current empirical support further intensifies the essential role of academic aspect in a value-laden university context. Administrative service quality has similar importance in overall assessment of service quality in the context of a higher education. Administrative service quality refers to those service attributes that provide support services for smooth functioning of academic activities. This may include skills and abilities of the administrative and support staff and their relationships with students. A shortfall in administrative service quality may result in poor evaluation of overall service quality assessment. As stated by respondents:
Facilities service quality refers to those service attributes that are required to create a competitive higher education environment. Students refer to facilities service quality as library facilities, entertainment facilities, career counselling, transport facilities, dining facilities, access to computer and other facilities including access to workshops, seminars and conferences. The following are some direct quotes:
Sometimes staff takes time to reply to our query, and send us the common web links to search instead of addressing the queries. They should know what they are doing.
We do not have a good dining facility here.
...student recruitment procedures, overall people and process of delivery are also vital as quality aspects” The findings reveal that a customised and timely reply to a query, as well as assistance in regards to admission and relevant administrative activities, could play a positive role in perceived quality evaluations. In the higher education service quality literature, most studies find aspects (or dimensions) concerning academic activities (Rojas-Mendez et al., 2009; Angell et al., 2008; Gatfield et al., 1999). Although some studies (Abdullah 2005; 2006a; 2006b; 2006c) find a nonacademic aspect of perceived service quality, the non-academic aspect in those studies combines administrative and academic support. The current study finds a separate aspect--administrative aspect--as one of the core aspects of perceived quality evaluation. The empirical findings of this study state that administrative support service quality is equally important for overall assessment of service quality.
...of course the critical aspects are library facilties and then is career counselling. I face specific problem with transport services.
The other important issues are whether the university holds workshops and invites renowned people to deliver speeches. ...accessibility to entertainment centres and resources. Current literature (LeBlanc & Nguyen, 1997; Kwan & Ng, 1999) finds “access to facilities” as a dimension of perceived service quality using factor analysis. Thus, the focus group findings of this study are also consistent with the current literature. Overall, the three critical aspects of service quality, academic, administrative and facilities are related to specific service attributes of a university that students encounter during their study. Finally, the operationalisation of the service quality construct includes seven items from Abdullah (2006c), four items from Fornell et al. (1996), one item from Cronin and Taylor (1992), seven items from Sultan and Wong (2010a), and seven items from the focus group findings. All the items measuring the three dimensions of service quality are listed in Appendix A.
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Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
RESEARCH METHOD
Quantitative Research Method
The present study adopts methodological triangulation, where both qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed. Methodological triangulation has been receiving growing interest in marketing research for its contribution to knowledge development (see, for example, Dahlstrom, Nygaard, & Crosno, 2008; Freling & Forbes, 2005; Stavros & Westberg, 2009). The major benefit of incorporating both approaches into the research method is that the weakness of one approach is compensated for by the strengths of the other.
The scale development process followed the suggestion of (Churchill, 1979), and included 26 items in, the final survey. The items were validated through expert opinion. The expert panel included two senior academics experienced in qualitative and quantitative research methods in marketing, and one senior practitioner from the marketing division, CQU. An online click–only survey link was sent to all the student population of CQU who were studying at one of its ten campuses in Australia. Thus, a random technique was adopted (Bethlehem, 2010; Bryman & Bell, 2007). The online questionnaire is methodologically and financially appealing to those who study and work with student populations. Although an online survey increases the likelihood of participation compared to paper surveys and its processing fees are usually lower, the online survey receives low response rates in practice (Sax, Gilmartin, & Bryant, 2003). However, owing to a “required completion answer” constraint, there was no missing data. The incomplete cases and the cases having less than six months of studying experience were deleted. This resulted in 227 usable questionnaires. The layout design of the online survey questionnaire followed the suggestions of Dillman, Smyth, & Christian, 2009. To make data analysis manageable, we followed Crotts and Erdmann’s (2000) research approach to classify students with various cultural backgrounds. Based on their nationalities, students were divided into three categories--namely high, medium, and low in terms of the four cultural dimensions. Note that there is no low masculinity culture in the 227 responses. Table 3 depicts these three categories by nations. In the next stage, the data set was analysed statistically in order to establish valid and reliable scales. First, the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed, followed by reliability tests, in order to find dimensions or factors of perceived
Qualitative Research Method This research employed a focus group technique because this technique provides flexibility, direct interaction, large amount of data, and is user friendly, easy to understand, and time and cost effective (Stewart, Shamdasani, & Rook, 2007). Although there is no rule of thumb about the number of members in a focus group, one study suggested that “a group consisting of 5–10 respondents is appropriate” (Krueger & Casey, 2000, p. 10), Literature suggests that several (3–4) groups are convened depending on distinct population segments (Morgan, 1988; Stewart, et al., 2007). In this research, three focus group discussions were held with 19 full-time students studying at the CQU, Rockhampton, Australia, using convenience and purposive sampling techniques following the suggestions of the current studies (Babbie, 2007; Brown, Varley, & Pal, 2009; Oldfield & Baron, 2000; Punch, 2005). Table 2 shows the demographic profiles of these students. Content analyses procedures were followed to analyse the focus group data to find the key themes of perceived service quality and relevant indicators of the respective themes following the suggestions of the studies (Krippendorff, 2004; Neuendorf, 2005; Sarantakos, 1997).
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Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
Table 2. Demographics of the respondents No
Age
Gender
Nationality
Level of Study
Program of Study
Duration of Studyat the CQU
R1.
19
Female
Japan
Undergraduate
Arts
07 Months
R2.
20
Male
Australia
Undergraduate
Information Tech
10 Months
R3.
20
Male
Australia
Undergraduate
Business Studies
09 Months
R4.
21
Male
Australia
Undergraduate
Business Studies
09 Months
R5.
21
Male
Australia
Undergraduate
Information Tech
10 Months
R6.
26
Male
Australia
Postgraduate
Business Studies
07 Months
R7.
26
Male
China
Postgraduate
Business Studies
07 Months
R8.
26
Male
China
Postgraduate
Business Studies
07 Months
R9.
27
Male
India
Postgraduate
Business Studies
07 Months
R10.
27
Male
India
Postgraduate
Business Studies
07 Months
R11.
27
Male
India
Postgraduate
Business Studies
07 Months
R12.
33
Female
Singapore
Postgraduate
Business Studies
07 Months
R13.
34
Female
Australia
Postgraduate
Business Studies
07 Months
R14.
33
Female
Bangladesh
Doctoral
Education
06 Months
R15.
34
Male
Bangladesh
Doctoral
Accounting
07 Months
R16.
34
Male
Pakistan
Doctoral
Law
07 Months
R17.
38
Male
Botswana
Doctoral
Accounting
>03 years
R18.
38
Female
China
Doctoral
Information Tech
>01 year
R19.
38
Male
Pakistan
Doctoral
Information Tech
>03 years
service quality. Second, convergent and discriminant validity were established following the suggestions of the extant literature (Hair, Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2010; O’Leary-Kelly & Vokurka, 1998). Finally, the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test and t-test (only for the masculinity dimension) were conducted to determine cultural differences in assessing service quality.
DATA ANALYSIS Respondents represent a variety of nationalities and gender. Details of the respondent characteristics are shown in Table 4. The respondents are skewed towards Australian students. About 78% of respondents are from Australia and 11% from India. The results also reveal more female students (72%) replied to the survey than their male counterparts (28%).
The potential impacts of non-response bias were examined by comparing early respondents with late respondents; a method proposed by Armstrong and Overton (1997). No statistically significant differences were found. Both confirmatory and exploratory analyses were used to determine the discriminant validity of the items. Confirmatory factor analysis was undertaken with structural equation modeling to examine the suggested three service quality dimensions. After deleting three items on academic service quality, four on administrative service quality, and one on physical facilities service quality; a measurement model achieved satisfactory results χ2(132) = 417.72, p < .001; GFI = .92; NFI = .94; RMSEA = .06. An exploratory factor analysis using principle component analysis with varimax rotation method was done to further study the discriminant validity of the items. As the rotated 457
Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
Table 3. Four cultural dimensions by country Nationality
Power Distance
Individualism
Uncertainty Avoidance
Masculinity
Australia
Low
High
Medium
High
China
High
Low
Low
High
India
High
Medium
Low
Medium
Indonesia
High
Low
Medium
Medium
Japan
Medium
Medium
High
High
Kenya
Medium
Low
Medium
Medium
Malaysia
High
Low
Low
Medium
New Zealand
Low
High
Medium
Medium
Pakistan
Low
High
Medium
High
South Africa
Medium
High
Medium
Medium
United Kingdom
Low
High
Medium
High
Source: adapted from Hofstede (1980)
component matrix in Table 5 demonstrates, the items clearly form three distinctive dimensions.
Table 4. Description of the samples by gender and nationality Gender Female
Frequency
Percent 163
71.8
Male
64
28.2
Total
227
100
177
78
China
6
2.6
India
25
11
Indonesia
2
.9
Japan
2
.9
Kenya
1
.4
Malaysia
1
.4
New Zealand
1
.4
Pakistan
4
1.8
South Africa
5
2.2
United Kingdom
6
2.6
227
101.2*
Nationality Australia
Total
*more than 100 due to decimals rounding up
458
Reliability of the items was tested with Cronbach Alpha test. As shown in Table 6, all coefficient alphas are well above the 0.70 suggested cut-off level (Francis, 2001; Robinson, Shaver, & Wrightsman, 1991). Item-to-total correlations are also above the recommended 0.20 level (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994). ANOVA tests and independent sample t-test were performed to compare the three dimensions of perceived service quality in terms of the four cultural dimensions. Table 7 shows the results of the tests.
DISCUSSION In general, the findings support the four hypotheses. The results indicate items with statistically significant and statistically insignificant differences. The results from the perspective of the four cultural dimensions provide insights on the differences amongst the various cultural backgrounds in relation to perceived service quality. In terms of the power distance dimension, students from low power distance cultures have higher perceived administrative service quality than the medium and high power distance cultures, whereas a
Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
Table 5. Exploratory Factor Analysis Results Academic Service Quality
SQ_1
.69
SQ_2
.83
SQ_5
.73
SQ_6
.79
SQ_7
.69
SQ_24
.65
Administrative Service Quality
Physical Facilities ServiceQuality
were found in academic service quality. Not even one item of academic service quality was found statistically significant in all four cultural dimensions, suggesting that students do not perceive any differences in academic service quality irrespective of their cultural backgrounds. Conversely, in administrative service quality, four out of six items were found statistically different in the power distance and masculinity dimensions; and all six
SQ_8
.84
SQ_9
.82
SQ_10
.77
Factor/Item
Coefficient Alpha Reliability
SQ_11
.74
Academic Service Quality
0.91
SQ_13
.79
SQ_27
.74
Table 6. Reliability test results
Corrected correlation item-total
SQ_17
.64
SQ_1
.72
SQ_18
.71
SQ_2
.77
SQ_19
.68
SQ_5
.72
SQ_20
.69
SQ_6
.82
SQ_21
.77
SQ_7
.75
SQ_22
.55
SQ_24
.74
Administrative Service Quality
0.93
high power distance cultural background leads to higher perceived physical facilities service quality than the medium and low categories. From the perspective of the individualistic dimension, students from high individualistic cultures perceive administrative service quality much higher than those from lower individualistic cultures (i.e., feminine culture). The uncertainty avoidance dimension shows that students from high uncertainty avoidance cultures have higher perceived values in physical facilities service quality than their medium and low uncertainty avoidance counterparts. In terms of masculinity, students from high masculinity cultures show higher perceived scores than the medium cultures in administrative service quality, and lower perceived scores in the physical facilities service quality. From the service quality perspective, there are mixed findings. The insignificant results
Corrected correlation item-total SQ_8
.83
SQ_9
.86
SQ_10
.80
SQ_11
.74
SQ_13
.80
SQ_27
.78
Physical Facilities Service Quality
0.82 Corrected correlation item-total
SQ_17
.46
SQ_18
.63
SQ_19
.64
SQ_20
.59
SQ_21
.74
SQ_22
.49
459
Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
Table 7. Results of ANOVA tests and Independent t-test Power Distance High
Medium
Low
F
p-value
SQ_1
5.52
5.13
5.63
1.245
.29
SQ_2
5.29
5.25
5.52
.79
.46
SQ_5
5.23
5.25
5.11
.15
.86
SQ_6
5.19
5.13
5.33
.28
.75
SQ_7
5.19
5.25
5.37
.34
.72
SQ_24
5.39
5.38
5.46
.73
.93
SQ_8
5.42
5.25
5.88
3.58
.03*
SQ_9
5.39
4.88
4.8
4.50
.01**
SQ_10
5.16
5.00
5.66
3.88
.02*
SQ_11
5.55
4.88
5.56
1.36
.26
SQ_13
5.26
5.00
5.53
1.64
.20
SQ_27
5.52
4.88
5.72
2.95
.05*
SQ_17
5.74
5.25
5.30
1.72
.18
SQ_18
5.61
5.13
4.91
4.29
.02*
SQ_19
5.61
5.00
5.02
3.85
.02*
SQ_20
4.97
5.25
5.41
1.87
.16
SQ_21
5.19
5.25
5.03
.41
.66
SQ_22
5.10
5.25
5.23
.16
.85
Academic Service Quality
Administrative Service Quality
Physical Facilities Service Quality
Individualism High
Medium
Low
F
p-value
SQ_1
5.63
5.64
5.08
2.12
.12
SQ_2
5.52
5.40
5.00
1.53
.22
SQ_5
5.12
5.40
4.85
.96
.39
SQ_6
5.32
5.36
4.92
.76
.47
SQ_7
5.37
5.32
4.92
.95
.39
SQ_24
5.46
5.56
5.08
.90
.41
SQ_8
5.88
5.60
4.92
5.50
.01*
SQ_9
5.80
5.44
5.00
4.24
.02*
SQ_10
5.66
5.36
4.62
6.18
.00**
SQ_11
5.56
5.76
4.77
3.42
.04*
SQ_13
5.53
5.44
4.69
3.73
.03*
SQ_27
5.71
5.68
4.92
3.58
.03*
Academic Service Quality
Administrative Service Quality
continued on following page
460
Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
Table 7. Continued Power Distance High
Medium
Low
F
p-value
SQ_17
5.30
5.84
5.31
2.11
.12
SQ_18
4.92
5.68
5.15
4.27
.02*
SQ_19
5.01
5.76
5.08
5.04
.01*
SQ_20
5.41
5.24
4.62
2.84
.06
SQ_21
5.05
5.44
4.54
3.00
.05*
SQ_22
5.23
5.32
4.77
.97
.38
Physical Facilities Service Quality
Uncertainty Avoidance High
Medium
Low
F
p-value
SQ_1
5.50
5.59
5.67
.12
.89
SQ_2
5.50
5.48
5.47
.00
.99
SQ_5
5.50
5.09
5.33
.68
.51
SQ_6
5.00
5.28
5.44
.38
.69
SQ_7
5.00
5.35
5.36
.10
.91
SQ_24
6.00
5.42
5.56
.51
.60
SQ_8
6.00
5.85
5.50
1.63
.20
SQ_9
5.50
5.75
5.56
.50
.61
SQ_10
5.50
5.62
5.31
1.22
.30
SQ_11
6.00
5.54
5.50
.18
.84
SQ_13
6.00
5.51
5.28
.91
.41
SQ_27
6.00
5.68
5.56
.31
.73
SQ_17
6.00
5.30
5.61
1.19
.31
SQ_18
5.50
4.91
5.56
4.30
.02*
SQ_19
5.50
4.99
5.61
4.80
.01*
SQ_20
5.50
5.39
5.08
1.03
.36
SQ_21
6.00
5.02
5.22
1.24
.29
SQ_22
5.50
5.20
5.28
.12
.88
High
Medium
Low
t-value
p-value
SQ_1
5.63
5.43
n.a.
1.16
.25
SQ_2
5.52
5.26
n.a.
1.33
.19
SQ_5
5.13
5.17
n.a.
.21
.84
SQ_6
5.31
5.26
n.a.
.26
.79
Academic Service Quality
Administrative Service Quality
Physical Facilities Service Quality
Masculinity Academic Service Quality
continued on following page 461
Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
Table 7. Continued Power Distance High
Medium
Low
F
p-value
SQ_7
5.34
5.34
n.a.
.02
.98
SQ_24
5.46
5.34
n.a.
.61
.55
SQ_8
5.86
5.40
n.a.
2.38
.02*
SQ_9
5.79
5.29
n.a.
2.55
.01*
SQ_10
5.66
5.06
n.a.
3.02
.00**
SQ_11
5.57
5.34
n.a.
1.08
.28
SQ_13
5.53
5.20
n.a.
1.80
.08
SQ_27
5.73
5.29
n.a.
2.35
.02*
SQ_17
5.31
5.60
n.a.
1.59
.12
SQ_18
4.96
5.34
n.a.
1.68
.09
SQ_19
5.02
5.51
n.a.
2.40
.02*
SQ_20
5.41
5.00
n.a.
1.86
.06
SQ_21
5.05
5.11
n.a.
.31
.75
SQ_22
5.21
5.23
n.a.
.09
.93
Administrative Service Quality
Physical Facilities Service Quality
Notes: no respondent is from low masculine cultures. As a result, t-test was done for the masculinity dimension. *significant at .05 level; **significant at .01 level.
items were different in the individualism dimension. However, no item was found different in the uncertainty avoidance dimension. Results for the physical facilities service quality are mixed. Two items in power distance, three in individualism, two in uncertainty and one in masculinity were found different. This study has two major implications. These are categorized as the core aspects or dimensions of perceived service quality, and the cultural influence on the assessment of perceived service quality. In a university context, the empirical evidence of this study suggests students perceived service quality as three categories--namely academic, administrative, and physical facilities. These categories are related to specific attributes of the higher education institution that students 462
encounter during their studies. Students perceive academic service quality as a set of teaching, lecturer’s interest in solving academic issues, interactive and entertaining lectures, after–lecture availability for student consultation, and lecturers’ intellectual ability and understanding of the course. While administrative service quality consists of courteous, helpful, skilled and active administrative staff keeping accurate academic records and responding to students’ queries, physical facility service quality includes a set of location of the university, up-to-date classroom and lab facilities, library facilities, infrastructure facilities, and the scenic beauty of the university. These core dimensions of perceived service quality in a higher education context could generate valuable insights, especially, in regards to resource
Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
allocation. Although there is a current practice of student satisfaction survey at the end of a term which provides an indication of students’ attitudes toward the course and the lecturer, a broader perspective of this survey could further provide important insights about these three dimensions of service quality in a higher education context. The results suggest students’ cultural backgrounds have a significant effect on perceptions of service quality, especially on administrative and physical facilities service quality. In contrast, the results suggest that international and domestic students as classified under each of the four dimensions of culture have no significant difference in perceptions of academic service quality. The key features of academic service quality across cultural dimensions and nations have equal importance to students. As an example, an Indian student from a high power distance culture, where power is more hierarchical and centralised, would not likely perceive academic service quality much differently than an Australian student from a low power distance culture, although the Indian student would likely perceive administrative service quality to be considerably lower than that noted by the Australian. The results show that students from different cultural backgrounds perceive administrative and physical facilities services quality differently. For example, students with high individualism culture (e.g., Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, etc.) would expect to have greater personal attention from their staff. Personal greetings, attention, freedom and fairness could motivate these students. Conversely, group orientation, collective activities and group task could motivate Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian and Malaysian students. Thus, educational institutions should keep the key features of cultural dimensions in mind when allocating resources. In other words, understanding the right target market and allocating resources accordingly are vital for managers. Managers of multi-cultural and global institutions would be remiss if they focused solely on a particular set of
programs for a set of students with homogeneous weights for each of the cultural dimensions.
CONCLUSION A marketing approach to examine students’ perceptions of service quality in the context of higher education can improve service functions, and attract and retain students in a global context. Ignoring the nature and importance of service quality is not advantageous for universities in the higher education industry, especially when the many students are coming to Australia from multiple countries with varying cultural norms. This chapter is among the first attempts to examine the differences of cultural backgrounds with regard to service quality in the higher education context. The results show that there is no statistically significant difference among the four cultural dimensions with regard to perceived academic service quality. However, perceived administrative service quality is very different in individualistic culture, and to a lesser extent in high power distance and masculinity cultures. The findings of the physical facility service quality are varied. Statistically significant differences can be found in all four cultural dimensions. It is recommended future research could investigate other education areas such as technical and community colleges. Since this study concentrates only on an Australia university, the findings from this study could be compared with studies in other countries so that the findings can be generalized. Moreover, new qualitative research could focus on exactly why certain cultures perceive service quality differently. In addition, it would be useful to study the moderating effect of reputation of universities to better detect the relationships between service quality and culture. Finally, the impacts of the fifth cultural dimension - time orientation - on higher education service quality need to be further examined empirically. Service quality in higher education is an important issue
463
Cultural Influence on Global Assessment of Higher Education Service Quality
and is an ever changing area. More research is required to fully understand the dynamic of cultural influence in this area.
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APPENDIX Table 8. Academic Service Quality SQ_1 I find that academics at this University are knowledgeable SQ_2 Lecturers show sincere interest in solving my academic problems SQ_3 My academic performance is recorded correctly (deleted after factor analysis) SQ_4 Lecturers provide feedback about my progress (deleted after factor analysis) SQ_5 I receive adequate time for consultation with lecturers SQ_6 I find that lecturers are skilled in teaching SQ_7 The academic backgrounds of the lecturers are excellent SQ_24 My overall evaluation of the service quality provided by the teaching staff of this University is good SQ_26 The teaching staff meet my requirements (deleted after factor analysis) Administrative Service Quality SQ_8 I find that the administrative staff is courteous SQ_9 I find that the administrative staff is prompt to provide service SQ_10 I find that the administrative staff keeps accurate records SQ_11 The admission department of this University is very helpful SQ_12 I find that the University’s career counselling service is very helpful (deleted afterfactor analysis) SQ_13 I find that the administrative staff is skilled SQ_14 The overall environment of this University is friendly (deleted after factor analysis) SQ_23 My overall evaluation of quality with regard to support functions of this University isgood (deleted after factor analysis) SQ_25 My overall evaluation of the service quality provided by the administrative staff of this University is good (deleted after factor analysis) SQ_27 The administrative staff meet my requirements Physical Facilities Service Quality SQ_15 I find that classroom learning is very practical (deleted after factor analysis) SQ_17 The location of the University is ideal SQ_18 I find that this University has up-to-date equipment SQ_19 I find that the classroom facilities are adequate SQ_20 I find that the library facilities are adequate SQ_21 I find that this University has good infrastructure SQ_22 I find that the scenic beauty of this University is excellent
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