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The purpose of this paper is to propose the concept of higher education institutions (HEIs) offering educational services based on value for money. The value is determined based on customers’ (i.e. students) expectations of the service and the costs in comparison to the competitors. Understanding the value and creating customer value are a means to attain competitive advantage and constitute the basis of price setting. Drawing upon this belief, as an initial step towards value-based pricing method, the possible value factors are suggested for calculating educational programme prices across HEIs.

This is a conceptual paper introducing the value-based pricing approach in setting HEI tuition fees. Extending prior discussion on the demand for quality education and current financial challenges faced by HEIs, it introduces the concept pricing based upon customer perceived value (student/industry). Value-based pricing is deemed appropriate in view of the value of short tangible and intangible investment by both parties (students and HEIs) to differentiate in terms of setting the right price for the right university for the right student.

The primary aim is to suggest the applicability of value-based pricing for HEIs, which is likely to be both relevant and fruitful for the sustainability of the sector. It represents a personal point of view; building upon a review of the literature, the paper extends the established knowledge one step further in terms of setting the right price for the right university, which is deemed worthy of further study and development.

The paper will be of use to the management and policymakers in the education sector in searching for a contemporary pricing mechanism for higher education.

The purpose of this paper is to make a contribution to the performance measurement system (PMS) literature by concentrating on the service context. Providing a Malaysian perspective on PMS design, the study aims to identify the desirable PMS attributes that are perceived to be important for the service sector.

Data were collected by administering a mail questionnaire survey to top‐level management of private service firms operating in Malaysia. The sampling frame was based on information provided by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia, and the Central Bank of Malaysia. An extensive search of directories/portals was undertaken to compile the mailing list of each service sector. Samples were randomly selected from the list using proportionate stratified sampling.

The findings suggest that service firms placed greater emphasis on elements of performance evaluation, benchmarking, timeliness and precise PMS information. Differentiation strategy and intensity of competition are the most prominent factors that influence the choice of PMS attributes.

The limitation of the study pertains to the low response from the foreign‐owned service firms operating in Malaysia, thus limiting the generalisability of the findings to local‐owned firms.

To service managers, the evidence demonstrates the relevance of PMS in service firms, where the greater strategic uncertainty and intensity of market competition requires greater reliance on contemporary PMS attributes.

The evidence indicates the applicability of PMS in managing both professional service and mass service firms that removed the traditional view that all service activities are unique.

The purpose of this paper is to gain deeper understanding of whether a fit between the organizational characteristics and PMS design may enhance organizational performance. This study presents evidence on PMS attributes and use as intervening variables on the relationships between service firms' characteristics and performance in Malaysia.

The issues were tested using a mixed method approach with the collection of survey questionnaires and a series of post‐survey interviews. Stronger emphasis was placed on a quantitative approach as the objective was to develop generalized PMS findings in the service sector.

Findings indicate that the attributes and use of PMS have significant indirect effects on the relationships between the differentiation strategy, environmental competitiveness and organizational performance for both professional and mass services. Additionally the interpretation of the interviews underlines the complementing roles of each of the design elements in building an effective PMS.

The evidence removes the traditional assumption that accounting formal control is only applicable to mass service firms. Instead, the findings show that PMS design of professional service firms is not much different from that of mass services.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of firm size on the performance measurement system (PMS) design in the service context. Focusing on several aspects of the PMS design, i.e. the significance of the information attributes (PMS attributes), the way the system is used (PMS use) and the measurement mechanisms (PMS mechanisms), the significance of firm size was explored.

Data were collected by administering a mail questionnaire survey to the top-level management of private service firms operating in Malaysia. The sampling frame was based on information provided by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia, and the Central Bank of Malaysia. An extensive search of directories/portals was undertaken to compile the mailing list of each service sector. Samples were randomly selected from the list using proportionate stratified sampling.

The findings suggest that firm size influences the way their PMS was designed. The larger the firm size, the greater the emphasis placed on designing a sophisticated PMS. The results also indicate that size has a greater effect on the PMS of professional service firms, compared to mass service firms.

The limitation of the study pertains to the objective to observe the practice among service organizations on a broad scale, thus limiting the ability to comprehend the reasons for the findings.

To the PMS designers and users, the understanding may offer a basic knowledge for designing and developing an effective and efficient PMS to be a useful tool in facing the continuous growth and stringent service market competition.

Rather than restricted to a specific service industry, the study removes the traditional perception that insists that each service activity and problem is unique, by examining the practice of PMS among service firms from a broad-based perspective. The focus is on the commonalities that exist between them in facing the consequences of the service revolution.