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The current Asian crisis has created awareness among Australian companies of the need to reassess their marketing strategy with the goal of becoming more competitive in the market place. This study looks at strategy development among companies with the view of providing insight into the development process. A sample of 850 companies were contacted and 216 useable questionnaires were analysed (response rate of 21.4 per cent). Key findings and strategic implications are discussed .

Intense competition for full‐fee‐paying foreign students in higher education in many countries mandates the need for the identification of the criteria considered important by this customer group for the purpose of strategy development. Past research in this area has overlooked the needs of this important segment and has focused mainly on either administrators or the faculty’s perspective. A sample of potential students from Indonesia participated in this study and a number of choice criteria were identified. Also discusses strategic implications.

The use of technology in the delivery of banking services is becoming increasingly prevalent as it is being employed to reduce costs and eliminate uncertainties. This research investigates the role that technology plays in Australian banking and its impact on the delivery of perceived service quality. A sample of 440 electronic banking customers was taken and 300 useable questionnaires were analysed. Using the Hemmasi et al. importance‐performance grid, results indicated that consumers have perceptual problems with some aspects of electronic banking. Some strategic implications are discussed.

Examines New Zealand business students’ perceptions of service quality in education. Describes a study in which the respondents identified seven determinants of service quality. Unlike prior studies, uses an importance/performance‐based approach to evaluate service quality in education. Identifies some perceptual problems, such as the least important factors being the best performers. Presents the implications for education administrators and makes some suggestions for future research.

Competition in the education sector has led a number of providers of higher education to re‐evaluate the level of service provided to its customers. Past research in this area has overlooked the needs of student customers and has focused mainly on either administrators or the faculty’s perspective. The instrument developed was administered to 216 potential tertiary students in the North Island of New Zealand. The results indicate that students take a number of factors into consideration prior to choosing an education institution for further studies. Implications for educational administrators are provided.

Intense competition in higher education in many different countries mandates the need for assessments of customer‐perceived service quality for differentiation purposes. An instrument developed specifically from a business education setting was employed utilizing an importance/performance approach with seven determinant choice criteria groupings. A sample of business students in New Zealand and the mid‐Atlantic region of the USA participated, and some important problems in perceptions were noted. Strategic implications for the universities involved and suggestions for future research are provided

The purpose of this paper is to understand the meaning and operationalisation of quality of service (QoS) in the context of higher education institutions (HEIs).

A systematic literature review of 167 articles published in various peer-reviewed journals between 1990 and 2019 is performed.

The findings reveal that around 40 dimensions have been used to conceptualise QoS in HEIs. Reliability followed by responsiveness, tangibility, empathy, assurance, programme design, academic and non-academic processes, reputation and facilities have received the highest attention. The most popular approach is empirical, and surveys and single-context studies are the most popular methods. The United Kingdom (UK) leads research on quality in HEIs, followed by the United States of America (USA) and India.

This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by presenting a comprehensive synthesis of articles addressing QoS in HEIs.

Policymakers and academic administrators can use the findings of this study to conceptualise student satisfaction along the educational value chain. The discussion on HEIs’ and students’ perspectives will help policymakers create teaching excellence.

This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by presenting a unified synthesis of various strands of the literature on QoS in HEIs.

The purpose of the current study is to assess some of the self‐reported factors that students in the study used as choice criteria in making their school selection.

The results of this study were obtained by conducting a series of focus groups involving incoming freshmen at a small liberal arts university located in the south eastern part of the USA. The focus groups were conducted to obtain insight into the factors that led this particular group of freshmen to the school and, second, to determine what areas were not living up to their expectations. The authors later surveyed a large sample (450 students) of the incoming freshman class using a questionnaire that was developed from the input obtained during the focus groups.

Analysis of gap scores for the student population used in this study indicates that the current group does not consider their university a “quality” institution. Additionally, the importance‐performance grid (I‐P grid) points towards a lack of perceived quality, as only two of the dimensions considered actually fall into the “keep up the good work” quadrant.

The primary limitation of this study is the scope and size of its sample. Because the study involved a single group of university students from one university, the results cannot be generalized across a university‐wide spectrum. Nonetheless, the study does provide evidence for the development and use of the I‐P grid on those occasions calling for preliminary identification and assessment of student measures of service quality.

By demonstrating the feasibility of the approach taken by the authors, it should be possible for university officials to utilize similar procedures when evaluating the overall satisfaction levels of their students’ educational experience.