Student perceived value towards universities high quality program in vietnam

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY
International School of Business
------------------------------

Đoàn Hồng Phát

STUDENT PERCEIVED VALUE TOWARDS
UNIVERSITIES’ HIGH QUALITY PROGRAM
IN VIETNAM

MASTER OF BUSINESS (Honours)

Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2015


UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY
International School of Business
------------------------------

Đoàn Hồng Phát

STUDENT PERCEIVED VALUE TOWARDS
UNIVERSITIES’ HIGH QUALITY PROGRAM
IN VIETNAM

ID: 22130055

MASTER OF BUSINESS (Honours)
SUPERVISOR: Assoc. Prof., Dr. PHAM NGOC THUY

Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2015

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The completion of this research represents a milestone in my life. It has been a long
time and required a great amount of time and effort. There used to be so many challenges
and barriers that made me down and flinch. However, with the great support from my
beloved family, my dear friends and my kind colleagues, I was added with strength and
continued my steps to complete this thesis. Therefore, from deep of my heart, I would like
to say thank you to all of supporters who did not mind spending precious time for helping
me during a long journey. Especially, I wish to express my deeply gratitude to Assoc. Prof.,
Dr. Pham Ngoc Thuy who has patiently instructed and shared with me her precious
experiences. It was her who maintained my belief and led me forward on the right decisions.
To me, not only is this a thesis, but this is also a journey for me to grow and become
more matured. At this moment, I feel confident in myself than ever. Academic knowledge
and experiences I have accumulated for more than 2 years at International School of
Business will definitely be my firm preparation for my next move.
Once again, thank you for transferring me knowledge, strength and courage!


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STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICATION
(Candidate Certificate)

I certify that the work in the thesis entitled “Student perceived value towards
universities’ high quality programs in Vietnam” is the result of my own research and has not
been submitted for a higher degree to any university or institution other than International
School of Business (ISB).

I also certify that the thesis has been written by me. Any help and assistance that I
have received in my thesis have been appropriately acknowledged.
Ho Chi Minh, 21 December, 2015

Doan Hong Phat


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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEGEMENT ................................................................................................. iii
STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICATION .................................................................... iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. v
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................ vii
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... viii
LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... ix
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... x
Chapter 1: Introduction.................................................................................................. 1
1.1. Research background ................................................................................................. 1
1.2. Research problem ....................................................................................................... 3
1.3. Research objectives .................................................................................................... 4
1.4. Scope of the research.................................................................................................. 5
1.5. Research significance ................................................................................................ 5
1.6. Research method ........................................................................................................ 5
1.7. Research structure ...................................................................................................... 6
Chapter 2: Literature review ......................................................................................... 7
2.1. Literature review ........................................................................................................ 7
2.1.1. Student perceived value .......................................................................................... 7
2.1.2. Perceived risk .......................................................................................................... 9
2.1.3. Perceived service quality ....................................................................................... 11

2.1.4. Perceived price ...................................................................................................... 11
2.1.5. Perceived service quality and emotional value ..................................................... 12
2.1.6. Perceived performance risk and emotional value ................................................. 13
2.1.7. Perceived price and emotional value ..................................................................... 13
2.1.8. Perceived price and perceived service quality ...................................................... 14
2.1.9. Perceived service quality and perceived performance risk ................................... 14
2.1.10. Perceived price and perceived performance risk ................................................ 15
2.2. Research model ........................................................................................................ 15


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Chapter 3: Research methodology............................................................................... 18
3.1. Research process ...................................................................................................... 18
3.2. Preliminary survey ................................................................................................... 21
3.3. Measurement scales.................................................................................................. 22
3.4. Questionnaire design ................................................................................................ 24
3.5. Sample size ............................................................................................................... 24
3.6. Sampling ................................................................................................................... 25
3.7. Data analysis............................................................................................................. 26
Chapter 4: Data analysis............................................................................................... 29
4.1. Sample characteristic................................................................................................ 29
4.2. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) ...................................................................... 31
4.2.1. Composite reliability and variance extracted ........................................................ 36
4.2.2. Convergent validity test ........................................................................................ 37
4.2.3. Discriminant validity test ...................................................................................... 37
4.3. Research model test .................................................................................................. 39
4.3.1. Theoretical model test by using SEM approach ................................................... 39
4.3.2. Testing hypotheses ............................................................................................... 42
4.3.3. Theoretical model estimation by BOOTSTRAP ................................................... 45

4.4. Discussion ................................................................................................................ 46
Chapter 5: Conclusion, implications and limitations................................................. 48
5.1. Main findings .......................................................................................................... 48
5.2. Managerial Implications ........................................................................................... 49
5.3. Contribution of the study.......................................................................................... 51
5.4. Limitations and direction for future research .......................................................... 51
References ...................................................................................................................... 53
Appendices ..................................................................................................................... 60
Appendix A: Questionnaire (English version) ................................................................ 60
Appendix B: Questionnaire (Vietnamese version) ......................................................... 62
Appendix C: Descriptive statistics .................................................................................. 64
Appendix D: Bootstrap distribution (Default model) ..................................................... 67


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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ABBREVIATION

MEANING

AMOS

Analysis of Moment Structures

AVE

Average Variance Extracted

BU

Banking University

CFA

Confirmatory Factor Analysis

CFI

Comparative Fit Index

CR

Composite Reliability

FTU

Foreign Trade University

GFI

Goodness of Fit index

HCMC

Ho Chi Minh City

HQP

High Quality Program

MTP

Massive Training Program

TFI

Tucker & Lewis Index

UEH

University of Economics

RMSEA

Root Mean Square Error Approximation

SEM

Structural Equation Modeling

SPSS

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences


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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: The proposed research model ....................................................................... 16
Figure 3.1: Research process ........................................................................................... 19
Figure 4.1: The first CFA result ...................................................................................... 32
Figure 4.2: The second CFA result ................................................................................. 33
Figure 4.3: Measurement Model ..................................................................................... 35
Figure 4.4: SEM analysis result for Structural Model .................................................... 40


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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1: Hypotheses in the model ................................................................................ 18
Table 3.1: Scale of Perceived service quality ................................................................. 22
Table 3.2: Scale of Perceived price ................................................................................. 23
Table 3.3: Scale of Perceived performance risk .............................................................. 23
Table 3.4: Scale of Student emotional value ................................................................... 24
Table 3.5: Summary of goodness fit indices ................................................................... 27
Table 4.1: Descriptive statistics of the data..................................................................... 30
Table 4.2: Model Fit Summary – Comparison................................................................ 36
Table 4.3: The results of reliability and variance extracted test ..................................... 37
Table 4.4: Regression weights and Standardized regression weights summary ............. 38
Table 4.5: Testing the discriminant validity ................................................................... 39
Table 4.6: Regression Weights – Theoretical Model ...................................................... 41
Table 4.7: Standardized Regression Weights of Theoretical Model .............................. 41
Table 4.8: Squared Multiple Correlation......................................................................... 42
Table 4.9: Results of testing the hypotheses ................................................................... 44
Table 4.10: Standardized Regression Weights (Theoretical Model) .............................. 45
Table 4.11: Bootstrap results (N = 1000) ........................................................................ 45

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ABSTRACT
This study empirically examines the effects of perceived service quality, perceived
price, perceived performance risk on the emotional value of students towards the highquality program in universities in Vietnam. Structural equation modeling was used to test
these impacts, utilizing a sample of 277 students in three public universities in Ho Chi Minh
City, including Foreign Trade University, University of Economics and Banking University.
The results show that among three determinants, only perceived service quality was
found to affect student emotional value towards the high-quality program. Although
perceived price was found not to have an impact on student emotional value but it had a
significant and positive effect on perceived service quality. Moreover, the study also reveals
that perceived service quality had a significant and negative influence on perceived
performance risk. These findings imply that managers of the high-quality program in
universities should pay attention to improving the perception of service quality in order to
enhance student emotional value. The research findings also engage with some limitations
in the strength of measurement scale and the sampling method. Besides, it is lack of
investigating the moderating effect of demographic variables on relationships. They lead to
valuable directions for further researches in future.
Key words: the high-quality program, student emotional value, perceived service
quality, perceived performance risk, perceived price.


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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Research background
Upon Vietnam’s deeper and deeper integration into the global economy, the labor

quality is one of the big challenges to Vietnam (Van Anh, 2015). Despite the advantage of
cheap labor cost, the competitiveness of Vietnam human resources is considered to be low
compared to that of other ASEAN countries. Nguyen Tuyen (2014) claims that Vietnamese
labors are lack of the expertise and skills they are equipped at universities are not suitable
with the reality demand. Therefore, there is a huge shortage of high skilled managers that
the society and the economy are demanding. The rooted cause of this situation is because
the quality of training programs in Vietnam is still limited and has not met the society’s
demand, leading to low competitiveness of Vietnamese labor force (Nguyen Tuyen, 2014).
Surveys conducted by government-linked organizations reveal that 50 percent of
Vietnamese university graduates cannot find jobs in their area of specialization and 25
percent of undergraduate curricula are filled with political indoctrination (Higher Education
Overview, n.d.). Originating from this reality, Vietnam has made a great effort to improve
university education programs throughout the country. One of the most outstanding
education events is the approval of the proposal named Vietnam University Education
Reform of The Government dated 2 November, 2005. The main purpose of this proposal is
to enhance the education quality and help Vietnam education system to access the advanced
level in the world. Accordingly, a variety of abroad advanced programs have been adopted
and implemented in Vietnam such as the advanced program, the talented engineer program,
the high-quality engineer program, the special training program and the high-quality
program. Among these, the most outstanding and popular one in universities these days is
the high-quality program using English as a formal language in teaching.
Since its appearance, this program has received a great attention of the society as
well as learners due to its prominent characteristics over the massive training program.
According to the Regulation of high quality training for the undergraduate issued by
Ministry of Education and Training (2014), the massive training program (MTP) is the one


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training the undergraduate and legally carried out in educational institutions. This program

has the ceiling level of tuition fee in accordance with the existing regulation of the
Government. Meanwhile, the high-quality program (HQP) is understood as the one aiming
to explore and train good students through the preference of teaching and learning facilities,
experienced lecturer crew as well as qualified teaching method adapted from advanced
universities in the area and around the world. Especially, this program has conditions to
ensure its quality and higher output standards compared to the MTP. There are some
distinctive aspects making the HQP more outstanding than the MTP, including the output
standards, lecturer crew, the curricula, material facilities, organization and training
administration (Ministry of Education and Training, 2014).
In terms of the output standards, the standards of HQP must be higher than that of
MTP relating to professional knowledge, foreign language ability, the capability of applying
information technology, leadership ability and teamwork ability. In particular, the foreign
language competence must reach 4 out of 6 based on the six-level frame of foreign language
competence used in Vietnam or equivalence (Ministry of Education and Training, 2014)..
In regard with lecturers, the condition for teachers attending to give lecture is much
stricter. In detail, only lecturers who have master level or above are selected to attend HQP.
To professional subjects taught in English, lecturers’ English ability must reach the level 5
out of 6 in accordance with the six-level frame used in Vietnam or lecturers took a full time
course of bachelor or above overseas (Ministry of Education and Training, 2014).
In association with the training curricula, the curricula of HQP is built and developed
based on the curricula of MTP. However, it is guaranteed to have reference with the
curricula of oversea programs (Ministry of Education and Training, 2014).
In terms of material facilities serving for the training and scientific research, HQP
must ensure to have private rooms equipped with the internet and devices supporting for
teaching and learning. Moreover, each student of the program has self-study place at school.
In addition, schools must have sufficient reference materials and library serving for lecturers
and students (Ministry of Education and Training, 2014).


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In regard with organization and training administration, the program is required to
invite foreign lecturers to give lecture to create a positive training environment. In
particular, students will have opportunities to have filed trips and internship at companies,
local and international corporates (Ministry of Education and Training, 2014).
From the above mentioned distinctive features, it can be said that HQP potentially
provides learners with the superior quality and learning environment compared to the MTP.
1.2. Research problem
Since the Ministry of Education and Training allowed universities to implement the
HQP in 2010, many universities throughout the country have opened this program with
various majors such as business administration, banking finance, international relation and
external economics, etc. The main purpose of these programs is to increase the training
quality and to meet increasingly demand for well-educated workforce of the labor market.
However, in the reality, each institution has a different way of executing (Vu Tho, 2013).
Several examples can be listed such as the different input requirement of English, the
number of students distributed in a class, the tuition fee, the curricula and even the
proportion of English used in the course. It is this difference in implementation that leads to
the difference in training quality among universities. As a consequence, the program quality
has become a prime concern of learners and the society. The reality shows that most
universities provide learners with the program of inappropriate quality with the tuition fee
they paid (Baomoi, 2014). Many opinions claim that the HQP is not far distinguished from
the MTP (SinhvienVietnam, 2014). More importantly, the graduates from this program also
have not yet met requirements of employers (Baomoi, 2014). All these outcomes seem to
back-pedal on the initial goals of universities. Therefore, it is necessary for universities to
assess their offerings to give appropriate plans to improve the program. Moreover, schools
also should know how learners perceive their program. This is significant because the value
perception of students have an influence on their choice of particular school as well as
program (Schmidt, 2002). Moreover, the assessment of the value of the educational service
can provide educators with opportunities to tailor their offerings to enhance the perception
of learners (Hannaford et al., as cited in Lai, To, Lung & Lai, 2012).

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In the literature, a number of researches have been conducted on student perceived
value in education setting (Cheng, 2014; Lai et al., 2012; LeBlanc & Nguyen, 1999). Most
of these studies focus on examining the relationship between consumption values of the
program and student’s overall perception of value. In the research of students’ perception of
value towards short-term study abroad programs in Hong Kong, Cheng (2014) has showed
that personal development rather than academic and professional enhancement affects
student perceived value. Lai et al. (2012) have investigated how different consumption
values impact students’ satisfaction with their educational experience. In addition, in the
study of perceived service value among business college students in Canada, LeBlanc and
Nguyen (1999) have indicated that functional value in the form of the price/quality ratio has
the most important influence on students’ overall evaluation of service value. However,
regardless of above listed researches in terms of perceived value, there is little empirical
studies developed to identify determinants of education service value such as perceived
price, perceived risk and perceived quality. In Vietnam, to the best of our knowledge, there
is also no research conducted on this issue, especially towards the high-quality program for
the undergraduate. The reason is that this program is rather new and very few studies
conducted on it such as the research of Nguyen Thi Thu Ha (2012) about enhancing the
training quality towards the high-quality program at Foreign Trade University.
Nevertheless, it focuses on other aspect of this program.
Therefore, to fulfill the gap, this study aims to explore the impact of perceived price,
perceived performance risk and perceived service quality on student emotional value
towards the HQP in the education context of Vietnam.
1.3. Research objectives
This study is aimed to:
− Develop a model researching on student emotional value towards the high
quality program.

− Test relationships among perceived service quality, perceived performance risk,
perceived price and student emotional value.


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− Give recommendations to program managers to enhance student emotional
value.
1.4. Scope of the research
This study is conducted in Ho Chi Minh City, one of the big education centers in
Vietnam. In order to explore the perception of students towards the HQP, this study focuses
on third year and last year students who are attending the program. The reason is to make
sure they have experienced the performance of the program. Three public universities are
selected for investigation, including Foreign Trade University HCM City, University of
Economics HCM City, HCM City Banking University.
1.5. Research significance
The research results will be beneficial to managers who are in charge of the
organization and quality guarantee of the HQP and prospectus students who have the
intention of enrolling in the program. The detailed contribution can be seen as following:
− The research findings are references for program managers to get deep
understanding about determinants of student emotional value. Then, they can make
appropriate plans to improve the program.
− The research findings also help prospective students to know emotional value
which prior students had towards the program. Based on this, they can make a decision
easily.
1.6. Research method
This research was undertaken in two phases, a pilot study and a main survey, and was
conducted in Ho Chi Minh City, the principal education center of Vietnam. The pilot study
involved qualitative research. In this phase, a series of in-depth interviews were conducted
to modify and refine scale items, as well as amend draft questionnaire before the official

version was launched. Next, the main study was carried out by using convenient sampling.
Questionnaires were directly distributed to targeted students. After questionnaires were
completed, interviewers were accountable for checking and collecting them. The aim of the
main survey was to assess the scales and test the models. Therefore, a series of tools were
used to analyze the collected data. At first, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was


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utilized to assess the reliability, the unidimensionality, the validity of constructs in the
model and the goodness of fit of the model. Next, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was
employed to test the theoretical model and hypotheses.
1.7. Research structure
This study is divided into five chapters, including:
− Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter provides a general introduction and brief background of the university
education in general and university education situation in the context of Vietnam in
particular. From this, research problem, research objectives are raised. Moreover, this
chapter also includes the scope of the research, its significance, research method and
research structure.
− Chapter 2: Literature Review
This chapter screens the literature of constructs relating to the theoretical model such
as student perceived value, perceived performance risk, perceived price and perceived
service quality.
− Chapter 3: Research methodology
This chapter presents methods used to carry out the study, comprising of three
sections. Firstly, measuring scale with items for each factor is provided. Secondly, sample
and data collection are explained specifically. Finally, the process and analytical techniques
used for data analysis are described in this chapter.
− Chapter 4: Data analysis

This chapter presents the findings of data analysis process and confirms the value of
hypotheses mentioned in Chapter 2 and relationship among factors.
− Chapter 5: Conclusion, implications and limitations
This chapter discusses the research results derived from the study, putting the
foundation for suggesting several implications in the reality. Moreover, this chapter also
mentions limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.


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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, some literatures relating to factors which have an impact on customer
perceived value in service industry, especially in Vietnam university education context are
reviewed. Furthermore, this chapter also presents the relationship between emotional value
and relating factors, including: perceived price, perceived performance risk and perceived
service quality. Finally, the research model and hypotheses are developed.
2.1. Literature review
2.1.1. Student perceived value
In marketing literature, customer perceived value has been discussed for a long time
(Beneke, Flynn, Greig & Mukaiwa, 2013). There are a variety of terms researchers use to
name this concept such as perceived value (Chang & Wildt, 1994), customer value (Oh,
2003), value for the customer (Reichheld, 1996) and buyer value (Slater & Narver, 2000).
Because all above-mentioned concepts concentrate on certain similarities, these terms are
used interchangeably. This study follows the meaning of customer perceived value.
Originating from equity theory, perceived value is proposed as the trade-off between
the quality received by customers and the costs such as financial, energy, time and mental
transaction costs customers incur by assessing, getting and using a product (Oliver &
DeSarbo, 1988). Nevertheless, this definition has been criticized for ignoring several
significant constructs that may misdirect the measurement of customer perceived value

(Sinha & DeSarbo, 1988). Zeithaml (1988) defines customer perceived value as the
customer’s overall evaluation of the usefulness of a product or a service based on
perceptions of what is received and what is sacrificed. Butz and Goodstein (1997)
conceptualize it as the emotional bond established between a customer and a producer after
the customer has consumed a service produced by that supplier.
Woodruff (1997, p.142) expands the concept as “a customer’s perceived preference
for and evaluation of those product attributes, attribute performance, and consequences
arising from use that facilitate (or block) achieving the customer’s goal and purpose in use
situations’’. In this way of defining, Woodruff stresses that consumers’ perception of value


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is different in different phases of consumption. He believes that customer perceived value is
highly subjective and produced by consumers based on the product attribute, performance
and outcomes during the consumption process (Shiau, 2014).
Sheth, Newman and Gross (1991) approaches customer perceived value from a
broader perspective through his theory of consumption values. With the purpose of
explaining why consumers buy what they do, Sheth et al. (1991) suggests five main
dimensions of consumption values – namely, functional value, social value, emotional
value, epistemic value and condition value. Specifically, functional value is related to the
perceived utility – normally economic benefits connected with consuming a service. In
university education setting, some examples are guaranteed future employment, a good
salary and promotions (LeBlanc & Nguyen, 1999). Social value concerns the perceived
utility derived from customers’ association with a special social group such as learners can
make friends in classes or through social activities when they attend the course (LeBlanc &
Nguyen, 1999). Emotional value is described as the ability of a service to arouse feelings or
affective states. In the context of education, whether learners are glad to choose the course
and whether they find the course interesting are considered as examples of emotional value
(LeBlanc & Nguyen, 1999). Epistemic value includes the ability of a service to provide

novelty and satisfy customers’ desire for knowledge such as learners’ judgments on the
course contents (LeBlanc & Nguyen, 1999). Finally, conditional value refers to the set of
situations that customers face when making a choice. For example, the size of department
and the number of students in a class are situational variables that can affect the value of the
educational experience (LeBlanc & Nguyen, 1999).
In this research, customer perceived value is understood as student perceived value
because students are considered as principal customers of universities (Sirvanci, 1996).
Although customer perceived value are extended with five dimensions by Sheth et al.
(1991), not all these dimensions have equal significance at any time (Wang, Lo, Chi &
Yang, 2004). In this study, social value and conditional value are excluded because these
two dimensions are less important when considering the perceived value towards the HQP.
Moreover, since the surveyed subjects in this research are third-year and final year students


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who have not yet graduated and officially worked in companies, they are unable to evaluate
career opportunities as well as promotions which the HQP brings to the graduates.
Therefore, functional value is not applicable in this study. Besides, the content of the course
is almost the same with the MTP. As a result, this study will ignore epistemic value.
Meanwhile, emotion plays an important role in assessing the program’s value because it is
the only factor condensed in students’ mind after they finish their classes. In addition, the
HQP is a kind of distinctive service compared to normal services because it lasts for a long
time (about four years). During the course, students have a chance to continuously interact
with the program manager through evaluation surveys. Therefore, if students have negative
feelings during their learning experience, they can give immediate feedbacks to the
manager. Thank to these comments, the manager is able to adjust and improve the program
in time. On the other hand, when students have positive feelings during their learning
experience, they will become more satisfied with the program (Lee, Yoon & Lee, 2007). As
a consequence, they will give a high recommendation to their acquaintances (Lee et al.,

2007). In contrast, if they do not like their learning experience, they will have impressions
on what they paid as being higher than it is and feel that they did not get good value (Kiefer
& Kelly, 1995). Therefore, in this study, we will concentrate on emotional value dimension
of student perceived value to assess the value of the HQP. Based on the general definition,
emotional value towards the HQP in Vietnam universities is described as the affective states
students have towards the program through their learning experience.
2.1.2. Perceived risk
Perceived risk is initially introduced to marketing literature by Bauer in the 1960s
(Snoj, Aleksandra & Mumel, 2004). Bauer defines perceived risk as a two-dimensional
construct, including the uncertainty involved in a purchase decision and the possibility of
negative consequences (Dowling, 1986). In addition, Jasper and Ouellette (1994)
conceptualize perceived risk as customers’ feeling of uncertainty about loss or gain in a
particular transaction. Sweeney, Soutar and Johnson (1999, p.81) state that perceived risk is
“the subjective expectation of a loss”. In other word, perceived risk is a personal assessment


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of customers in relation to possible consequences of wrong decisions such as the possibility
that a service does not offer all expected benefits.
In the marketing literature, perceived risk is divided into six different types. The first five
dimensions identified by Jacoby and Kaplan (as cited in Beneke et al., 2013) include:
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Financial risk: refers customers’ loss of money because the product does not satisfy

their anticipation.
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Performance risk: a product will not work as customers expect.

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Physical risk: refers the one that consumers harm themselves or others while using a

product.
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Social risk: refers a change in consumers’ status in the society when they choose a

product.
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Psychological risk: refers a negative impact on customers’ ego when they choose the

wrong product.
The sixth dimension is time risk identified by Roselius (as cited in Mohamed, Hassan
& Spencer, 2011). This risk involves the possible loss of time that customers spend
searching for a service if this service does not meet their expectation. Mohamed et al. (2011)
claims that perceived risk is a context-dependent variable. In different situations, the
importance of each perceived risk dimension is various. Based on the definition of each
dimension and the context of researching on HQP in universities, all three kinds of risk,
comprising of physical risk, social risk and psychological risk are not applicable in this
situation. The reason is that students’ participation in HQP is unable to physically harm
themselves as well as negatively affect their social status and their ego because HQP is the
one designed for training excellent students. Therefore, if students’ social status and their
ego were changed, they would be influenced positively other than negatively such as they
will feel proud and honored when being a member of this class. In other words, students
will not be afraid of social risk and psychological risk when enrolling the HQP. In addition,
the expenses for attending the course are not as high as international study programs. Hence,

the financial risk that the HQP may bring to students can be ignored. Meanwhile, what they
are concerned about is the risk of the program’s performance. In reality, many programs


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with similar names such as the special program, the advanced program or the talent
undergraduate program, etc. are born but have the quality inappropriate with their name,
making students afraid of the program performance. Hence, when students enroll in the
HQP, they highly expect that the quality of the program will be correct with its name. As a
consequence, in this study, we concentrate on the performance risk when investigating
students’ perception of risk towards the HQP. Based on the general definition of this
dimension, performance risk in this research is conceptualized as students’ concerns about
whether the program performs as desired or delivers promise benefits.
2.1.3. Perceived service quality
Perceived quality is defined as customers’ evaluation of overall excellence or
superiority of a product or a service (Zeithaml, 1988). Since the high-quality program
mentioned in this research is a kind of service, the definition of perceived quality used in
this study will be based on the service quality literature. Accordingly, Jiang and Wang
(2006) define perceived service quality as customers’ assessment of the service performance
received and how it compared to their expectation. In other words, perceived service quality
is the difference between customers’ anticipation of a service and their perception of its
performance (Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry, 1985). If the customer’s perception of
service performance is higher than their expectation, the service quality perceived is higher
(Parasuraman et al., 1985). In contrast, if the perception of service performance is lower
than their anticipation, the service quality perceived is lower.
From previous description, in this research, perceived service quality is
conceptualized as students’ perception of the performance of the HQP compared to their
expectation. Specifically, in the scope of this study, the service quality concentrates on the
quality of the lecturer crew, the training program, practical activities with entrepreneurs,

facilities and other administrative supports.
2.1.4. Perceived price
From the consumer’s perspective, price is what customers give up or sacrifice to get
certain kinds of products or services (Zeithaml, 1988). According to Jacoby and Olson (as
cited in Dodds, Monroe & Grewal, 1991), there are two kinds of price, including: objective


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price which reflects the actual cost of a service and perceived price which relates to the one
encoded by consumers. Since consumers do not always remember the actual price of
services, but they encode prices in ways meaningful to them instead (Dickson & Sawyer, as
cited in Zeithaml, 1988). Therefore, to customers, perceived price becomes more
meaningful than objective monetary price. As a consequence, perceived price is proposed to
be utilized (Chen et al., 1994). Bei and Chiao (2001) conceptualize perceived price as the
consumer’s perception of what is sacrificed to get a service. Full price model in economics
shows that monetary price is not the mere sacrifice customers make to get services
(Zeithaml, 1988). In addition to monetary price, time costs, search costs and psychic costs
are all included in their perception of sacrifice.
In this study, student perceived price is understood as something that must be given
up by students to obtain education services from universities. In the scope of this research,
perceived price is only approached under monetary aspect such as tuition fee, expenses for
learning materials and other fees.
Together with perceived quality, perceived price is a significant factor to determine
customer satisfaction (Bei & Chiao, 2001). If customers consider the price reasonable, they
will become more satisfied. In contrast, if they find the price unreasonable, they become
dissatisfied.
2.1.5. Perceived service quality and emotional value
According to Davidow (as cited in Sweeney et al., 1999), service quality plays an
important role to the corporate survival because when premium quality is added, it helps to

enhance the utility or value to consumers. In other words, customers’ perception of service
quality have a direct influence on the value customers receive and the higher perceived
quality will lead to the higher perceived value (Choi & Kim, 2013). In the research of Choi
and Kim (2013), they found that the perceived quality of social enterprise services have a
positive effect on perceived value. Moreover, the relationship between perceived quality and
perceived value are also tested by many other studies (Sweeney et al., 1999; Teas &
Agarwal, 2000). Since emotional value is one of five dimensions of student perceived value,
it is positively influenced by perceived service quality. In the context of this research, what


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students concern the most is the quality of the program. When the program is perceived to
have good quality, it will generate positive feelings for students towards the program. In
contrast, if the program quality is perceived to be low, it will cause students to have
negative feelings. Therefore, we hypothesize that:
H1. There is a positive relationship between perceived service quality and emotional
value.
2.1.6. Perceived performance risk and emotional value
According to Sweeney et al. (1999), when buying a product or a service, consumers
are concerned about losses which may happen by virtue of the item failure. Therefore, a
service with relatively high possibility of malfunction will be perceived lower value by
customers (Tam, 2012). On the other hand, earlier studies indicate that when the risks
relating to the purchase are lower, customers’ perception of value is greater (Agarwal &
Teas, 2001). In the context of mobile phone service, Snoj et al. (2004) proved that the
perceived risks of a mobile phone have a negative impact on the perceived value. Moreover,
this relationship was also tested by many other studies in retail setting (Sweeney et al.,
1999; Agarwal & Teas, 2004).
In this study, we would like to test this relationship in the context of university
education in Viet Nam. However, we will deeply focus on the considered-typical dimension

of each concept. These are perceived performance risk and emotional value. When students
are less nervous about the performance of the program, they will have higher perception of
emotional value. Therefore, we assume the hypothesis as following:
H2. There is a negative relationship between perceived performance risk and
emotional value.
2.1.7. Perceived price and emotional value
A large number of evidences from theoretical and empirical studies show that
consumers use price as an extrinsic product-quality cue (Dodds et al., 1991, Zeithaml, 1988)
because it provides customers with crucial information of the product or the service in order
for them to make a purchase decision. Shiv and Ariley (2005) showed that products or
services with higher perceived price can be perceived to perform better or in other words,


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they have a better quality. On the other hand, a service which is perceived to have higher
quality is believed to enhance the value to customers (Davidow, as cited in Sweeney et al.,
1999). Therefore, when perceived price increases, it will assist in enhancing customers’
perception of value of a service. As previous analysis, a significant dimension of perceived
value can be considered as emotional value. In the context of university education, this
research attempts to test the relationship between perceived price and emotional value
towards the high-quality program. The hypothesis is proposed as following:
H3. There is a positive relationship between perceived price and emotional value.
2.1.8. Perceived price and perceived service quality
Not only is price an indicator of the amount of money that customers has to sacrifice
to buy services, it is a signal of quality as well (Dodds et al., 1991). Higher prices indicate
higher quality customers perceive of the service, leading to an increase in perceived utility
and vice versa (Dodds et al., 1991). Rao and Monroe (1989) conclude that price and
perceived quality are positively related. Moreover, Shiv and Ariley (2005) showed that
products with higher prices can be perceived to perform better, even though their actual

performance may be equivalent to items with lower prices.
In this study, we would like to test this relationship towards the education service,
especially in university education context in Vietnam. Therefore, we formulate the
following hypothesis:
H4. There is a positive relationship between perceived price and perceived service
quality.
2.1.9. Perceived service quality and perceived performance risk
Beside the influence on perceived value, perceived quality is also a determinant of
perceived risk. When perceived service quality rises, the uncertainty that customers perceive
in association with the performance of product will decrease (Chen & Dubinsky, 2003).
Moreover, customers base their judgments about potential risks on their perceptions of
quality (Bearden & Shimp, 1982; Sweeney et al., 1999). Shimp and Bearden (1982) showed
that higher perceived quality may help to reduce the risk that may happen to the product’s
intended function. Previous researches proved that perceived risk is negatively influenced


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by the perceived service quality (Clow, Baack & Fogliasso, 1998; Chen & Chang, 2005).
By virtue of a dimension of perceived risk, perceived performance risk is also negatively
impacted by perceived service quality. When the service quality is perceived to increase,
students are less nervous about the risks the program may bring to them and vice versa.
In this study, we would like to test the correlation between perceived service quality
and perceived performance risk in university education setting. Hence, we hypothesize that:
H5. There is a negative relationship between perceived service quality and perceived
performance risk.
2.1.10. Perceived price and perceived performance risk
A number of empirical researches prove that perceived price is positively related to
customers’ perception of service quality (Rao & Monroe, 1989; Shiv & Ariley, 2005). It
means that when customers perceive the price they pay for using a service high, they will

equate with the service’s high quality performance. On the other hand, when the service
quality is perceived to be high, customers will consider it as a cue for low risk that the
service may bring to them. Accordingly, when perceived price increases, it helps to mitigate
customer’s perception of risk.
As previous analysis, performance risk is considered to be most concerned by
students when enrolling the course. Therefore, in this research, we attempt to test the
relationship between perceived price and perceived performance risk. Based on the above
analysis, we formulate the hypothesis as follow:
H6. There is a negative relationship between perceived price and perceived
performance risk.
2.2. Research model
The model of research is built on the literature review. The following proposed
model has four constructs, including: perceived performance risk, perceived price, perceived
service quality and emotional value. Among these, perceived service quality, perceived risk
and emotional value are classified in endogenous construct group and perceived price is
categorized in exogenous construct group. The proposed research model and all hypotheses
tested in the context of Vietnam university education are outlined as follow: