A research of the effect of service quality to customer satisfaction in izone ielts training academy

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
KHOA QUẢN TRỊ VÀ KINH DOANH

---------------------

KHƯƠNG NHƯ QUỲNH

A RESEARCH OF THE EFFECT OF SERVICE QUALITY
TO CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN IZONE IELTS
TRAINING ACADEMY
NGHIÊN CỨU ẢNH HƯỞNG CỦA CHẤT LƯỢNG DỊCH VỤ
ĐẾN SỰ HÀI LÒNG CỦA KHÁCH HÀNG TẠI HỌC VIỆN
ĐÀO TẠO IELTS IZONE

LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ QUẢN TRỊ KINH DOANH

HÀ NỘI - 2020


ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
KHOA QUẢN TRỊ VÀ KINH DOANH

---------------------

KHƯƠNG NHƯ QUỲNH

A RESEARCH OF THE EFFECT OF SERVICE QUALITY
TO CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN IZONE IELTS
TRAINING ACADEMY
NGHIÊN CỨU ẢNH HƯỞNG CỦA CHẤT LƯỢNG DỊCH VỤ
ĐẾN SỰ HÀI LÒNG CỦA KHÁCH HÀNG TẠI HỌC VIỆN

ĐÀO TẠO IELTS IZONE
Chuyên ngành: Quản trị kinh doanh
Mã số: 60 34 01 02
LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ QUẢN TRỊ KINH DOANH

NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. TRẦN KIM HÀO

HÀ NỘI - 2020


DECLARATION

The author confirms that the research outcome in the thesis is the result of author‟s
independent work during study and research period and it is not yet published in other‟s
research and article.
The other‟s research result and documentation (extraction, table, figure, formula,
and other document) used in the thesis are cited properly and the permission (if required) is
given.
The author is responsible in front of the Thesis Assessment Committee, Hanoi
School of Business and Management, and the laws for above-mentioned declaration.
31st of August, 2019

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

After studying MBA course, I have attained plenty of various knowledge, skills and
insights. The course raises my capacity of administration and management up to the next
level.

I declare that this is a true copy of my thesis. The content of this thesis has been
approved by the committee of Vietnam National University, Hanoi – Hanoi School of
Business and Management (HSB). This thesis has not been submitted for a higher degree
to any other University or Institution.
I would like to thank sincerely people for heloping, supporting and guiding me
conscientiously in order to finish this thesis successfully.
First of all, I would like to thank all the professors of MBA program, especially Dr.
Tran Kim Hao – my supervisor. Then I would like to thank deeply to the directors and staff
of IZONE IELTS Training Academy, respondents and interviewees who allowed me to
gather enough data for this research. Finally, I would like to express my thanks to my
husband, my family, my colleges and my fellow friends who always stand by me during
the past two years and encourage me to keep moving from the beginning of my study.

ii


ABBREVIATION

EFA

Exploratory Factor Analysis

iii


LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1. The relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction ................ 10
Figure 1.2. Service Quality 5 Gap Model in SERVQUAL ................................................. 12
Figure 1.3. SERVQUAL model .......................................................................................... 13

Figure 1.4: Conceptual model of the research ..................................................................... 15
Figure 3.1: Organization Chart of IZONE IELTS Training Academy ............................... 25
Figure 4.1: Gender statistic.................................................................................................. 32
Figure 4.2: Age statistic ....................................................................................................... 33
Figure 4.3: Current enrolled course at IZONE statistic ....................................................... 33
Figure 4.4: Referral channel statistic ................................................................................... 34
Figure 4.5: Referral intention statistic ................................................................................. 34
Figure 4.6: Calibration model of customer satisfaction ...................................................... 39

iv


LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1. Compare the two SERVQUAL and SERVPERF model ........................ 14
Table 3.1: Categories of IELTS training center in Hanoi ........................................ 21
Table 4.1: Factors table after Cronbach test ............................................................. 35
Table 4.2: Reliable observed variables after running exploratory factor analysis ... 37
Table 4.7: Table of Descriptive statistic of grouped factors after run exploratory
factor analysis ........................................................................................................... 37
Table 4.3: Correlation test result .............................................................................. 38
Table 3: Cronbach analysis result............................................................................. 58
Table 4. KMO and Bartlett's Test result ................................................................... 59
Table 5. Total Variance Explained test result .......................................................... 59
Table 6. Rotated Component Matrixa test result ...................................................... 60
Table 11: Model Summaryb test result ..................................................................... 64
Table 12: ANOVAa test result .................................................................................. 64
Table 13: Coefficientsa test result ............................................................................. 64
Table 14: Levene Statistic of age group test result .................................................. 64
Table 15: ANOVA Statistic of age group test result ................................................ 65

Table 16: Levene Statistic of group of referral channel test result .......................... 65
Table 17: ANOVA Statistic of group of referral channel test result ........................ 65
Table 18: Levene Statistic of group of current enrolled courses at IZONE test result .... 65
Table 19: ANOVA Statistic of group of current enrolled courses at IZONE test
result ......................................................................................................................... 65

v


TABLE OF CONTENT

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1
1. Research rationale ............................................................................................................. 1
2. Literature review ............................................................................................................... 2
3. Aim of research ................................................................................................................. 2
4. Research objects ............................................................................................................... 2
5. Research scope .................................................................................................................. 2
6. Thesis structure ................................................................................................................. 3
CHAPTER I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF SERVICE QUALITY AND
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ......................................................................................... 4
1.1. Theoretical background review ...................................................................................... 4
1.1.1. Services ........................................................................................................................ 4
1.1.2. Training ........................................................................................................................ 4
1.1.3. Sevice quality ............................................................................................................... 5
1.1.4. Dimensions of service quality ...................................................................................... 7
1.1.5. Customer satisfaction ................................................................................................... 8
1.1.6. The relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction ........................... 9
1.2. Service quality assessment models ............................................................................... 11
1.2.1. Service Quality Gap Model ........................................................................................ 11
1.2.2. 10-component of service quality model ..................................................................... 12

1.2.3. SERVQUAL and SERVPERF models ...................................................................... 13
1.3. Research conceptual model .......................................................................................... 14
1.4. Proposed hypothesis of the research............................................................................. 15
CHAPTER II: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................................................... 16
2.1. Research approach ........................................................................................................ 16
2.2. Research process .......................................................................................................... 16
2.3. Research design ............................................................................................................ 17
2.4. Sampling design and procedure.................................................................................... 17
2.4.1. Target Population ....................................................................................................... 17
2.4.2. Sampling technique .................................................................................................... 17
vi


2.4.3. Sample size................................................................................................................. 17
2.5. Data collection instrument............................................................................................ 18
2.6. Survey design ............................................................................................................... 18
2.7. Data analysis methods .................................................................................................. 19
CHAPTER III: CURRENT SITUATION OF IZONE IELTS TRAINING
ACADEMY ........................................................................................................................ 20
3.1. Current situation of IELTS training market in Hanoi .................................................. 20
3.1.1. IELTS definition ........................................................................................................ 20
3.1.2. Situation of IELTS training service in Hanoi ............................................................ 21
3.2. Overview of IZONE IELTS Training Academy .......................................................... 23
3.2.1. IZONE general information ....................................................................................... 23
3.2.2. IZONE‟s differences in the IELTS training market ................................................... 23
3.2.3. IZONE‟s features ....................................................................................................... 24
3.2.4. IZONE‟s organizational information ......................................................................... 25
3.2.5. IELTS course levels in IZONE .................................................................................. 26
3.2.6. IZONE achievements ................................................................................................. 29
3.3. Current situation of IELTS trainining service quality in IZONE ................................. 29

3.3.1. IZONE‟s facilities: ..................................................................................................... 29
3.3.2. IZONE‟s IELTS teachers: .......................................................................................... 30
3.3.3. IZONE‟s training program design: ............................................................................ 30
3.3.4. IZONE‟s training materials: ....................................................................................... 30
3.3.5. IZONE‟s supportive service:...................................................................................... 31
CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH FINDING RESULTS ...................................................... 32
4.1. Demographic and general statistic................................................................................ 32
4.1.1. Demographic analysis ................................................................................................ 32
4.1.2. General information of IZONE learning customer analysis ...................................... 33
4.2. Customer satisfaction questionnaire analysis ............................................................... 35
4.2.1. Cronbach analysis ...................................................................................................... 35
4.2.2. Exploratory Factor Analysis ...................................................................................... 36
4.2.3. Correlation analysis .................................................................................................... 37
4.2.4. Regression analysis .................................................................................................... 39
vii


4.2.5. Testing research hypotheses ....................................................................................... 39
4.2.6. ANOVA analysis ....................................................................................................... 40
CHAPTER 5: RESEARCH DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION ................. 42
5.1. Finding result discussion .............................................................................................. 42
5.2. Research recommendation ........................................................................................... 43
CONCLUSION, LIMITATION AND IMPLICATION ................................................ 46
1. Conclusions ..................................................................................................................... 46
2. Limitations ...................................................................................................................... 47
2.1. Limitation of Sampling ................................................................................................ 47
2.2. Limitation of Bias by respondents ................................................................................ 47
2.3. Limitation of the option format of the answers ............................................................ 47
3. Implications .................................................................................................................... 47
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 48

APPENDIX I ...................................................................................................................... 53
APPENDIX II .................................................................................................................... 56

viii


INTRODUCTION

1. Research rationale
In recent years, along with the integration trend, economic change and growth, the
demand for English learning is increasing in Vietnam. However, english learners are form
all backgrounds, ages, and learning purposes. To follow this rapid growing trend, various
types of English schools and training centers are mushrooming in Vietnam and particularly
in Hanoi and focusing on: English communication skills, vocaburary and grammar, with
ranging from Basic to Advanced level. Especially, training IELTS, TOEFL as international
English proficiency certificates is the extremely hot trend with hundreds of training centers
with a variety of cost and quality. According to experts in education field of Vietnam, there
is an inverse relationship between quantity and quality of English language centers
operating in the country. Several schools attract learners only with favorable training
courses, modern facilities, vermicular or foreign and experienced teachers, etc. However,
after less than one week of training in reality, they fail to provide promised learning
conditions, from teaching staffs, training contents and training methods. Specifically, in
terms of teaching workforce, many academies advertise their academic personnel as
carefully selected foreigners coming from English - speaking countries, certificated and
experienced English lecturers. However, many of them are actually English tourists who
know English quite well but have zero experience in neither English teaching or pedagogic
approach. The reality has raised great difficulties for learners and also learners‟ parents in
finding a prestige English center. Educational and media experts in Vietnam have spent a
lot of time and effort in discussing the issue for years, but not yet reached final research
findings and effective assessment of this situation. Therefore, it is crutial for English

training schools, especially IELTS centers to concentrate on evaluating the satisfaction of
their learners given to their service quality in order to propose sustainable development
strategies and implement the strategies in competitive context of the following years.
IZONE IELTS Training Academy has existed in the IELTS training market for 5
years and has gained significant achievements. However, according to the estimated
percentage of IELTS learners who drop out while studying and discontinue to study the
next level, which is respectively 15% and 40%, IZONE training service quality is
recognized to remain several problems during these years of operation and development.
Therefore, this research aims at evaluating what factors affect customer satisfaction of
IZONE service quality so as to find solutions for decreasing the current dropout rate and
1


rising the proportion applying for the next level courses. For this reason, the researcher
selected the topic: “A research of the effect of service quality to customer satisfaction in
IZONE IELTS training academy”.
2. Literature review
Unlike tangible product manufacturers, training institutions find it difficult to
standardize service quality, because it depends not only on specific quality policy of the
training centers, but also on customers‟ needs and wants (Bunn et al., 2013). The level of
customer satisfaction determines the existence and sustainable growth of organizations
(Phillip Kotler, 2011). The Servqual (Service quality) scale model (Parasuraman et al.,
1985) is one of the famous model in marketing that used to evaluate the service quality.
Many researchers who tested the Servqual scale with different theories have evaluated the
reliability and high value of the Servqual scale model. This scale can be applied in the
different services‟ sectors such as education, hospitality, retail and others sectors. The
Servqual model measures service quality based on the perception by customers who using
its service. Parasuraman et al (1985) said that in any services the quality of service
perceived by customers could apply to the scale of the model including the 10 components
Reliable, Responsiveness, Competence, Access, Courtesy, Communication, Credibility,

Security, Empathy, Tangibles. Later, many authors tested 5-scale model as noticed some
overlapping scales and close correlation.
Cronin and Taylor (1992, 1995) systemarized Servqual model into Servperf model
which had 5 factors according to flexibility depending on the service sector. The model
applied for this research includes 5 key factors determining the quality of the service
including: reliability, responsiveness, assuarance, empathy, and tangibles.
3. Aim of research
The principle objective of this research is to analyze how service quality affects
customer satisfaction in IZONE IELTS Training Academy. Additionally, the researcher
will examine that what the customers feel about IZONE‟s service quality and what factors
of service quality mainly influence them to feel satisfied during learning in IZONE. This
research also figures out what factors make customers feel unsatisfied in order to improve.
4. Research objects
This research will focus on customers who have been learning in IZONE IELTS
Training Academy in August of 2019
5. Research scope
- Scope of contents: Service quality and customer satisfaction
2


- Scope of space: IZONE IELTS Training Academy in Hanoi
- Scope of time: The research questionnaire was surveyed in August of 2019.
- Scope of sample: Approximately 130 responses from IZONE customers who are
learning a course of IZONE in Hanoi,
6. Thesis structure
The first part of the study will outline the research rationale, literature review,
research objectives, research objects, research scope, research methodology and thesis
structure
Chapter 1: Literature Review
Chapter one will discuss about the content includes literature review, relevant

conceptual models, proposed theoretical framework and hypotheses development in detail.
Chapter 2: Research Methodology
Chapter two of the study will discuss about research methodology with research
approach, process, design, data collection methods, sampling design, research instrument,
constructs measurement, data processing and data analysis.
Chapter 3: Current situation of IZONE IELTS Training Academy
Chapter three describes the overview of IELTS training industry and the current
situation of IZONE IELTS Training Academy in term of service quality.
Chapter 4: Research results
Chapter four will shows questionnaires which will be constructed, in the form of
charts and tables. The analytical results which get through SPSS version 20.0 will be
discussed relate to the hypotheses and research question.
Chapter 5: Research discussion and recommendation
Chapter five will discuss about statistical analysis results in the chapter four and
recommend solutions to improve the variable that have the lowest score in the
questionnaire analysis.
Conclusion, Limitation and Implication
This part will relate to chapter three and deliberate on final conclusion of the study.
To be specific, statistical analyses synopsis, major findings discusstion, implication and
limitations of the study will be indicated in this section.

3


CHAPTER I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF SERVICE QUALITY AND
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

First of all, this chapter introduces the variety of definitions of service, training,
service quality. Next, this chapter provides the definitions for both independent variables
which are the characteristics of service quality including Tangibility, Assurance,

Reliability and Responsiveness, and a dependent variable which is Customer Satisfaction.
Furthermore, this study gives a more detail understanding about the correlation among
independent variables and the dependent variable. Meanwhile, in the end of this chapter,
relevant theoretical models will be provided and conceptual framework and hypothesis of
the research will be developed to give a clearer picture for the readers.
1.1. Theoretical background review
1.1.1. Services
Kotler and Armstrong (2004) identified service as“any act or interest that one party
may provide to another that is essentially intangible and not Bring possession at all".
Otherwise, according to Lewis and Booms (1983), "Service is a measure of how well the
service delivered to the customer is commensurate with the expectations of the customer.
Creating a quality service means responding to customer expectations in a consistent way".
1.1.2. Training
Palo and Padhi (2003) identifined training as a process of updating the knowledge,
developing skillsets, bringing about attitudinal and behavioral changes and improving the
ability of the trainees to perform their tasks effectively adn efficiently. Bartlett (2001)
defined training as a management practice that can be controlled or managed to elicit a
desired set of unwritten, reciprocal behaviors and attitudes, including job involvement,
motivation and organizational commitment. In his study, variables access to training such
as training frequency, learning motivation from training, perceived benefits resulted from
training program and supervisory supports for training are used to show the importance of
training in an organization.
The British Department of Employment Glossary of Training Terms (1981) defined
training as „the systematic development of the attitude, knowledge, skill and behavior
pattern required by an individual to perform adequately a given task or job‟. The key
concepts are „systematic development‟ which implies planning and control, „individual‟
which excludes group and team development, and „job‟ or „task performance‟ which is the
criterion of success (Bramley,1993).
4

Hinrichs (1976) represent the American definition of training as “any
organizationally initiated procedures which are intended to foster learning among
organizational members in a direction contributing to organizational effectiveness”. The
key concepts are „organizational procedure‟, which put the process into an organizational
context, „foster learning‟, which implies that the responsibility is shared between the
establishment offering it and the members receiving it, and the criterion of success is
„organizational effectiveness‟ (Bramley, 1993).
According to Wayne F Cascio (2017), training consists of planned programme
designed to improve performance at the level of individual, group and organization.
Performance improvement implies that there have been measurable changes in knowledge,
skills, attitude, and social behavior. Besides, C B Memoria (2000), training is a learning
process or a sequence of programmed behavior. It is application of knowledge and it
attempts to improve the performance of customer on the current job and prepares them for
the intended job in the future. Additionally, training is a short term process that utilizing a
organized and systematic procedure by which non managerial personnel acquire technical
knowledge and skills for a definite purpose. Additionally, training refers to instructions in
technical and mechanical operations, like operation of some machine/equipment. In other
words, training is for a specific job related purpose.
To summarize, training is about developing an individual and helping them to
become more confident and competent in their jobs and also their life. The learning
process at the core of training has various ways to implement
1.1.3. Sevice quality
According to Parasuraman, Berry and Zeithaml (1985, 1988), perceived service
quality is the result of the consumer's comparison of expected service with the received
service. There are five dimensions of service quality: (a) reliability, (b) responsiveness, (c)
assurance, (d) empathy, and (e) tangibility. The service quality dimensions are defined by
authors who studying numerous different categories of service such as (a) appliance repair,
(b) retail banking, (c) long-distance telephone service, (d) securities brokerage, and (e)
credit card companies. Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry (1988) had stated that measuring

perceived service quality involves the comparison level of what a customer should expect;
whereas measuring satisfaction involves the appropriate comparison with what a customer
would expect (Cronin & Taylor, 1992). Close examination of scale items for each
dimension reveals that a majority of all the items relate directly to the human interaction
element of service delivery.
5


In order to operationalize the service quality construct, Parasuraman et al. (1985,
1988, 1994) had made use of qualitative and quantitative research, following generally
accepted psychometric procedures. Their research had resulted in the progression of the
original 22-item SERVQUAL instrument, which is one of the most widely-used
operationalization of service quality. The contention by the developers of SERVQUAL
that the instrument can be applied to determine the service quality offering of any service
firm has led to its extensive adoption (Dabholkar et al., 1996). The SERVQUAL scale is
based on the difference in scores between customer expectations of service and their
perceptions after receiving the service. Initially, Parasuraman et al. (1985) focused on the
ten determinants of service quality. However, after two stages of scale purification, they
reduced the ten determinants to five dimensions of service quality: tangibles, reliability,
responsiveness, assurance, and empathy (Parasuraman et al., 1988).
However, few prior literatures have raised criticisms on the SERVQUAL model
(Churchill Jr., Brown and Peter, 1993; Cronin Jr. and Taylor, 1994 and Buttle, 1996). First
of all, there was little evidence that customers assessed service quality through the
disconfirmation paradigm (i.e. measuring the gap between service expectations and actual
service performance). Secondly, they also argued that SERVQUAL had been inaptly based
on an expectations-disconfirmation model rather than an attitudinal model of service
quality. Cronin Jr. and Taylor (1994) pointed SERVQUAL out as “hesitance to call
perceived service quality an attitude”. Thirdly, according to Buttle (1996), SERVQUAL
instrument failed to capture the dynamics of changing expectation. Therefore,
performance-minus- expectations was deemed as an unsuitable basis to measure service

quality (Cronin Jr. and Taylor, 1994). Teas (1993) further argued that because the service
quality expectations concept might have discriminant validity shortcoming (i.e.
expectations does not measure service quality as well as it is expected to), the perceptionsminus-expectations service quality measurement framework could be a misleading
indicator of service quality through customer perception. Thus, he recommended by
eliminating the expectations measure, the SERVQUAL model could be improved, by
relying solely on the perception component.
For this reason, Cronin then argued for the superiority of the performance-basedonly (SERVPERF) measures of service quality as compared to the “perceptions-minusexpectations” measures (Cronin Jr. and Taylor, 1994). Despite the fact that SERVQUAL is
the more commonly used framework since its introduction as it has been used longer, this
research used the SERVPERF model. SERVPERF measures are based only on consumers‟
6


perceptions of the performance of a service provider, which explain more of the variation
in service quality and it assess service quality without relying on the disconfirmation
paradigm. Thus, it would be able to provide a more convergent and discriminant valid
explanation of service quality construct. While using SERVPERF, it is noted that while
Cronin and Taylor (1992) have argued strongly in defence of SERVPERF, its scale has yet
to be empirically tested in as many industries as has SERVQUAL.
1.1.4. Dimensions of service quality
The first dimension of service quality is tangibility which includes the appearance
of physical facilities, personnel, equipment, and communication materials. The overall
condition of the physical surroundings is tangible evidence of the care and attention of the
service provider to details demonstrated of their service. This dimension assessment can
extend to the conduct of the other customers who being provided the services, such as
noisy guests in the next room at a hotel.
Secondly, Reliability is the ability to execute the accuracy of promised service.
Reliable service performance is a customer expectation and it means that the service is
provided on time, and everytime is with the same manner and standard. For example,
receiving their mail at approximately the same time every day or week is important to
certain people. In term of training service, reliability could be extended into the back

office, as well as where accuracy in billing and record keeping is expected.
Next, responsiveness dimension is the willingness to help customers by providing
prompt services. Keeping customers wait without apparent reason would creates
unexpected negative perceptions of service quality of the company. In the event of a
service failure or interruptions, the service provider ability to recover quickly with
professionalism can create considerable positive perceptions of service quality. For serving
complimentary drinks on a delayed flight can turn a potentially poor customer experience
into one that is remembered favorably.
Assurance dimension relates to the courtesy and knowledge of customer service
customer and their capability to express trust and confidence. The assurance includes the
competence to perform the service offered effective communication with politeness and
respect for the customer, and this is the attitude to help the service provider win the
customer's heart.
Last but not least, empathy is the provision of caring demonstrated by the customer
service customer by paying personalized attention to customers. Empathy includes sense of
security, approachability and the understanding customer's needs effort.
7


1.1.5. Customer satisfaction
According to Oliver (1980), customer satisfaction is the result from experiencing a
service quality encounter and comparing that encounter with what was expected.
Satisfaction can be preceived as an attitude, from an operational definition view point,
because it can be assessed as the combined level of satisfaction with various attributes of a
product or a service (Churchill and Surprenant, 1982). According to Yi (1990), customer
satisfaction can be defined as an attitude as there is sufficient evidence supporting it.
Meanwhile, according to LaTour and Peat (1979), satisfaction is a post-decision
experience construct, whereas attitude is a pre-decision construct (Caruana, Money and
Berthon, 2000).
Customer satisfaction can be identified as a response of consumer‟s fulfilment; i.e.,

it is a judgment whether “a product or service feature, or product or service itself, provides
a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfilment” (Zeithaml and Bitner, 2000).
Because a high level of customer satisfaction do have a positive effect on customer loyalty,
it is essential for service providers to understand customers‟ perception, which reflects the
degree of a customer‟s feeling about a service provider, of their services and then customer
satisfaction. (Deng, Lu, Wei and Zhang, 2009).
There are numerous previous studies that had investigated the concept of
satisfaction on service setting (e.g. De Ruyter et. al., 1997; Fornell, 1992). Customer
satisfaction can be assessed based on the customer‟s satisfaction attitude on various
attributes of the product or service (Churchill & Surprenant, 1982). Customer satisfaction
depends on a various factors, including perceived service quality, customers emotions,
social interactions, and other experience-specific subjective factors (Rust and Oliver,
1994).
According to prior research (Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Zeithaml, Berry and
Parasuraman, 1996), there has been much debate on whether service quality dimensions
are the antecedents of customer satisfaction. Nevertheless, there are some empirical
studies, which have shown that service quality is related to customer satisfaction (Cronin
and Taylor, 1992; Levesque and McDougall, 1996; Taylor and Baker, 1994; Zeithaml et
al., 1996; McDougall and Levesque, 2000). Specifically, there were also studies on the
mobile phone service markets, which suggested that service quality positively affects
customer satisfaction (Kim et al., 2004; Kuo et al, 2009; Tung, 2004; Turel and Serenko,
2007). In addition, Brady and Cronin (2001) had stated that the antecedent role of service
quality with respect to customer satisfaction in their research.
8


Existing models of customer satisfaction that are based on the disconfirmation-ofexpectations paradigm (e.g., Cadotte, Woodruff, and Jenkins 1987) have hardly ever
focused on the role of customer perceived value as an antecedent of customer satisfaction.
There have been several literatures measuring the relationships between perceived value
and customer satisfaction. The service management literature stated that customer

satisfaction is the result of a customer‟s perception of the value received in a transaction or
a relationship (Heskett et al. 1997), while the social science literature had indicated that
cognitive thought processes trigger affective responses (Weiner, 1986), suggesting that
customer perceived value judgments affect perceptions of satisfaction.
According to Rust and Oliver (1994), value is an encounter-specific input to
customer satisfaction. The ACSI (American Customer Satisfaction Index) model in Fornell
et al.‟s (1996) study demonstrated that “customer satisfaction is more quality-driven than
value- or price-driven”; however, perceived value also affects customer satisfaction. In
their study, Anderson, Fornell, and Lehmann (1994), and Ravald and Gr nroos (1996)
assured that value is related to customer satisfaction. Similarly, Cronin et al. (2000)
showed that perceived value is a considerable predictor of satisfaction. Additionally,
Fornell, Johnson, Anderson, Cha, and Bryant (1996) and McDougall and Levesque (2000)
stated that perceived value directly and positively influences customer satisfaction.
Previous empirical studies investigating the relationship between perceived value
and customer satisfaction in the context of the mobile phone service market have found
considerable evidence that perceived value directly influences customer satisfaction (Kuo
et al, 2009; Tung, 2004; Turel and Serenko, 2006).
1.1.6. The relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction
The relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction has been the
subject of continuous discussion among researchers over the past decades. Customer
satisfaction is not only a general concept that expresses their level of satisfaction when
consuming a service, but also refers to the service quality that is concerned with the
specific dimensions of the service (Zeithaml & Bitner, 2000). Additionally, according to
Parasuraman (1985, 1988), service quality - determined by various factors - is a decisive
factor of satisfaction. Moreover, some authors argue that the service quality and customer
satisfaction are coincidental so that these two concepts can be used interchangeably.
However, many studies have shown that service quality and customer satisfaction are two
distinct concepts. Parasuraman et al. (1993) stated that the main difference between service
quality and customer satisfaction is that service quality is the cause and customer
9

satisfaction is the effect. Moreover, Zeithalm and Bitner (2000) claimed that customer
satisfaction is influenced by many factors such as: product quality, service quality, price,
situational factors, personal factors.
Service quality and satisfaction are two different but closely related concepts in
service research (Parasuraman et al. 1988). Previous studies have shown that service
quality is the cause of satisfaction (Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Spreng and Mackoy, 1996).
The reason is that service quality is related to service delivery, and satisfaction is measured
only after service has been used.
Customer satisfaction is a general concept, expressing their satisfaction when
consuming a service, while service quality focuses on specific components of service
(Zeithaml & Bitner, 2000). Although service quality and satisfaction are interrelated, few
studies focus on verifying the level of interpretation of service quality components for
satisfaction, particularly for each specific sector of service (Lassar et al., 2000). Cronin and
Taylor also testified this relationship and summarized that the service quality resulted in
customer satisfaction. Studies have concluded that service quality is a precondition for
satisfaction (Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Spreng and Mackoy, 1996) and is a major factor
affects satisfaction (Ruyter and Bloemer, 1997).
Service quality is a factor that significantly affects customer satisfaction. If a
service provider gives customers well-qualified products that meet their needs, they will
make the customer feel satisfied. Therefore, to improve the level ofcustomer satisfaction,
service providers must focus on updated service quality.

Figure 1.1. The relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction
Source: Zeithaml. &Bitner (2000), Services Marketing, MacGraw – Hill
10


1.2. Service quality assessment models

1.2.1. Service Quality Gap Model
The service quality 5 gap of Parasuraman & el. (1985, 1988) is shown in the figure
below. The first gap occurs when there is a difference between the customer's expectation
of service quality and the perception of customer service manager about customer
expectations. The basic point of this difference is that the service company does not fully
understand what constitutes the its service quality and how it is delivered to the customer
to satisfy their needs. The next gap appears when the service company has difficulty
converting its perception of customer expectations into attributes of service quality. In
many circumstances, the company may be aware of the customer's expectations but can not
convert these expectations into specific quality criteria and deliver it as expected to the
customer. The main causes of this problem are the expertise of the service customer and
the overwhelming demand for services. It is common that the service demands of
customers is so huge and personalized that the company does not always catch up. A third
distance occurs when the service agent does not deliver services to customers according to
defined criteria. In the service, the customers have direct contact with the customer, plays
an important role in the process of quality creation. However, customers are not always
able to fulfill their assigned tasks.
Customer expectations about service quality are also impacted by advertising media
and information. The promotion promises can increase the level of customer expectations
but will also reduce customer perception of the service quality if they are not keep doing
what they promised. This is the fourth distance.
The fifth gap occurs when there is a difference between the quality and expectation
by the customer and the quality they preceive. Service quality depends on this fifth
distance. Once customers realize that there is no difference between the quality they expect
and the quality they feel when consuming a service, the service quality is perfect in their
mind.

11

Figure 1.2. Service Quality 5 Gap Model in SERVQUAL
Source: Parasuraman & et al. (1985: 44)
Parasuraman & el. (1985) argue that service quality is a function of the fifth
dimension. This fifth distance depends on the previous distance. Therefore, to shorten the
fifth distance and increase the service quality, the service administrator must make efforts
to shorten the gap. The service quality model according to these researchers can be
expressed as follows:
SQ = f ((G5 = f (G1, G2, G3, G4))
Inside:
- SQ is service quality
- G1, G2, G3, G4, G5 are quality distances 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
This is a general and theoretical model of service quality. In order to be able to
practice, Parasuraman et al have tried to build a scale for measuring quality in the service
sector, according to him, any quality service that consumers perceive is based on the
following 10 components.
1.2.2. 10-component of service quality model
The 10-component model of service quality described includes:
1. Reliability
2. Responseveness
12


3. Competence
4. Access
5. Courtesy
6. Communication
7. Credibility
8. Security
9. Understanding the customer
10. Tangbles

The ten-component model of service quality has the advantage of covering almost
every service aspect. However, there are the disadvantages of complexity in measurement
of this model. Moreover, because this model is theoretical, there may be many components
of the service quality model that do not achieve distinctive values. Parasurama (1988)
states that service quality is the distance between perception and expectation of a service. It
can also be understood as this function “Service quality = Perceived Level - Expected
Value”. Athough the perception can be understood and identified explicitly based on the
customer's belief in the service they use, the expectation seems to be quite vague or in
other words it can be understood in terms of many different ways
1.2.3. SERVQUAL and SERVPERF models
SERVQUAL is the most common approach to measuring service quality,
comparing customer expectations with respect to a service and customer perception of the
service being actually delivered. Include (1) five service quality distance model and (2)
component quality service model. SERVQUAL considers two key aspects of service
quality as the result of service and service provision being studied through the following
five criteria:

Figure 1.3. SERVQUAL model
Source: Parasuraman et al. (1988)
13


Cronin and Taylor (1992) modeled SERVPERF, suggesting that the best service
quality is reflected by the level of customer perception of service performance. According
to the SERVPERF model, the satisfaction of service quality equal to the level of perception
As a variant of SERVQUAL, the SERVPERF model consists of five basic
components, namely:
1. Reliability: expressed by the ability to perform appropriate and timely service.
2. Responsiveness: demonstrated through the willingness of the service customer to
provide timely and standardized service to customers.

3. Assurance: Exposed by the profession level and the courteous service to
customers.
4. Empathy: showing the care for each customer individualy.
5. Tangibles: expressed visibly through the appearance, dress of staff, equipment
for service.
This conclusion was concurred by other authors such as Lee et al. (2000) or Brady
et al. (2002). The SERVPERF scale also uses 22 statements similar to the customer
perception question in the SERVQUAL model but ignoring expectations.
Thus, it can be seen that the SERVQUAL and SERVPERF models are slightly
differentiated as described in the table below.
Table 1.1. Compare the two SERVQUAL and SERVPERF model
Model short
name
SERVQUAL

SERVPERF

Model full name

Service quality

Model function

=

Service perception =

Perceived service
quality

-

Expected service
quality

Perceived service
quality
Source: Author (2019)

While customer perception can identify clearly based on the customer experience
when they consume the service, the expectation seems to be quite ambiguous. Therefore,
when measuring service quality, the SERVPERF model is often used more widely.
1.3. Research conceptual model
Based on the mode relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction
(Figure 1.1), the model applied to the case of IELTS traning center was created and presented
in figure 1.4. The model has been adjusted to be more suitable for training service analysis.
14


Specifically, situational factors and personal factor will be eliminated. Hence, in this applied
model, learners‟ satisfaction will be evaluated by training service quality.
Training
Materials
(Tangible)
IELTS Teachers
(Tangible)

(Assurance)

Customer

satisfaction

Training Facilities
(Tangibles)

Supportive
Services

Program
Designing
(Responsiveness)

Figure 1.4: Conceptual model of the research
Source: Author (2019)
Model in figure 1.4 analyzes the impact 5 factors to customer satisfaction at
IZONE. We have the regression model estimated:
Customer satisfaction = α + β1 *Training Facilities + β2 *IELTS Teachers
+ β3 *Training Notes and Materials + β4 *Program Designing + β5 *Supportive
Services
1.4. Proposed hypothesis of the research
Based on the above conceptual framework, the following research hypotheses are
formulated to be tested as below:
H1: There is positive relationship between Training facilities (Tangible) and
learners‟ satisfaction towards quality of IZONE‟s IELTS training services
H2: There is positive relationship between IELTS teachers and learners‟
satisfaction towards quality of IZONE‟s IELTS training services.
H3: There is positive relationship between Training Material and learners‟
satisfaction towards quality of IZONE‟s IELTS training services.
H4: There is positive relationship between Program Designing and learners‟
satisfaction towards quality of English Certification Training services.

H5: There is positive relationship between Supportive services and learners‟
satisfaction towards quality of English Certification Training services.

15