Developing customer satisfaction index in Iranian public higher education

Abstract

Purpose

The present study seeks to design an index model of satisfaction among Iranian students who are studying at public universities in this country.

Design/methodology/approach

In this research, data were collected in two stages: in the first stage, the data related to satisfaction indices were collected from 62 experts on pedagogical science and marketing management. In the second step, the data were collected from 1,404 students and were analysed by fuzzy analytic hierarchical process method, interpretive structural modelling and structural equation modelling.

Findings

The results of this study showed that three variables “perceived quality”, “organization image” and “Student relationship management” are reliable as indicators of student satisfaction. Also, contrary to the results of previous studies, the variable of expectations cannot predict the satisfaction of the students.

Originality/value

Models of satisfaction have been designed in different fields. Also, in the measurement of satisfaction, attention to the field and customization is approved by researchers. Accordingly, the present study tries to design indices of satisfaction among students of state universities in Iran. It also pointed out the effect of customization on the formation of satisfaction at the Iranian and other universities.

Citation

Ebrahimzadeh Pezeshki, R., Sabokro, M. and Jalilian, N. (2020), "Developing customer satisfaction index in Iranian public higher education", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 34 No. 7, pp. 1093-1104. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-11-2018-0378