Managing educational service quality and loyalty of international students: A case of international colleges in Thailand

Abstract

Service quality management has been introduced to higher education for many years. However, most Thai tertiary institutions have not effectively adapted service equality management and marketing strategies to enhance the loyalty of their international students. This research paper seeks to identify significant factors that affect international students’ loyalty at the tertiary level in Thailand. Founded on a Push-Pull Model of International Education Movements, this study employed pull factors, so-called perceived educational quality, to draw international students. A survey was conducted on 358 international students currently studying at universities in the northeastern region of Thailand and performed a statistical analysis using the structural equation modelling technique. The empirical results revealed that perceived education quality positively affected student satisfaction and loyalty. The results also recommended that Thai universities and educational administrators educate international students regarding knowledge of other cultures and self-learning skills to help them understand different cultures better and build a relationship with local students. Thus, international students’ loyalty to higher education institutions could be enhanced.

Keywords

• perceived education quality
• student loyalty
• student satisfaction
• international college