The antecedents of student satisfaction and loyalty in higher education institutions : an empirical study of students of the University of Ghana

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to analyze the antecedents of student satisfaction and loyalty in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Ghana, using the University of Ghana (UG) as an empirical setting. The research questions to be answered are: (1) What are the relationships between student satisfaction and its antecedents? (2) Which of the antecedents most influence student satisfaction? (3) What are the relationships between student loyalty and its antecedents? (4) Which of the antecedents most influence student loyalty?

Design / methodology / approach: Questionnaires were developed and administered to 205 student respondents from the Legon campus of the University of Ghana. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 22) was used to analyse the results. Standard Multiple Regression Analyses, Collinearity statistics and Pearson’s correlation coefficients were also calculated to find out which of the antecedents most influence student satisfaction and loyalty.

Findings: The findings of this study indicate that perceive value, image of the university and perceive service quality positively influence the level of student satisfaction and these three antecedents together with student satisfaction positively influence student loyalty. Perceive value is the most influential antecedent of student satisfaction, followed by the image of the university and perceive service quality. Also, perceive value is the most influential antecedent of student loyalty, followed by the image of the university, perceive service quality and student satisfaction. Research limitations: The main limitation of this study is that the findings are based only on 205 student respondents from the research setting (University of Ghana) and therefore the results cannot be generalized.

Practical implications: The findings of this study give insight to policy makers within the Higher Education Institutions in Ghana as to which antecedents most influence their students’ satisfaction and loyalty. This insight can help them make strategic decisions that will increase their students’ satisfaction and loyalty, in order to continue to operate profitably and successively.