Service Quality and Student’s Purchase Satisfaction with Gsm Firms in Selected Tertiary Institutions

Abstract

This study evaluated the service quality components of GSM service providers and purchase satisfaction of students’ of higher education institutions in Anambra state, Nigeria. Arguably, service quality and customer satisfaction are very essential in maintaining customer loyalty. The specific objectives of this study are to determine the effect of responsiveness, assurance, tangibility, empathy and reliability, respectively, on student’s purchase satisfaction with GSM service providers, in selected higher education institutions in Anambra state, Nigeria. The study is anchored on Expectancy Disconfirmation Theory. The research design for this study was survey research design. 57,710 students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University and Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe, formed the population for this study and Taro Yamane formula was used to determine the sample size. A total of 399 copies of the questionnaire were administered and 371 were dully completed and retrieved. Econometrics view (E-view) of version 9.0 was used to analyze the data generated for the study. The study concludes that service quality dimensions delivery process has a positive and significant effect on purchase satisfaction with GSM service providers in Anambra state. This study revealed that responsiveness and assurance have positive effect and are statistically insignificant. Tangibility is negative and statistically significant. The researcher recommend that customer-contact personnel should undergo periodic training on passion for service delivery, be continuously updated on and conversant with new packages/promotion, before such promotional activities are made public. GSM service providers must position and train their customer care representatives to provide prompt and courteous solutions to customer complaints. The GSM firms should design programs for continuous assessment of the service quality dimensions and customer satisfaction for effective performance evaluation.