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 C

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

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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

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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

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ABBREVIATION

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

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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

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- 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

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)

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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

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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 perceptions-minus-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 only (SERVPERF) measures of service quality as compared to the “perceptions-minus-expectations” 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‟

performance-based-7

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

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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

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Existing models of customer satisfaction that are based on the expectations 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

disconfirmation-of-a reldisconfirmation-of-ationship (Heskett et disconfirmation-of-al 1997), while the socidisconfirmation-of-al science literdisconfirmation-of-ature hdisconfirmation-of-ad indicdisconfirmation-of-ated thdisconfirmation-of-at 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

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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

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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

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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

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)

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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

SERVQUAL Service quality = Perceived service

quality -

Expected service quality

SERVPERF Service perception = 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

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

Customer satisfaction

Training Facilities

(Tangibles)

IELTS Teachers (Tangible)

Training Materials (Tangible)

Supportive Services (Assurance)

Program Designing (Responsiveness)

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CHAPTER II: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This part discusses methods used in undertaking this study from the collection of data to methods applied to analyze the collected data Research approach, design, process, sample size and sampling technique, instrument of data collection, data collection procedure and finally data analysis technique is discussed in this chapter

2.1 Research approach

There are two kind of researches which are inductive and deductive approach In the inductive approach, the data is collected and a theory is developed as an outcome of the data analysis Whereas, in the deductive approach, a hypothesis is developed and research strategy is designed to check the hypotheses There are five stages in the deductive approach: gathering a hypothesis, stating the hypothesis in operational terms, testing the hypothesis, exploring the outcome and last will be adapting the hypothesis in the light of the outcome (Saunders, et al., 2009) The aim of this paper is to examine the service quality influences customer satisfaction when they are learning in IZONE IELTS training Academy Therefore, the researcher has adapted a deductive approach for this research as

to evaluate the dimensions of service quality which are affecting the satisfaction of customer in and also the researcher assumes that there are adequate researches developed

in the field of customer satisfaction

- Building questionnaire based on proposed theoretical model

- Measuring the sample size

- Surveying target respondents and collecting data

- Cleaning data, putting into SPSS software to run the Ordinary Least Squares regression (OLS) analysis which is also called as “linear regression”

After running the regression analysis, the research results will be detailed, discussion and suggest solutions for improving the ability to satisfy IZONE customers

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2.3 Research design

The quantitative analysis often relies on the deductive approach whereas the collection of quantitative data in this research has indicated the positivistic method Therefore, this research has adapted a quantitative strategy by gathering a large number of data from customers of IZONE IELTS Training Academy Quantitative analysis is a widely-used research method which is used to give positive results of the questionnaire in the survey Questionnaire is used to collect the huge number of responses for analyzing data in descriptive and explanatory research Therefore, this research will use questionnaire

as the main method of quantitative approach In order to meet the research questions‟ objectives, the quantitative approach is undertaken as it provides all the numeric data that practically analyze the statistics collected and answer the questions (Saunders, et al., 2009)

In this research, the researcher will try to use the most up to date, reliable and valid scales

to measure the quantities based on the literature review and research questions

2.4 Sampling design and procedure

2.4.1 Target Population

The researcher used the target respondents, customers of IZONE IELTS training center who are learning in IZONE center system in Hanoi in August 2019 because it is difficult to collect survey from learners who are not learning in IZONE and lack of intent

to do this survey Additionally, the results also are unreliable because of the gap between the time they consume IZONE service and the present that leads to the loss in memmory about IZONE service quality Last but not least, if the period when learners join IZONE courses further from the present at least 3 to 6 months, the change in service quality will not up-to-date with them that leads to the deviation in their assessment

2.4.2 Sampling technique

The sample is selected using convenience sampling technique for the participants which reflects easy and feasible access because of the limitation in time and cost to do this research According to Quinlan (2011), a convenience sampling technique is used for those participants who are easy to include in the research sample

2.4.3 Sample size

In principle, accurate information about the given population could be obtained only from census study However, due to time and cost constraint, in many cases, the complete coverage of population is not possible; thus sampling is one of the methods, which allow the researcher to study a relatively small number of units representing the

e= margin of error (0.05) or maximum tolerable error

Therefore, out of approximately 200 active customers, the survey will target to collect 133 responses

2.5 Data collection instrument

There are many instruments in the quantitative study but the researcher selected to use questionnaire which is the most appropriate instrument for data collection Questionnaire is a common word which consist of all methods of data collection and every respondent is asked the same set of questions by a fixed technique (Saunders, et al., 2009)

It would not be possible for the researcher to collect the data through interview from each individual Online survey method is the most popular and effective technique to use for the survey population who have ability to use this technology (Quinlan, 2011) Therefore, the researcher considered online questionnaire/survey which can collect data from large population and through Google Form which is the most suitable option for this research

2.6 Survey design

The main objective of this survey is to collect information from IZONE customers

in order to analyze their point of views about the factors which affect them the most while learning in IZONE Because most of IZONE customers find easy to do an online survey, the author will design a survey in online through Google Form including 2 part

The first part comprises of demographics which includes employee‟s age, gender and general information about learning in IZONE such as their current enrolled IELTS course in IZONE, their referral channel and their referral intention

The second part of the survey includes closed questions which were provided to the respondents with options to select on a scale and this was measured by „Likert scale‟ The

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options have five-point Likert scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree The Likert scale is the technique of rating scales and are used to collect the belief and attitude of the respondents towards the statements (Quinlan, 2011)

The research questionnaire will be built in the form of table in Microsoft Word in order to take advices from Founders of IZONE about the suitability the questionnaire in order to adjust appropriately to make the official research questionnaire The final questionnaire is showed in the Appendix I

2.7 Data analysis methods

After the relevant data is collected, it analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) Each research questions are answered accordingly and the output of the analysis is presented in tables and finally their implications are explained Descriptive statistics were applied to analyze background information of respondents, overall service quality and customer satisfaction In addition, linear regression analysis method was used

to analyze respondents‟ perception of service quality and satisfaction as well as the relationship between service quality dimensions and between service quality dimensions to customer satisfaction

140 countries all around the world have recognised IELTS test results as English language efficiency provement IELTS result is usually required in your applications to educational institutions, employers, professional associations and governments in English speaking countries IELTS test is ensured to be fair and unbiased for all test takers whoever nationality, background, gender, lifestyle or location IELTS content which undergoes extensive research has been developed by an international team of experts since 1989

The IELTS test has 4 skills including listening, reading, writing and speaking skill with the under three-hour-test time You will take the three Listening, Reading and Writing tests all on the same day one after the other, with no breaks in between If you choose to take IELTS on paper, your Speaking test may be on the same day as the other three tests or

up to seven days before or after that, depending on your test centre If you choose to take IELTS on computer, Listening, Reading and Writing tests will be completed using a computer and Speaking test will be held on same day

The value of IELTS certificate is undoutably with anyone who needs English to live and work in English language environment all over the world First of all, because thousands of the world‟s most reputable universities and colleges will accept your IELTS results as evidence of your English language proficiency, you have to take the IELTS test

if you want to apply to study these universities and colleges Next, IELTS is required by governments in more countries than any other English language test as a requirement for permanent residency The third value of IELTS certificate is to take advantage to apply into English speaking companies which will provide attractive salary and global working environment with the chance to go to other country for business

Table 3.1: Categories of IELTS training center in Hanoi

High class British Council, RES, Summit, ILA,

ACET, GLN

Over 2.5 million VND

Middle class IZONE, IELTS Fighters, IELTS Ngọc

Bách, KOS, IMA, IPP, EQUEST

1.5 to 2.5 million VND

Low class Teacher operating class by their own Below 1.5 million VND

With the high class IELTS training centers, the teacher usually the IELTS examiners who have international certificate of teaching language and over 5 years of teaching IELTS Besides, the facilities and service of these centers are invested with good quality and in the prime location Therefore, learners who want the best training course with high quality service and handle the high tuition fee should take part in these center

Although the middle class centers provide good service with modern facility, the IELTS teachers are usually Vietnamese who got over 8.0 band in IELTS test and have been taught IELTS at least 2 years Additionally, the location is not in the famous street but easy to find

In general, each learner usually register at least 2 to 3 courses, depends on their current level estimated band score If estimated band score of students are about 3.0 or below and they want to get band 6 to 6.5, they will learn from Foundation course (introducing about IELTS and focusing on vocaburary and grammar) to Pre-IELTS (4.0 – 5.0) and IELTS course (5.0 – 6.0) After that, they could spend time doing tests at home or learning an advanced course before doing the IELTS test By contrast, if students estimate their band score is above 5.0 to 6.0 or doing the real IELTS test, they can choose to learn the advanced courses (above 7.0) or specific skill courses to improve their weak skills such

as writing and speaking

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3.1.2.2 Reliable IELTS Training Centers in Hanoi statistics

To supply the massive demand of learning IELTS in Hanoi, hundred of IELTS centers with various sizes have been established rapidly and through years, learners could find out several high-qualified IELTS training centers which have been built their own reputation in this market As below is top IELTS training centers with brief information:

a British Council

The British Council is the UK‟s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities and known as the prestigious IELTS exam site The IELTS preparation program at ACET includes 3 levels: IELTS Pre-Intermediate, IELTS

Intermediate and IELTS Upper-Intermediate

b GLN Center

GLN Center was established since 2008 and in 2012, Bureau Veritas Certification -

UK recognized to achieve ISO 9001: 2008 Quality Certification GLN is known as the Best IELTS Partner of the British Council and an important partner of IDP in registering for the IELTS exam in the North of Vietnam GLN courses are taught by 100% native teachers IELTS courses at GLN include: Introduction for IELTS, Pre IELTS, IELTS Advanced, Skill courses for IELTS: Writing for IELTS, Reading for IELTS, Listening for IELTS, Speaking for IELTS, Grammar and Vocabulary for IELTS

c Summit Education Services

Summit English Center is a prestigious and quality educational institution in Hanoi Summit center was established in 2010 which is currently trusted by many students to choose as the reputational center to help them prepare for the IELTS exam Summit has spacious and modern facilities, the teaching team are both Vietnamese and native speakers The IELTS preparation program is designed and taught according to the Summit IELTS New & Enhanced program which consist of 5 levels: Foundation, Intermediate, High - Inter, Intensive, Advanced

d ACET English Center – a subsidiary of IDP

IELTS preparation programs at ACET with textbooks compiled and updated according to INSEARCH Institute of Technology University of Sydney (UTS) Facilities at ACET are equipped with international standards The IELTS preparation program at ACET includes 5 levels: IELTS Express, IELTS Plus, IELTS Pro A, IELTS Pro B

e RES English Center

RES English center was established in May 2007 in Hanoi Until November of

2018, the RES English Center has 29 facilities including 10 campuses in Hanoi, 14

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campuses in Ho Chi Minh City, 5 others in Bac Ninh, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Vung Tau and Bien Hoa The total number of students enrolled is more than 20,000 students RES English system engages in professional advice and provides foreign teachers, students, and co-produces the following programs: 5 New English Words every day (2019), Hoa Ca (2019) with channels VTV7 national educational television RES was recognized as the best partner of IDP from 2011-2017

The IELTS exam preparation program at RES is divided into a variety of courses: English Basic, English Background, IELTS Foundation and Foundation Foundation, IELTS Pre A and B, Express IELTS, and IELTS Express to achieve 6.5, IELTS Advanced, IELTS Speaking, IELTS Writing, IELTS improving goals 7.5

3.2 Overview of IZONE IELTS Training Academy

3.2.1 IZONE general information

3.2.1.1 Establishment and Development

IZONE was officially established on the 12th of December, 2015 after more than two years of operation as an IELTS learning community whose name is "Sharing strategies

of studying IELTS” (This community started operating on the 14th of November, 2013)

The main activity of IZONE is specializing in training IELTS intensively After nearly five years of operation and development, the center now has two branches in Hanoi, and there have been more than 8000 students studying at IZONE

Always carefully preparing and investing in the content of teaching, IZONE has trained hundreds of students to reach over 7.5 IELTS Therefore, the center is always trusted by students and becomes a prestigious and high - quality IELTS training center

with reasonable cost

3.2.1.2 Mission

IZONE‟s mission is to become a reliable and cost–saving training IELTS academy, which accompany students during the whole period of studying IELTS and beyond IZONE aims at providing students with background knowledge, a clear roadmap and suitable materials in a specific time to achieve students‟ goals in IELTS

3.2.1.3 Vision

IZONE has a vision of leading in the IELTS training segment in Vietnam

3.2.2 IZONE’s differences in the IELTS training market

3.2.2.1 IZONE teachers

The most competitive strengths of IZONE teachers are young, enthusiastic and talented Teachers of all classes are those who have studied for many years at English

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specializing high schools, international courses at Vietnamese universities and foreign universities They have succeeded in attaining many achievements in both study and work Furthermore, they are exceedingly experienced in teaching IELTS and have personally

taught about 8000 students for almost 2 years

3.2.2.2 IELTS training program

IELTS training program is divided into four IELTS - course levels whose structures have an extremely logical connection, including Foundation Course, Pre – IELTS Course, IELTS Course and Advanced IELTS Course Training director and nearly 20 teachers directly compiled and updated the curriculum and student materials during the whole two years to achieve the purpose of minimizing compulsory learning time, increasing the inspiration to study, and bringing the best result to students

3.2.2.3 Learning environment

The learning environment is assessed as one of the most important factors in IZONE When students are motivated to study, their learning will become much easier Therefore, the lecturers at IZONE are not only the trainers who just focus on delivering knowledge but also the ones who are always responsible for inspire students from the beginning to the end of the course IZONE always encourages teachers to turn the classrooms into small families, and each student is a member After a 2.5-month course at IZONE, students are supported to actively create study groups later so every member of the class can continue to study and support each other like family members

3.2.3 IZONE’s features

3.2.3.1 Conscientious

During five years of establishment and development of IZONE, IELTS teachers are always considered to be the key factor, and the most important and strategic team of the center Every teacher is talented, enthusiastic and dedicated They instruct students carefully and conscientiously not only because they perform the tasks according to their responsibility, but also thanks to the fact that they love their students from the bottom of their heart and want to bring the best to their learners

3.2.3.2 Strategic

The strategic factor which contributes to the improvement and expansion of IZONE is definitely the training program associated with exclusive and innovative learning methods researched by IZONE‟s academic team on over 5000 students It is certain to mention four key special methods of four levels of IELTS courses in the center, including multichannel learning,

“mirror – fixing” study, vocabulary super - study, and “warfowl squadron”

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With the Foundation and Pre-IELTS courses, due to weak language reflexivity of learners at these levels, IZONE focuses on increasing the students' ability to produce language in English At the IELTS and Advanced IELTS courses, students are instructed to pay attention to study 2-3 sessions per week; also, their study program are divided into small semesters; and they are able to review the knowlede with considerably high intensity and do many IELTS tests to prepare for the real exam

3.2.3.3 Motivating

IZONE understands the burdens that students have to deal with, the efforts that they make, the passions that they strive for, and the difficulty and tiredness in achieving their goals due to the language barrier This is the reason why besides constantly improving the training program to deliver knowledge in the most effective and time – saving way, IZONE always enthusiastically tries the best to energize, encourage and inspire students to study IELTS better

3.2.4 IZONE’s organizational information

3.2.4.1 IZONE Organization Chart

Figure 3.1: Organization Chart of IZONE IELTS Training Academy

Councelling

Department

Marketing Department

Administrative

Department

Training Director

Academic Department Teaching Department

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3.2.4.3 Branches

 Head office: No 4, 95 Hoang Cau Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi

 The 2nd branch: No 9, 84/1, Pham Tuan Tai Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi

 The 3rd branch: Thang Long High School, No 44, Ta Quang Buu Street,

3.2.4.4 Co-founder profile

Chief Executive Officer: Nguyen Huu Tu

 2010 – 2014: Studying in Foreign Trade University

 14/11/2013: Founding “Sharing strategies of studying IELTS” Community – the precursor of IZONE IELTS Training Academ

Training Director: Pham Hong Long

 2010 – 2013: Monash University, Sunway campus, Australia

 Be included in Monash University's Dean‟s Commendation List 2013 for 5% of graduates with the highest results

3.2.5 IELTS course levels in IZONE

IZONE designs a system of 4 levels of IELTS courses, welcoming students who are

in foundation level (3.0 band in IELTS), with a total training time of 108 lessons that equivalent to 270 hours or 40 weeks Calculating the intermission period between courses, the total time the student will invest is about 1 year with a committed score of 7.0 IELTS

As below is the brief information of each level of cause

3.2.5.1 Foundation course

 Learning content summary:

- Students are strengthened knowledge of pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and also practiced speaking skill

 Pronunciation: students will learn how to pronounce precisely and correct bad pronouncing habits to help them pronounce and listen more fluently

 Approaching basicly to the content of IELTS exam preparation in 4 skills

 After this course, students will master the basic and advanced grammar, know how to pronounce correctly, distinguishing academic vocabulary and using vocabulary in right context

3.2.5.2 Pre-IELTS course

 Learning content summary

The course fulfills weaked skills of students, orients students how to learn IELTS and provides IELTS materials

 Reading skill: students will learn how to identify question types, practice answering techniques and fulfill students‟ vocabulary with various reading topics

 Listening skill: student will learn and practice reasonable tactics for each type of questions, equip necessary listening skills, listen repeatedly to increase their listening ability

 Writing skill: student will focus on the structure and fundamental vocabulary and grammar of task 1 and task 2 Students will practice writing and be being corrected specific errors by IELTS lecturers

 Speaking skill: student will learn vocabulary at home, each topic has a vocabulary synthesis for students to remember effectively in the long period, practice speaking in individual or group in class The Speaking content in this course will revolve around part 1 and part 2

 After this course, students are fluent in Part 1 of speaking test by knowing how

to extend the answer; fluenting in writing the introduction and completing paragraphs with simple words; and knowing how to use basic listening and reading skills

3.2.5.3 IELTS Course

 Summary of learning content

 Reading: students will identify and practice question types and answer techniques; expand vocabulary by learning reading topic and increase reading speed