A phenomenology of university service quality experience: uncovering the essence of meaning among business undergraduates in Malaysia

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the complex nature of perceived quality by employing a phenomenological study to understand the meaning of University Service Quality (USQ) as experienced by the business undergraduate students. Design/methodology/approach: The paper employs a phenomenological study to understand the meaning of USQ from the undergraduate students' perspective. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 business undergraduates from public universities, local private universities and a foreign branch campus in Malaysia. Data gathered were analysed using the procedure suggested by Colaizzi (1978) for descriptive phenomenological analysis. Findings: From the qualitative data, the essential structure of the USQ experience was constructed based on five major themes which are "USQ as a luxury", "USQ as citizenship rights", "USQ as nurturing apprentices", "USQ as administrative relief" and "USQ as utility consumption". The findings suggest that students' service quality experiences could be understood as a multi-faceted phenomenon with students expressing context-dependent service expectations and outcomes. Practical implications: The outcome of the paper highlights the nature of students' expectations which may vary according to service contexts, and their perception of self. Therefore, an integrated effort in various service domains is necessary to enhance service quality experience in higher education. Originality/value: Although previously explored by Dabholkar et al. (1996) in the retail services, the phenomenological-based methodology is rather uncommon in the service quality inquiry, particularly in the higher education context. The insights gathered from the phenomenological study provided access to understanding some persistent issues in USQ such as standards of expectations and perceived role by students in the higher education.