Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 2013
Vol. 35, No. 4, 396–409, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2013.812057
Satisfiers and dissatisfiers for international students of higher
education: an exploratory study in Australia
Constanza Bianchi*
School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations, QUT Business School, Queensland
University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
This paper explores the main satisfiers and dissatisfiers for international students in
Australia’s higher educational sector. Using a critical incident technique, this study
is conducted with international students of higher education in Australia. Four categories of satisfiers and dissatisfiers emerge from the data which are related to individual
performance, quality of the educational service, socialization, and living conditions.
Keywords: Australia; dissatisfiers; higher education; international students; satisfiers
Introduction
International students are important consumers for higher education institutions that aim
to export their service. While substantial attention has been given to the drivers of satisfaction for domestic students (e.g., Elliott & Shin, 2002), less consideration is given to the
drivers of satisfactory service experiences for overseas students. Transnational education
and tourism differ from other domestic service sectors given that the majority of the service is provided in a foreign country requiring mobility on the part of the international
consumer (Heffernan, Morrison, Basu, & Sweeney, 2010; Orava, 2002).
The services literature has found strong support for the contention that it is customer
satisfaction, rather than service quality, that leads to increased market share, profitability,
positive word of mouth, and customer retention for service providers (Anderson, Fornell, &
Lehmann, 1994; Oliver, 1997). Higher education is increasingly recognising the importance
of placing greater emphasis on meeting the expectations and needs of students (Tam, 2001).
In particular, studies have found that student satisfaction has a positive effect on student
motivation, student retention, and institutional fundraising (Elliott & Shin, 2002).
Satisfying international students involves specific challenges owing to the need for
customer mobility from their own countries. International students must travel to a new
country which is often unknown and many times culturally different (Duke, 2000), and
must live in the foreign country where the educational service is provided and consumed.
Furthermore, the need for institutions to integrate culturally diverse students into the general student population generates the challenge to meet the expectations of students from
varied cultural perspectives (Thompson & Thompson, 1996). This suggests that, sources
of satisfaction or dissatisfaction for international students may involve a wide range of
elements in addition to the core service (of teaching and learning) itself. Consequently,
*Email: constanza.bianchi@qut.edu.au
© 2013 Association for Tertiary Education Management and the LH Martin Institute for Tertiary Education Leadership and
Management
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397
research on satisfaction and dissatisfaction for international students offers an opportunity
for institutions to understand what is really important to these customers.
The objective of this study is to contribute to the literature by exploring the main
satisfiers and dissatisfiers for international students of higher education. The research
methodology for this study uses a critical incident technique (CIT) to identify the main
satisfiers and dissatisfiers for international students taking a course of study in Queensland,
Australia. Furthermore, the differences between the drivers of satisfaction and dissatisfaction for international students is assessed, a topic that has received minimal attention in the
literature.
The rest of this article is structured as follows. First, we review the literature related
to service experiences and student satisfaction in higher educational services and propose
the research question. Second, we present our research method and data collection process.
Next, we present our findings and finally we conclude with a discussion on the findings and
implications.
Literature review
The service-centred paradigm proposes that value is co-created by customers through interactional experiences with products and services (Vargo & Lusch, 2004). In the context
of services, the satisfaction judgment about a service is determined by accumulation of
sub-judgments that a customer makes about different service interactions. Specifically, service experiences include interactions with the contact personnel (e.g., lecturers, tutors, and
general staff), the physical environment (e.g., buildings and equipment, classrooms, and
campus), service systems (e.g., application, enrolment, lectures), and other service customers (e.g., other classmates). Overall, customer satisfaction is a function of satisfaction
with different components of the service concept (Anderson, Pearo, & Widener, 2008;
Mittal, Kumar, & Tsiros, 1999).
Previous studies have found that satisfiers are not always the reverse of dissatisfiers
(Cadotte & Turgeon, 1988; Johnston, 1995). Satisfiers are factors that elicit satisfaction when present but their absence does not cause dissatisfaction (Vargo, Nagao, He,
& Morgan, 2007). Dissatisfiers are factors for which low performance (or absence) of a
service can cause dissatisfaction, yet higher levels (or presence) do not increase satisfaction (Vargo et al., 2007). For example, Johnston (1995) found that reliability, integrity, and
responsiveness were the primary drivers of dissatisfaction for bank customers, while attentiveness, responsiveness, care, and friendliness were the primary drivers of satisfaction.
Similarly, Verma (2003) identified that attributes that lead to customer delight relate mainly
to good interpersonal performance such as friendliness, courtesy, consideration, problem
solving, and personalization, and the drivers of outrage relate to core service failure, such
as non-performance of promised service and rude, offensive, or impolite staff.
Educational services are characterized by a greater amount of interpersonal contact,
complexity, divergence, and customization than other service business (Patterson, Romm,
& Hill, 1998). In higher education, there is core service (teaching and learning), and
peripheral services (services related to the living conditions and environment of the host
country), such as security, cultural and social activities, accommodation, transportation, and
visa/entry requirements. Prior research found that both the core and peripheral attributes
are directly related to overall service quality and customer satisfaction (Anderson et al.,
2008; Butcher, Sparks, & O’Callaghan, 2003; McDougall & Levesque, 2000).
Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman (1993) contend that the level of satisfaction experienced by students is based on a comparison of expectations regarding what will occur in
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the service experience with perceptions of what really occurs. However, most of the quality
attributes in higher education cannot be felt, perceived, or tested in advance, which results in
difficulties for the evaluation of a course or program, especially for an international student
(Patterson et al., 1998; Srikatanyoo & Gnoth, 2005). Thus, international students and educational staff might have different expectations about what should occur during the service
experience or might be uncertain of their expectations (Kwortnik Jr. & Thompson, 2009).
These expectations are based on cultural schemas that influence how people view and act
upon the world. Moreover, services such as education involve a high degree of human
interaction that can be greatly influenced by cultural elements (Furrer, Liu, & Sudharshan,
2000). High contact between staff and international students from different cultural backgrounds often result in problems of misunderstandings and frustration during the service
encounter (Liu, Furrer, & Sudharshan, 2001; Malhotra, Ulgado, Agarwal, Shainesh, & Wu,
2005; Mattila, 1999; Stauss & Mang, 1999; Winsted, 1997).
Arambewela and Hall (2006) claim that most international students are likely to be
satisfied with their experience of the core educational service (e.g., teaching staff, infrastructure, and course material). However, this might not be the case for peripheral services
such as living conditions, accommodation, safety, cultural activities, visa, and entry requirements (Cubillo, Sanchez, & Cervino, 2006). These services are attributes of the overall
educational experience in a new country and are likely to play a significant role in enhancing or deteriorating international student satisfaction (Fournier & Mick, 1999; Oliver, 1997;
Rust & Oliver, 2000). Further, people do not evaluate an experience by summing up the
evaluations of all the events that make up that experience, but rather they evaluate specific
salient moments and the final state (Ariely & Carmon, 2000).
Previous studies have acknowledged that education is one of the most intangible services with high experience and credence qualities (e.g., Patterson et al., 1998). In addition,
other customers may be present and interact with the customer or with the service provider
and affect the outcome of the service. Consumers have the ability to form expectations
about the attributes of the core service (Garcia-Aracil, 2009; Soutar & McNeil, 1996).
However, for experiential international services such as education, consumers may be
unable to form these expectations; therefore, overall satisfaction judgments may be derived
not only from the functional attributes of the service but also from the consumer’s affective
reaction to the service provider, the physical infrastructure, the process, other customers,
or the general environment (Alford & Sherrell, 1996; Oliver, 1993).
The literature on transnational education has focused on topics such as choice of educational institution, student behavior, international travel courses, cultural differences and
learning styles, as well as international student expectations (e.g., Duke, 2000; Heffernan
et al., 2010). Awareness and reputation of the host country and institutions, personal recommendations and word of mouth are shown to be the most important factors for choosing an
institution abroad (Bourke, 2000; Cubillo et al., 2006; Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002). Patterson
et al. (1998) identifies four dimensions of expectations for international students studying in Australia: learning well being (acquisition of knowledge and professional skills),
social well-being (quantity and quality of interactions with other individuals), economic
well-being (ability to obtain and pay for the goods and services necessary for survival in a
foreign country), and personal well being (perception of self as an individual in a foreign
country). According to the findings, the major determinant of satisfaction for international
students was learning well being, which is the core service.
Only a few studies have investigated the drivers of satisfaction or dissatisfaction for
students, and these studies have focused mainly on domestic students (DeShields Jr., Kara,
& Kaynak, 2005). DeShields Jr. et al.’s (2005) findings indicate that the quality of faculty
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399
and classes significantly affected student satisfaction. Voss, Gruber, and Szmigin (2007)
also found that students want lecturers who are knowledgeable, enthusiastic, approachable,
and friendly. Specifically in higher education, student satisfaction is driven by the teaching
ability of lecturers, availability of staff, library and computing facilities, class sizes, and
student workload (Alves & Raposo, 2009). Garcia-Aracil (2009) investigated satisfaction
among young European graduates and found that the most satisfied graduates scored course
content and social aspects very highly, while opportunity to participate in research projects
and poor supply of teaching materials were among the main reasons for dissatisfaction.
This is consistent with Alves and Raposo (2009), who measure customer satisfaction in
higher education and find that emotions play an important role for the satisfaction of some
students.
While the growing interest in student satisfaction research by higher educational
institutions have contributed positively to satisfaction research in services, the work on
post-choice satisfaction in international education and particularly on international postgraduate students from different countries is limited (Arambewela & Hall, 2006). For
example, Thompson and Thompson (1996) found that the behaviors undermining international student success are minimal class participation, not asking for clarification on
assignment, sitting or studying only with other international students, and breach of ethical
standards of scholarship. Thus, the objective of this study is to extend the international services literature by exploring the following research question: What are the main satisfiers
and dissatisfiers for international students in Australian higher education? This question
is addressed from the international student’s perspective and investigates what behaviors
are perceived by them as satisfactory and dissatisfactory when experiencing an educational
service in Australia.
Research methodology
The critical incident technique (CIT) was used to collect and categorize data regarding critical satisfying and dissatisfying incidents. CIT is an analytical method that uses narratives
and self reported stories to classify specific events, phenomena, or occurrences, referred to
as incidents (Flanagan, 1954). CIT relies on a set of procedures to collect, content analyse,
and classify observations of human behavior (Gremler, 2004; Grove & Fisk, 1997). Thus, it
provides a rich source of data by enabling respondents to determine which incidents are the
most relevant to them for the phenomenon being investigated. CIT has been used widely in
service research (Bitner & Tetreault, 1990; Edvardsson, 1992; Greenwell, Lee, & Naeger,
2007; Gremler & Gwinner, 2008; Grove & Fisk, 1997; Keaveney, 1995).
There are several advantages for using CIT for investigating satisfying and dissatisfying
behaviors in a foreign-service setting. First, the data are collected from the respondent’s
perspective which reflects the respondent’s personal situation and standpoint (Edvardsson,
1992). In addition, CIT generates a comprehensive description of situations and events,
which offers an opportunity for exploring an under-researched phenomena (Gremler, 2004).
This data can be used to inform a conceptual framework that can later be tested (Gremler,
2004).
Within CIT, data can be collected in a number of ways, such as personal interviews,
focus group interviews, surveys, and observation (Edvardsson, 1992). For this study,
we conducted semi-structured interviews owing to the richness of data they can elicit
(Edvardsson, 1992). To explore the drivers of satisfaction and dissatisfaction (see Johnston,
1995), critical incidents were collected in October 2009, from a sample of 34 international
students taking a postgraduate business course at a university in Queensland, Australia.
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Respondents were recruited using purposeful sampling, by identifying individuals who
are able to provide information about the phenomenon of interest (Gremler, 2004). The
respondents came from 17 different countries located in four different continents: Brazil,
Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Mexico,
Norway, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Taiwan, and Thailand. Of the total respondents, 45 per cent were male and 55 per cent were female. Respondents were continuously
recruited until information redundancy occurred (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000). The interviews
were structured around a series of open-ended questions that elicited incidents of satisfaction and dissatisfaction for international students while consuming their educational
service. Initially, respondents were introduced by the first author to the issue for discussion
and then provided with a consent form to participate. Once consent was obtained, respondents were asked three general questions: (a) What country are you from?, (b) When did
you arrive to Australia?, and (c) What are you studying? Following these questions, respondents were asked to elicit specific incidents of satisfaction and dissatisfaction while they
have been studying their current degree in Australia, guided by the following questions:
1. Think of a time in the last six months that you had an extremely (dis)satisfying
experience while studying your current degree in Australia.
2. Please describe in detail what happened during this incident.
3. Why was this incident extremely (dis)satisfying to you?
Respondents then described in detail the circumstances surrounding a specific satisfying and dissatisfying experience and when it took place. To be used in the analysis, a
critical incident was required to (a) have occurred while consumers are experiencing the
educational service in Australia, (b) to contain a clear example of satisfying or dissatisfying experience, (c) to have been described in enough detail for the researcher to visualise
the incident. Prior to data collection, interviews were held with 3 international students to
pre-test the CIT method.
Using the deductive coding strategy outlined by Miles and Huberman (1994), the incidents were initially descriptively coded (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 57) based on the
themes and theoretical constructs identified in the literature (Lewins & Silver, 2007). This
analytical induction process consists of placing incidents into basic units and then moving
to a higher level of categories according to similarities in the reported experiences (Bitner
& Tetreault, 1990). In a number of cases, there were multiple incidents per interview which
resulted in a total of 121 classifiable incidents, 59 incidents related to satisfiers and 62 incidents related to dissatisfiers. A second coder classified the subcategories with a 97 per cent
agreement. Disagreements in categories were discussed between both coders to reach a
final agreement with the coding.
Findings
The thematic coding resulted in 4 categories and 24 subcategories of satisfiers and
dissatisfiers for international students. These categories and subcategories with the corresponding percentages are included in Table 1.
Category 1: international student performance
This category represents 23.8 per cent of total satisfier incidents, and refers to the international students’ ability to perform appropriately and obtain high evaluation scores while
Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management
401
Table 1. Category classifications by type.
Satisfiers
Categories
International student performance
Achieving high grades
Learning and applying new concepts
Obtaining a degree in higher education
Language barrier/difficulty in communication
Feeling overwhelmed
Achieving low grades
Total
Educational service performance
Knowledgeable and supportive staff
Well organized program/course
High quality installations and attractive campus
Unsupportive or insulting staff and classmates
Low performance/participation of classmates
Low quality of staff and course programs
Total
Socialization performance
Meeting people from different countries
Experiencing new culture/perspectives
Feeling welcomed and accepted by local people
Feeling discriminated against/not accepted by locals
Feeling lonely
Lack of friends
Total
Living environment performance
Visiting beautiful touristic attractions-good weather
Receiving support from home stay family/friends
Well organized city with good customer service
Differences compared to home country
Daily life problems
Being insulted by other people
Total
Total
No.
%
8
5
1
13.5
8.5
1.8
Dissatisfiers
No.
%
1
5
2
11.3
8.0
3.2
22.5
6
5
5
9.7
8.0
8.0
25.7
4
4
4
6.5
6.5
6.5
19.5
7
7
6
11.3
11.3
9.7
32.3
100
23.8
10
2
2
16.9
3.4
3.4
23.7
10
3
2
16.9
5.1
3.4
25.4
10
3
3
59
16.9
5.1
5.1
27.1
100
62
undertaking their course. It implicitly requires for international students to have the capability to understand the language, terminology, and methodology involved in the learning
activity. In addition, learning and applying new concepts refers to the individual ability of
the international student to grasp new knowledge during their postgraduate program and
being able to apply it to real life situations in their working environments or internships.
International students seem to be satisfied when learning theories and gaining professional
skills that can be useful in future jobs. Moreover, international students are very satisfied
when they obtain a degree in higher education, which reflects their effort in completing
their course work and improves the likelihood of getting a better professional job in their
home country.
Student performance was also cited as a source of dissatisfaction with 22.5 per cent
of total incidents. Language barriers or difficulties in speaking the local language impact
the capacity of international students to communicate with their teachers, tutors, and classmates, as well as the international student’s capacity to understand instructions or concepts
during the class sessions. It also considers the difficulty or inability that some international
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C. Bianchi
students have in approaching lecturers or tutors when they have questions or need help
or support due to the fact that they lack the minimum knowledge base for understanding
general concepts while they are doing their degree. Language and communication barriers cause frustration among international students which leads to dissatisfaction with the
overall course. Further, international students undergo embarrassment in front of their family and friends when they achieve low grades, resulting in feelings of low self-esteem and
dissatisfaction with the overall course. Finally, general feelings of stress, a heavy workload from courses, and a demanding program lead international students to have a negative
opinion of themselves and dissatisfaction with the course.
Category 2: educational service performance
Elements related to the core service represent 23.7 per cent of total satisfiers for international students of higher education. Most international students put effort and resources in
studying abroad. Yet, they usually confront differences in the teaching methodology and
language which produces confusion and despair, and so they value having empathic and
supportive academics, tutors, and administrative staff members. International students are
pleased when the program of study and coursework is well organised in terms of outline,
teaching material, and complementary information. They especially appreciate when there
is an alignment of information in different courses within a program, without repetition
in the teaching material. It also considers the possibility for international students to conduct a job/internship experience during their program, which is highly valued and a source
of satisfaction for international students. High quality installations and attractive campus
refers to the international student’s perceptions regarding the buildings and classrooms,
well equipped library, high tech computer labs, gym, and attractive campus with shops.
International students are highly satisfied with these installations because it allows them to
spend the whole day in the university campus and facilitates their learning process.
Elements of the core service are also perceived as sources of dissatisfaction by international students and represent 25.7 per cent of total dissatisfier incidents. Situations of
classmates not participating or communicating well in the classroom are perceived as
a waste of time for international students and as hindering the quality of the lecture.
Academic staff who are unprepared in class or show limited knowledge regarding the subject they are teaching are also found as a source of dissatisfaction among international
students. Similarly, courses with confusing outlines, low quality material, or inappropriate
evaluations arise as sources of dissatisfaction. International students feel that the classroom environment is an important opportunity to learn new concepts. So, they want to
make the most out of the teaching periods and not waste their time or money. In addition,
unsupportive staff members who are not approachable, fail to reply to emails, or do not
answer questions are an important source of dissatisfaction for the same reason. Inefficient
enrolment, processes, and lectures/tutorials changes affect international students because
it results in time spent solving problems. Insulting behavior from lecturers, tutors, staff, or
other classmates corresponds to situations where international students perceive that other
people within the educational institution have an insulting behavior towards them with
specific words, body gestures, or attitudes.
Category 3: socialization performance
Social activities conducted by international students while studying in a foreign country
is seen as an important source of satisfaction, representing 25.4 per cent of total satisfier
Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management
403
incidents. Meeting people from different countries involves sharing international experiences and being exposed to new concepts and ideas, in addition to their coursework. It also
gives international students the opportunity to make long life friends that they can visit
in their future. International students experience new cultures by sharing food, and learning new languages and customs. Most international students agree that they study abroad
not only to obtain a degree but also to have an international experience. Learning about
new perspectives refers to learning about new ways to view the world and its problems
which opens their minds to new viewpoints. This is also relevant for international students
who come from conservative countries with homogeneous cultures. Feeling welcomed and
accepted by local people refers to whether international students consider that they are
accepted and welcomed by Australian people. International students value highly the possibility of feeling part of the local culture. This includes things like having local friends or
being invited to Australian parties, and working in Australian companies.
Dissatisfiers in this category correspond to 19.5 per cent of total dissatisfier incidents
and mainly involve a lack of socialization opportunities. Feeling discriminated against or
not accepted by local/international people is linked to instances where international students have not been accepted or invited by Australians or other international students.
It also includes situations where local classmates show evident signs of being bored or not
interested in the opinions of international students, which affects their self-esteem and confidence. International students living in a new country sometimes feel lonely and homesick
because they miss their family and friends from their home country. International students
usually travel alone to a new country without relatives or friends. They do not know anyone and expect that university activities will help them meet new friends. However, some
international students have difficulty in this process and feel very dissatisfied.
Category 4: living environment performance
This category refers to the international student’s living environment, and represents
27.1 per cent of total incidents, and the highest among satisfiers. For international students living in a new country, receiving support from their home stay family and friends
to help them sort out domestic situations of their daily life is considered as an important
source of satisfaction. Most international students are away from their families and some
of them for the first time. So, they appreciate when local families are kind to them or
share some time for conversation or sharing a meal with them. Visiting beautiful touristic
attractions and having good weather is also considered a satisfier for international students.
They usually travel around the city/country while they are studying abroad and it is considered part of the international experience. Thus, being able to visit beautiful touristic
attractions and having a good weather is an important source of satisfaction for international students. Living in a well-organized city that is safe, with good transportation and
medical services, is considered as a satisfier by international students. International students also appreciate being treated well by retail or medical staff and having the possibility
to return merchandise, something that is not common among some Asian or Latin American
countries.
Dissatisfiers in this category represent 32.3 per cent of total incidents, and refer to situations where international students confront problems with basic living conditions in the
foreign country. Some international students receive verbal or physical signs of discrimination by being insulted against by local people. Especially, Asian international students
report being screamed against and told to leave the country. Other international students
report being insulted by local Australians because of their racial background. This produces
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C. Bianchi
feelings of fear and despair and much dissatisfaction with the whole experience of studying
abroad. Similarly, poor customer service or situations where international students perceive that the service provider does not have an appropriate attitude or does not solve their
problem, causes feelings of dissatisfaction. In addition, some international students find
major environmental differences compared to their home country. This refers to the inability to purchase their preferred food or spices, or situations when there are differences in
store hours of operations, or customer service in Australia which produces dissatisfaction
to some international students. Finally, elements of the daily life environment in the new
country, such as safety, accommodation, healthcare, and shopping cause concern for many
international students because it involves aspects of their daily lives. Finding a well located
and appropriate accommodation lease is a particular source of anxiety for international students and a source of dissatisfaction for many of them owing to the way they are treated by
property rental companies and other tenants.
Discussion and conclusions
Industries such as higher education and tourism differ from other service sectors given that
the majority of the service is provided in the domestic market of the entity requiring mobility on the part of the international consumer (Orava, 2002). Scant research has examined
drivers of satisfaction or dissatisfaction for overseas consumers in a foreign- service setting.
In this study, CIT was used to identify the main satisfiers and dissatisfiers for international
students. The resulting model identified 4 categories and 33 subcategories of satisfiers and
dissatisfiers. These categories correspond to specific attributes of the core service (e.g., educational service performance), and attributes related to the individual performance of the
consumer (e.g., personal performance), as well as attributes related to socialization (socialization performance), and also regarding the new living environment (living environment
performance). This categorization is shown in Figure 1.
Attributes of the core service (teaching and learning) related to knowledgeable staff
were found to be a source of satisfaction for international students (Patterson et al.,
1998). This is consistent with previous research which shows that student satisfaction in
higher education is increased by lecturers who are knowledgeable, enthusiastic, approachable, and friendly (DeShields Jr. et al., 2005; Voss et al., 2007). These findings are also
congruent with previous studies which find that service quality elements are good predictors of satisfaction (Dabholkar & Overby, 2005; Sureshchandar, Chandrasekharan, &
Anantharaman, 2002). However, our findings suggest that, for international students, more
relevance is attributed to the motivation, helpfulness, and supportiveness of the staff than
their knowledge, training, or prestige.
In terms of dissatisfaction related to the core service, the most important element
was low performance of other classmates. For international students, the role of classmates seems to be very relevant for their own learning experience. This is consistent with
Thompson and Thompson (1996) who identified the behaviors that undermine international
student’s success: minimal class participation, not asking for clarification on assignment,
sitting or studying only with other international students, and breach of ethical standards of
scholarship. Owing to the nature of this particular service industry where the level of customer participation required is high, the customer plays a vital role in co-creating positive
service experiences (Bitner, Faranda, Hubbert, & Zeithaml, 1997).
Achieving high marks was found the most important contributor to the satisfaction
of international students. Probably, this is because, it reflects a measurable outcome of
the learning process for international students and their families, and provides them with
Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management
405
International student performance (23.7 per cent)
Achieving high grades
Learning and applying new concepts
Obtaining a degree in higher education
Educational service performance (23.7 per cent)
Knowledgeable and supportive staff
Well organized program/courses
High quality installations/attractive campus
Satisfiers
Socialization performance (25.4 per cent)
Meeting people from different countries
Experiencing a new culture/perspectives
Feeling welcomed by local people
International
student
satisfaction
Living environment performance (27.1 per cent)
Visiting touristic attractions–weather
Receiving support from home stay/friends
Well organized city/good customer
service
International student performance (22.5 per cent)
Difficulty in communicating/language
barrier
Feeling overwhelmed
Achieving low grades
Educational service performance (25.7 per cent)
Unsupportive or insulting staff members and
classmates.
Low performance/participation of classmates
Low quality of courses and staff members
Dissatisfiers
Socialization performance (19.5 per cent)
Feeling discriminated against/not accepted by
local people
Feeling lonely and homesick
Lack of friends
International
student
dissatisfaction
Living environment performance (32.3 per cent)
Daily life living problems
Differences in living conditions compared to
home country
Being insulted by local people
Figure 1. Categorization of satisfiers and dissatisfiers for international students.
self-confidence and feelings of accomplishment. Since higher educational services require
more than just the physical presence of the international student, they must clearly define
beforehand the role that they expect the international student to play. Addressing this can
help educational organization to identify the types of requirements and information needed
from the international students to increase the likelihood of satisfaction.
Our data also show that customer-to-customer interaction is an important driver of
international student satisfaction. Previous research has shown that sociable incidents of
customer-to-customer interaction has a positive effect on customer satisfaction (Martin &
Pranter, 1989; Wu, 2007). Specifically, for international students, the possibility of meeting people from different countries and learning about new cultures and food has a strong
impact on their satisfaction. It also gives international students the opportunity to share
their experiences and make long life friends. The opposite also drives international student dissatisfaction. Being unable to meet new friends or become integrated in a group
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C. Bianchi
leads to a sense of loneliness and lack of acceptance. This can occur because cross-cultural
interactions are associated with several problems such as misunderstandings, miscommunication, stereotyping, ethnocentrism, prejudice, discrimination, and cultural distance (Stauss
& Mang, 1999). This is consistent with Garcia-Aracil (2009) who found that, for the most
satisfied graduates, social aspects rate very highly in their satisfaction surveys, as well as
Alves and Raposo (2009), who found that emotions play an important role for graduate
students’ satisfaction.
The final category identified in this study refers to the role played by the characteristics
of the context (living environment) where the students reside. Although these elements of
the environment are regarded as peripheral services, they impact strongly on the overall
satisfaction and dissatisfaction of international students and show that strong is the affective reactions by these students. Elements such as pleasant weather and beautiful landscape
impact international students’ satisfaction; however, their absence does not cause dissatisfaction. On the other hand, inappropriate accommodation and healthcare services as well as
feeling discriminated against are dissatisfiers for international students. However, a pleasant accommodation does not necessarily drive to satisfaction. These findings suggest that
educational institutions must consider ways to manage peripheral services such as accommodation, safety, and healthcare to avoid dissatisfied students. This view is consistent with
the view that functional elements as well as affective reactions impact service satisfaction
judgments (Alford & Sherrell, 1996).
Overall, our findings suggest a number of implications for educational service providers
of higher education. First, educational institutions that aim towards recruiting international
students should not only assess the drivers of satisfaction but they also need to identify the
causes of dissatisfaction, which are not necessarily the reverse of dissatisfiers (Cadotte
& Turgeon, 1988; Johnston, 1995). Thus, educational organizations should attempt to
strengthen the satisfiers that elicit satisfaction when present and eliminate or minimize
dissatisfiers that can cause dissatisfaction (Vargo et al., 2007). Second, consistent with previous research, most international students are likely to be relatively satisfied with their
experience with the core educational service (e.g., lecturers, infrastructure, and course
material). However, some are not satisfied with the role played by other classmates,
which also contributes to the educational experience. Staff should attempt to encourage
participation among all students.
In addition, it is important for international students to perform competently. Thus,
educational institutions should consider ways to aid students who have low levels of language and background knowledge. Further, socialization is also relevant for international
students and meeting people from different countries is an important driver of satisfaction. Educational institutions can organize and encourage activities that allow international
students to meet people from different countries. Finally, peripheral services such as living conditions, accommodation, safety, transport, and healthcare are attributes closely
related to the overall educational experience in a new country and crucial to most students
located outside of their home country (Cubillo et al., 2006). These should be considered
by educational managers, since they play a significant role in enhancing or deteriorating
international student satisfaction (Fournier & Mick, 1999).
While this study provides some useful insights, it has a number of limitations. First,
this research involved a relatively small sample of international students, with a larger
proportion of females from a business faculty. Future studies could obtain a representative
sample from different disciplines in higher education as well as other countries. Moreover,
this research does not address the impact of personal characteristics (country of origin),
that might exert influence on perceptions of satisfactory or dissatisfactory experiences.
Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management
407
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