Heterogeneity Analysis in the University Context. A Proposal Based on Service Quality Perceptions

The transformations being experienced by Spanish universities faced with the challenge of adapting to a changing environment and increasingly discerning and segmented demand highlights the importance of knowing the needs and wishes of students as main customers. This present study attempts an in-depth examination of the viability of student perceptions of service quality as segmentation criterion. We go deeply into the dimensionality of university service quality and analyse how such dimensions can be used to segment effectively the collective of students studies using latent methodology. The results based on information gathered from 287 questionnaires permit analysis of existing heterogeneity and a set of recommendations to be made for strategic management in the area of university services.