A Study of the Interrelationships Among Service Recovery, Relationship Quality, and Brand Image in Higher Education Industries

This study aims to investigate the direction and strength of the relationships among service recovery, relationship quality, and brand image in higher education industries. This research provides a framework for school managers to understand service recovery from an operations perspective. Structural equation models were used to test the proposed relationships: relationships linking relationship quality, service recovery, and brand image in higher education industries. The data source is a survey of undergraduate students at universities in Taiwan. The total sample was composed of 600 surveyed students from 12 universities. Of this total, 550 students answered the questionnaire, 526 of whom answered all of the study questions. These figures represent a success rate of more than 80 %. From these results, the following three research hypotheses were tested: (H1) Service recovery is positively associated with relationship quality; (H2) Service recovery is positively associated with brand image; and (H3) Relationship quality is positively associated with brand image. Viewing schools as having service recovery and relationship quality affected the brand image of students. Based on these results, schools managers can address service recovery and relationship quality to achieve a good school brand image. In addition, the author presents numerous relevant directions for future research and highlights the findings’ implications for research and practice. Finally, the author discusses the study’s limitations.