Troy Heffernan

Service quality in postgraduate education

Purpose – Measuring service quality in higher education is increasingly important for attracting and retaining tuition‐based revenues. Nonetheless, whilst undergraduates have received substantial academic exposure, postgraduate‐based research has been scant. Consequently, the objectives of this paper are threefold: first, to identify the service factors used by postgraduates in their quality evaluations. Second, to analyse the appropriateness of importance‐performance analysis (IPA) in the measurement of service quality and, final, to provide a working example of IPAs application in a UK‐based university.Design/methodology/approach – Convergent interviews were used to elicit attributes of service that were deemed important by taught postgraduate students. These findings were then tested using an online survey. Exploratory factor analysis was used to group the service attributes into latent “service factors”. Each service factor was then tested for service quality using Martilla and Jamess IPA technique....

Relationship marketing: The impact of emotional intelligence and trust on bank performance

Purpose – The two aims of this paper are to explore the development of trust for relationships between staff and customers in the banking sector and to investigate possible links between financial performance of relationship manager and their levels of emotional intelligence (EI) and trust. Design/methodology/approach – An internet survey was undertaken, where respondents were asked to complete an EI test and questions relating to trusting behaviour. These data were integrated with financial performance data supplied by the bank. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and correlation analysis was used to identify links. Findings – Trust was found to be made up of three components: dependability; knowledge; and expectations. Further, there were significant correlations between both trust and EI, when compared to the financial performance of a relationship manager. Research limitations/implications – The methods used by the bank to collect performance data have limited the analysis that could be conducted. Practical implications – Increased awareness by the relationship managers of their own emotions, and how they perceive and act upon the emotions of others, should favourably impact financial performance. Originality/value – This paper is an important initial step in highlighting the significance of EI and trust in the relationship marketing/selling arena.

Cultural differences, learning styles and transnational education

Australian universities have been active participants in the transnational education market over the past twenty years. Many Australian universities have structured various forms of franchising arrangements with universities and other education providers, particularly with educational institutions in China. However, the cultural differences between Australia and China are substantial; furthermore, research has shown that Chinese students have unique characteristics that differentiate them from Western students. Nevertheless, Australian universities develop and implement programs in China with limited understanding of these differences. Consequently, to administer these programs better academics need to understand the differences that might exist in Chinese student cohorts. One area of possible difference is learning styles. Hence, the aim of this study was to explore the differences in learning styles between business students in China and Australia. The results suggest that there are substantial differences in learning styles between the two countries. Consequently, program managers need to consider these differences when structuring course offerings for students in China.

Learning Styles of On-Campus and Off-Campus Marketing Students: The Challenge for Marketing Educators

Using the Solomon-Felder Learning Styles Index, the authors examine how learning styles of marketing students differ across on-campus and off-campus teaching modes, as well as across various sociodemographic variables. In addition, they identify learning segments for each teaching mode using cluster analysis. This enables more accurate targeting of teaching styles to the learning needs of each of the main student segments. Three student segments are identified in each sample. While some similarities between segments exist across teaching modes, distinct differences are found implying a need to tailor teaching strategies differently for on-campus and off-campus students. The relationship between student preferences for teaching techniques and learning styles is also examined. The teaching preferences of many off-campus students is suggestive of incongruence in the teaching approach of typical off-campus courses and indicates a need to develop innovative approaches to teaching students using this mode of study.

Karns's Learning Styles and Learning Effectiveness: A Rejoinder

Debate over the link between student learning styles and effective teaching has a long tradition, made more interesting by Karnss recent article “Learning Style Differences in the Perceived Effectiveness of Learning Activities.” Fundamentally he asserts, in critiquing Morrison et al. (2003), that marketing educators should not adopt “a high investment strategy” in tailoring curriculum to student learning styles segments but merely “provide a range of learning experiences that tap multiple learning modalities.” This study contends that in developing his research question, Karns has misunderstood the perspective of Morrison et al. about how to adapt teaching styles to influence learning outcomes. In addition, this study reviews Karnss methodology, noting weaknesses in the measurement of learning styles, sampling, and data analysis that the authors expect has influenced his findings and conclusions. Finally, the authors introduce additional data that support their findings rather than his, thus further stimulating this debate.

Trust Formation at the Growth Stage of a Business-to-Business Relationship

Purpose – Trust is known to have three dimensions: ability/competence, integrity/contractual and benevolence/goodwill. Yet what develops these three dimensions of trust is relatively unknown, particularly at the different stages of the relationship lifecycle. The primary goal of this paper is improving understanding about the development of these three elements of trust. Hence, this research is undertaken within the critical growth phase of the relationship lifecycle.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach was deemed most appropriate to achieve the deep understanding needed for this type of exploratory study. Using a relationship dyad, which contained a retail manager and wholesale salesperson as the unit of investigation, 18 in‐depth semi‐structured interviews were conducted. This constituted nine case studies, which were analysed using content and thematic analysis. A purposive case selection method was used to ensure variance of cases and provide rich data.Findings – The most interesting f...

Modeling the Constructs Contributing to the Effectiveness of Marketing Lecturers

Student evaluation of teaching has been examined in higher education research for over 70 years but there are gaps in our knowledge about the contribution, and relationships between, the relevant constructs. Recent literature encourages researchers to test multivariate models of Teaching Effectiveness. Seven main constructs known to influence Teaching Effectiveness have been variously selected for inclusion in previous literature; however, previous multivariate studies have examined only a subset of these constructs, with the majority considering four or fewer constructs. The comprehensive model of Teaching Effectiveness developed in this study examines the main and mediated influence of all seven constructs on Teaching Effectiveness. Data have been collected from undergraduate marketing students. Three constructs (Clear Communication, Delivery Dynamism, and Assessment Fairness) contribute directly to Teaching Effectiveness. Real-World Knowledge, Rapport, Subject Organization, and Subject Difficulty contribute indirectly to Teaching Effectiveness. Consistent with previous research, these findings highlight the importance of personal attributes (communication, delivery, real-world knowledge, and rapport) on Teaching Effectiveness.

Research-informed teaching from a risk perspective

There is now considerable support in the higher education literature for research-informed teaching as a means of improving student learning, particularly where this involves students as co-investigators. Such an approach, however, comes with a number of risks that have received little pedagogic attention. This paper addresses that knowledge gap by advocating a novel approach to research-informed teaching which adopts a risk-management philosophy. We review the literature surrounding the challenges of this style of teaching and identify why a risk-management approach might be appropriate to address some of the inherent issues of research-informed teaching previously reported. Our findings indicate a range of potential risks associated with either the delivery, or non-delivery, of research-informed teaching. We offer a broad framework categorising these risks. Forming the basis of a wider risk-management approach, this framework could promote increased reflection and enhancement of teaching practice.

Transnational Higher Education: The Importance of Institutional Reputation, Trust and Student-University Identification in International Partnerships.

Purpose This research assesses the extent to which the critical relational variables of university reputation, student trust, and student-university identification influence student behaviour towards transnational education partnerships. Design/methodology/approach Students undertaking British degrees at two transnational partnership locations (Hong Kong, n = 203 and Sri Lanka, n = 325) completed a quantitative survey questionnaire. A conceptual model was developed and tested using structural equation modelling. Findings University reputation and student trust were found to be significant predictors of student identification with each partner institution, and student–university identification was a significant predictor of student satisfaction, loyalty, and extra-role behaviours toward both the local and foreign educational organisations. Practical implications The findings suggest that student relationship management strategies should focus on strengthening the higher education institution’s reputation, ...

Internalising internationalisation: views of internationalisation of the curriculum among non-mobile home students

ABSTRACT There is considerable literature on internationalising the curriculum in higher education, but relatively little of this focuses on developing international perspectives in home-based students. In particular, there has been limited direct engagement with student views and understandings, especially comparatively across a wide range of subjects. To address this gap, we surveyed 495 first-year students in nine subjects across four faculties at a UK university, asking about their views on internationalisation. We also examined an apparent bias in the literature towards Business subject case studies. We found some support for generic approaches to teaching internationalisation for home students, but a more widespread sense of the need for subject-based contextualisation. We also found that experiential learning models favoured in the Business-centric literature do not match the needs of students more widely.