Academic service quality, student satisfaction and loyalty: a study at higher education legal entities in Indonesia

PurposeThis study aims to explore the influence of academic service quality on student satisfaction and loyalty, based on a study at Higher Education Legal Entities (HELE) in Indonesia. HELE is a policy in higher education that empowers these institutions to become autonomous in management. Academic service quality (ASQ) is an essential aspect of fostering the satisfaction and loyalty of students.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses the descriptive quantitative and regressive survey approach to examine the influence of academic service quality on student satisfaction and loyalty. The population in this study encompassed all students from HELE. Meanwhile, 750 students were purposefully selected from 16 HELE in Indonesia. Data were collected using validated and reliable questionnaires. The garnered data were analyzed using a structural equation model through Smart PLS 3.FindingsThis study finds that (1) there is a significant direct influence of academic service quality on student satisfaction in HELE, (2) there is a reasonably direct influence of student satisfaction on student loyalty in HELE. (3) ASQ of HELE has a feeble direct influence on student loyalty and (4) there is a moderate indirect impact of academic service quality on student loyalty, mediated by student satisfaction at HELE in Indonesia.Research limitations/implicationsThe research was conducted across 16 HELEs in Indonesia. Many other universities do services and of course impact on satisfaction and loyalty for students, but are not included in this research. Besides that, other aspects are not included in this research either. Based on that condition, this result cannot cover all aspects of others in all universities in Indonesia.Practical implicationsThe practical implication of this study's results for the leaders of HELES is to commit to student-centered, service-oriented tactics and actions for establishing student loyalty. Besides, these institutions must prioritize developing and maintaining profitable customer relationships in this changing world and offer an agenda for the future research.Social implicationsThe social implication will be indicated by higher universities to always improve the service quality of academics, with continuous improvement in the future. It has to do with every university so that student satisfaction improves, and student loyalty improves too. Exiting HELE in the future depends on the variables of service quality for stakeholders in the community around. If the community gets satisfaction, in the future, they will be back to support the HELE in the future.Originality/valueThe results of this study are original and novel, and strengthen the findings of previous research that there is an effect of academic service quality on student satisfaction. It confirms the effects of satisfaction on loyalty, along with the effects of academic service quality on loyalty mediated by satisfaction. These results rejected previous results that there are effects of academic service quality on student loyalty in HELE as organizations.