HEdPERF versus SERVPERF: The quest for ideal measuring instrument of service quality in higher education sector

The purpose of this paper is to empirically test a new industry‐specific scale, HEdPERF (Higher Education PERFormance) to capture the authentic determinants of service quality within higher education sector.

The primary goal of this research was to test and compare the relative efficacy of HEdPERF against SERVPERF in order to determine which instrument had the superior measuring capability.

In terms of unidimensionality, reliability, and validity, HEdPERF explained variance within the higher education setting better in comparison to SERVPERF.

Since this study only examined the respective utilities of each instrument within a single industry, in only one national setting, any suggestion that the HEdPERF is generally superior would still be premature.

The current findings do provide some important insights into how the instruments of service quality compare with one another, in a typical higher education context.

An attempt is made in the paper, to develop critical insights into comparative evaluation of service quality measurement instruments.