Relationship between ISOI 9001 certification and customer satisfaction in public universities in Kenya

Abstract

Higher educational institutions face a myriad of challenges which affect their customers‟ satisfaction. Complaints have been raised by the customers about the quality of services rendered in universities in Kenya. In an attempt to curb these challenges, universities put in place ISO 9001 Certification and Quality Management Systems (QMS), with quality management practices which include: performance indicators, accreditation, assessment of both programs and institutions and quality audits. This research sought to establish the relationship between ISO 9001 certification and customer satisfaction with a view to addressing the challenges that affect the quality of services offered by public universities in Kenya. The objectives of this study were to: investigate the relationship between quality assurance officers‟ training, quality management system‟s procedures, quality management system‟s audit and management support of quality management system and customer satisfaction in public universities in Kenya. The study was anchored on European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model and Expectancy Disconfirmation Theory. This study adopted positivism research philosophy. A sample of 480 respondents consisting students, Quality Assurance Officers, Deans of Schools, Heads of Sections, Internal Auditors and ISO coordinators was drawn using stratified random sampling from the 15 ISO certified universities. A pilot survey was conducted to test the face validity of the study instrument. The questionnaire was administered to 10 university students and they were asked to make any comments on questions or terms which were unclear or ambiguous. The questionnaire was adjusted and administered to 6 experts (university scholars, researchers and industry experts in ISO certification). For the reliability test, the study instruments were subjected to Cronbach‟s alpha test resulting in a value of 0. 812 which meant the instruments construct were very reliable. Descriptive analysis was used to profile the respondents while linear regression analysis was used to test the research hypotheses. The findings established by inferential statistics analysis found that three variables namely quality assurance officers‟ training, management support of quality management system and quality management system procedures were positively and significantly related to students‟ satisfaction and so their respective null hypotheses were rejected. However, quality management system audit was not significantly related with customer satisfaction. It was concluded that ISO 9001 certified universities in Kenya have better students‟ satisfaction as a result of embracing quality assurance training, management support of quality management system and quality management system procedures. The poor contribution of quality audit variable to the customer satisfaction could be attributed to reports of audits at the universities which show they were not acted upon and were not made available to the customers. In addition, the universities did not adhere to universities regulations, their service charters as well as their quality manuals. However, the management of the universities provided adequate support to QMS. The researcher recommended that the training programs for QAOs needed to be enhanced to make it more effective. Top management commitment to success is important if the culture of quality is to succeed at the university. Finally, there was need to audit regularly the extent of compliance by the universities with ISO 9001 QMS standards. The results of this study would inform both the public universities and the Ministry of Education in Kenya so that they would appreciate the issue of providing quality services which would enhance customer satisfaction.