The Effects of Organizational Assimilation on Service Quality-Customer Loyalty Chain and the role of Co-creation of Value and Relationship Quality in Universities of Pakistan.

Abstract

The marketing literature on service quality customer loyalty chain has evolved remarkably in the past decades particularly in higher education. However, critics believe that service quality customer loyalty chain is also a social phenomenon where value can be attained when purposeful organizational socialization morphs the student into the organizational milieu. Particularly, this study signifies the impending gap for the inclusion of organizational assimilation in positively influencing service quality, attitudinal loyalty and relational bonding of the students with the university. This study also highlights organizational assimilation as a foundational step for successful manifestation of co-creation of value as well as latter’s direct and mediating influence on service quality customer loyalty chain. The association of relationship quality as an outcome of service quality was also assessed as well as its mediation between organizational assimilation and behavioral loyalty was investigated. Data were collected from a stratified random sample of 818 undergraduate students through online and onsite survey instrument from public and private universities under the general category across Pakistan. Hypothesis were tested by employing structural equation modelling (SEM) technique using AMOS and mediations were assessed through SPSS macro. The findings suggest that organizational assimilation has a positive and significant effect on attitudinal loyalty, service quality, co-creation of value and relationship quality. Co-creation of value found to have a positive and significant effect on service quality and attitudinal loyalty. Service quality is found to have a positive and significant effect on relationship quality whereas relationship quality has a positive and significant effect on behavioral loyalty. Co-creation of value is found partially mediating the relationship between organizational assimilation and service quality. Relationship quality is found partially mediating between organizational assimilation and behavioral loyalty. Attitudinal loyalty is found to have a significant and positive effect on behavioral loyalty of students. Grounded primarily in the organizational socialization theories and consumer cognitive psychology, the study offers several important theoretical linkages from trans-disciplinary philosophical backgrounds that enriches the consumer behavior literature. As well, the study offers a socially immersive view of creating strategic differential advantage through meaningful systemic endeavors offering sublime social reception, active engagement, collaboration and uplifting viii relational exchanges for achieving better social legitimacy and economic viability of higher education.