The impact of leadership practices on services quality in private higher education in South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to to investigate the impact of leadership practices on service quality in private higher education in South Africa as a source of competitive advantage. Higher education institutions and, more specifically, private higher education institutions, have faced increasing pressure on many fronts in recent years. These pressures include increased competition, lack of support from key constituencies, an increase in the size and diversity of the student population, dealing with changing technology, increased calls for accountability, a higher demand for quality by all the stakeholders involved, more responsibility for research and teaching and greater emphasis on efficient and effective management. The literature review for this study suggested that leadership impacts positively on quality and, equally important, on service quality. The academic leaders at these institutions have a tremendous influence on the quality of the education provided and the service rendered to the growing number of students. Using a quantitative methodology and a cross-sectional survey research design, this study was conducted on five campuses of a prominent private higher education provider across South Africa using two survey instruments. The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) questionnaire was utilised to conduct the leadership survey while the SERVQUAL instrument was applied in the service quality survey. The campus principals of the five campuses and some of their selected subordinates completed the LPI survey. The SERVQUAL questionnaires were completed by 984 students from the five campuses. Correlation analysis was the major statistical tool used to analyse the data. The findings of the study indicated a strong positive linear correlation between the leadership practices of principals and service quality to students at these institutions.