The role of university switching costs, perceived service quality, perceived university image and student satisfaction in shaping student loyalty

While majority of earlier studies have examined service quality,student satisfaction, and university image as determinants ofstudent loyalty, university switching costs have largely beenignored. This study includes university switching costs withperceived service quality (perceived academic quality, perceivedadministrative quality, and perceived physical facilities), studentsatisfaction, and perceived university image as determinants ofstudent loyalty. Data was gathered through purposively samplingundergraduate business students from five universities in Karachi.Using exploratory factor analysis and structural equationmodeling, a significant impact of student satisfaction, universityimage, and university switching costs on student loyalty wasestablished. Universities may provide monetary and nonmonetaryincentives to increase university switching costs and,consequently, help retain students. This study contributes tostudent loyalty literature by adapting the customer loyaltydefinition to educational context, examining the role of universityswitching costs in retaining students, and presenting an empiricalmodel depicting interrelations among determinants of studentloyalty