Can university social responsibility improve student satisfaction through service quality? The role of USR to improve student satisfaction

Abstract

This research aimed to explore the importance of university social responsibility (USR) as one of the implemented strategies for enhancing service quality, and student satisfaction. It specifically aimed to investigate the influence of USR on student satisfaction through the mediating factor of service quality. The population comprised all students of the Economics and Business Faculty at Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, a state institute. The sampling also consisted of students in their fifth semester and above. This choice was because students at these stages had a deeper sense of USR activities conducted by the institutions, reaching those in the first semester. The variables used are: (1) USR application, a independent variable, (2) service quality, a mediating variable and (3) student satisfaction was chosen as the dependent variable. The data collection process begins with the tools or information rehearsal to estimate all variables included. The questionnaire was made using Google Docs, and related links have been created. Respondents then filled out the questionnaire, and the data was gathered in the database, and downloaded in Excel or another format depending on the statistical analysis tool used. Path analysis was carried out to test the hypotheses applying the WarpPLS 8.0 statistical tool. The results showed that service quality mediated the USR effect on student satisfaction. Another significant result was that based on the coefficient values, the indirect USR effect on student satisfaction through service quality was stronger than the direct effect. Several previous models examined the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and consumer satisfaction in general, but this research has applications in the education sector with a different concept, namely USR with different measurements.