Investigating International Students’ Perception of Foodservice Attributes in Malaysian Research Universities

Anisa Zahwa Akbara, Bee-Lia Chua, Heesup Han and António Raposo
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Anisa Zahwa Akbara: Department of Food Service and Management, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Bee-Lia Chua: Department of Food Service and Management, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Heesup Han: College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University, 98 Gunja-Dong, Gwanjin-Gu, Seoul 143-747, Korea
António Raposo: CBIOS (Research Center for Biosciences and Health Technologies), Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisboa, Portugal

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-20

Abstract: University foodservice is expected to satisfy students’ food needs and is one of the necessities at a university. However, serving a community of international students who are multicultural is not an easy task. Thus, it is necessary to recognize international students’ needs and wants in order to increase their satisfaction with the overall on-campus dining experience. This study conducted an importance–performance analysis to examine international students’ perceived importance and perceived performance of university foodservice attributes. Using a self-administered questionnaire, a total of 620 international students who were studying in Malaysian research universities comprised the sample of this study. The results showed that food price was the most satisfactory foodservice attribute as perceived by international students. Food quality was deemed unsatisfactory and represented the main weakness. Results from this study can assist in determining how international students perceive the quality of the key attributes of on-campus foodservices and identify fields in which improvements are required.

Keywords: university foodservice attributes; importance–performance analysis (IPA); international students; Malaysian research universities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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