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Customer satisfaction with information technology service quality in higher education: an evaluation study

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Customer satisfaction with information technology service quality in higher education: an evaluation study

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Content Running head: SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 1

Customer Satisfaction with Information Technology Service Quality in Higher Education: An
Evaluation Study
by
Karen Juday

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2019

Copyright 2019 Karen Juday
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 2

Dedication
To my dearly loved and deeply missed younger sister, Kathryn Jean Cook, whose
untimely death in March 2018 put this achievement into bittersweet perspective.

SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 3

Acknowledgements
I am grateful to my committee chair, Dr. Helena Seli, for her excellent guidance
throughout the program. And to Dr. Kimberly Hirabayashi and Dr. Douglas Shook for serving on
my committee, and for their valuable feedback through the proposal and final defense processes.
I am grateful to the USC Rossier School of Education Organizational Change and
Leadership faculty, especially Dr. Holly Ferguson. Her enthusiasm for the deliciousness of
learning and motivation theory was contagious, and her encouragement and scaffolding gave me
the motivation to keep moving forward. I was fortunate indeed to have her as an instructor for
two courses.
I am also grateful to my fellow students, a brilliant cohort of individuals I thoroughly
enjoyed getting to know. I learned so much from all of them and will treasure their friendships
forever. Jonathan Townsend and Debbie Hamada in particular helped prop me up, spur me on,
and get me across the finish line. And to my colleagues, especially Samantha and Veronica, who
provided a supportive community where I could share what I learned and gain new perspectives.
Most of all, I am grateful to my niece, Madison, who made me laugh and helped keep
balance in my life throughout the program. And to my daughter, MacKenzie, who is at the very
center of my heart. And to my dearest friends—Lynn, Kathleen, and Carol—who have loved and
supported me for decades in all my endeavors.
Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart!

SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 4

Table of Contents
Dedication 2
Acknowledgements 3
Abstract 12
Introduction of the Problem of Practice 13
Organizational Context and Mission 13
Importance of Addressing the Problem 14
Organizational Performance Goal 14
Stakeholder Group of Focus and Stakeholder Goal 15
Purpose of the Project and Questions 16
Methodological Approach 17
Review of the Literature 18
Customer Satisfaction with Service 18
History of Customer Satisfaction with Service 18
Early Assessment Models for Customer Satisfaction 19
Current Assessment of Customer Satisfaction with Service Quality 19
Customer Satisfaction with Information Technology Service Quality 20
Information Technology as a Service 20
Assessment of Customer Satisfaction with Information Technology Service
Quality 21
Customer Satisfaction with Information Technology in Higher Education
Institutions 21
Technical Staff Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences 22
Knowledge and Skills 22
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 5

Knowledge Influences 23
Motivation 26
Motivation Influences 26
Organizational Influences 28
Cultural Model: Culture of Trust 29
Cultural Setting: Service Leadership 30
Cultural Setting: Resources 30
Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of ITS Technical Staff’s’ Knowledge,
Motivation and the Organizational Context 31
Participating Stakeholders: Sampling and Recruitment 34
Survey Sampling Criteria and Rationale 34
Criterion 1 34
Criterion 2 35
Criterion 3 35
Survey Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale 35
Interview Sampling Criteria and Rationale 36
Criterion 1 36
Criterion 2 36
Criterion 3 36
Interview Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale 37
Data Collection and Instrumentation 37
Surveys 38
Interviews 39
Results and Findings 40
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 6

Results and Findings for Research Question 1 41
Demographic Data 41
Results and Findings for Research Question 2: Technical Staff’s Knowledge and
Motivation 43
Knowledge Results and Findings 43
Motivation Results and Findings 49
Results and Findings for Research Question 3: Interaction between Knowledge,
Motivation and Organizational Findings 55
Organizational Results and Findings 55
Impact of Organizational Influences on Stakeholder Knowledge and
Motivation 61
Summary of Results and Findings 62
Recommendations for Practice 63
Organizational Recommendations 63
Introduction 63
Develop a Strong Culture of Trust 65
Provide Service Leadership by Setting Expectations Related to Customer
Responsiveness 66
Provide Sufficient Time and Staffing Resources to Meet the Performance
Goal 67
Knowledge Recommendations 68
Introduction 68
Enhance Technical Staff’s Procedural Knowledge 68
Increase Metacognitive Awareness and Strategy Use 69
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 7

Motivation Recommendations 70
Introduction 70
Increase Technical Staff Self-Efficacy 71
Enhance Utility Value for the Performance Goal 72
Overview of Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan 73
Future Questions and Research 75
Conclusion 75
References 77
Appendix A: Protocols 88
Survey Protocol 88
Survey Email Invitation 88
Survey Instructions 88
Survey Questions 89
Survey Wrap-Up 92
Interview Protocol 93
Interview Opening Remarks 93
Interview Questions 94
Appendix B: Validity and Reliability 95
Appendix C: Credibility and Trustworthiness 97
Appendix D: Ethics 99
Appendix E: ITS Customer Response Protocol 102
Appendix F: Limitations and Delimitations 109
Appendix G: Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan 111
Implementation and Evaluation Framework 111
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 8

Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators 111
Level 3: Behavior 112
Critical Behaviors 112
Required Drivers 114
Organizational Support 115
Level 2: Learning 115
Learning Goals 116
Program 117
Evaluation of the Components of Learning 118
Level 1: Reaction 119
Evaluation Tools 120
Immediately Following the Program Implementation 120
Delayed for a Period After the Program Implementation 120
Data Analysis and Reporting 121
Summary 122

SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 9

List of Tables
Table 1: Organizational Mission, Global Goal and Stakeholder Performance Goals 15
Table 2: Knowledge Influences and Types 26
Table 3: Motivation Influences 28
Table 4: Organizational Influences 31
Table 5: Summary of Likert Scale Survey Question 62
Table 6: Summary of Organizational Influences and Recommendations 64
Table 7: Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations 68
Table 8: Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations 71
Table G-1: Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes 112
Table G-2: Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation 113
Table G-3: Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors 114
Table G-4: Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program 118
Table G-5: Components to Measure Reactions to the Program 119

SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 10

List of Figures
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework depicting the interaction between ITS organizational culture
and context and technical staff members’ knowledge and motivation in relation to their
goal 32
Figure 2: Gender distribution for survey respondents, interviewees, and all technical staff 43
Figure 3: Technical staff responses the question multiple choice question: Which of the
following do you believe is most important for ITS to provide to our customers? 45
Figure 4: Technical staff responses on a Likert-type scale to the statement: I could show
someone else how to use ServiceNow to provide an initial response to customer
incidents 46
Figure 5: Technical staff responses on a Likert-type scale to the question: How often do you
usually check and respond to customer incidents? 47
Figure 6: Technical staff responses to the question: What percentage of ServiceNow incidents do
you think you can respond to within four hours? 50
Figure 7: Technical staff self-efficacy in relation to meeting the goal of responding to customer
issues within four hours, disaggregated by gender 51
Figure 8: Technical staff responses on a Likert-type scale to the statement: My responsiveness to
customers affects my annual performance rating 53
Figure 9: Technical staff responses, disaggregated by gender, to the statement: My
responsiveness to customers affects my annual performance rating 54
Figure 10: Technical staff responses on a Likert-type scale to the statement: ITS reflects a
culture of trust 56
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 11

Figure 11: Responses to the question: In the past month, how many times has your manager
spoken to you or your group about the importance of being responsive to
customers? 58
Figure 12: Aggregated responses to the question: In the past month, how many times has your
manager spoken to you or your group about the importance of being responsive to
customers? 59
Figure G-1: Customer incident acknowledgement trend for 2018 121
Figure G-2: Customer incident acknowledgement percentages before and after training 122

SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 12

Abstract
Customer satisfaction with IT service quality at educational institutions is lower than other
industries (Help Desk Institute, 2012). Customer perception of service quality is a key
determinant of customer satisfaction (Jana, 2014). Lower IT service quality could result in
reduced return-on-investment, loss of productivity, and the potential loss of opportunities for
innovation and growth. This study evaluated technical staff customer responsiveness in the
context of an organizational transformation. The technical staff stakeholder group responds to
customer issues that are escalated by frontline customer service, providing advanced knowledge
and skills to resolve technical issues and enable customers to meet organizational goals. The
mixed methods study surveyed 222 technical staff and interviewed 8 of the 34 survey
respondents. The evaluation identified knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs and
presented recommendations to address those needs. Based on the findings, the organization is
recommended to build a culture of trust, provide leadership focused on service quality, and
ensure sufficient time and staffing resources are available for technical staff to meet customer
responsiveness goals. Professional development workshops are also recommended to train
technical staff on customer service topics.

SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 13

Introduction to the Problem of Practice
Information technology (IT) services have become essential to the successful functioning
of nearly all organizations, including educational institutions. Hardware, software, and
telecommunications are generally included within the scope of IT services (Breznik, 2012).
According to Carr (2005), organizations choose between a growing array of options for the
delivery of IT services, including internal staffing, outsourced staffing, managed services, and
more. Customer satisfaction with these services is important in determining whether customers
will continue using a specific service provider (Cronin, Brady, & Hult, 2000), while customers’
perception of service quality is a key determinant of customer satisfaction (Jana, 2014).
According to a 2012 study, customer satisfaction with IT service quality at educational
institutions is lower than other industries (Help Desk Institute, 2012). With lower than average
customer satisfaction in the education sector, IT services may not be satisfying the needs of
educational institutions’ various stakeholder groups. This could result in reduced return-on-
investment, loss of productivity, and the potential loss of opportunities which could have been
achieved with high-quality IT services.
Organizational Context and Mission
Private California University (PCU, a pseudonym) is a large, private doctoral research
university in California, which operates on a federated model and allows a wide scope of latitude
to the individual schools and departments for IT services. The mission of PCU’s central
Information Technology Services (ITS) organization is to provide world class, innovative
technology services that support and advance the mission of the university. The organization’s
vision is to be a strategic partner in the use of information technologies to deliver services
marked by excellence, to provide an exceptional technology experience, and to be recognized as
a technology leader in higher education. Services provided by PCU ITS include centralized
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 14

wired and wireless networks, accounts and passwords, email and collaboration, telephony and
internet access, administrative and business systems, desktop software, educational technology,
Web publishing, servers and storage, research computing, and cybersecurity.
Importance of Addressing the Problem
The problem of low customer satisfaction with IT services is important for ITS to
address. In January 2017, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) initiated an organizational
transformation initiative to become a world class technology service organization that is
commensurate with the prestige and standing of the University. A key goal of the transformation
initiative is to improve customer satisfaction with ITS service quality. Poor service quality may
negatively impact the university’s productivity, effectiveness, and mission achievement.
Potentially, the university could decide to engage external service providers rather than continue
to use internally delivered IT services, resulting in a significant number of job losses for ITS
employees.
Organizational Performance Goal
The goal of PCU’s ITS organization is to improve overall customer satisfaction from the
current level of 70% to 90% or higher by June 2020. Overall customer satisfaction with ITS was
measured in June 2017 by a top five consulting firm to establish a baseline measure for the
transformation effort. The average customer satisfaction with IT services across all industries is
86%, according to a 2016 Help Desk Institute study (Help Desk Institute, 2016).
ITS also measures satisfaction with service quality on individual customer issues.
Automated email surveys are sent to faculty, students and staff who report issues with ITS
services, and responses are collected by the ITS service management system, ServiceNow. The
current average satisfaction with ITS service quality is 4.12 on a 5-point scale, which equates to
an 82.4% satisfaction rating. In a 2012 HDI cross-industry benchmarking study, customer
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 15

satisfaction with IT service quality was 4.76 on a 5-point scale (95.2%) for all industries and
4.72 (94.4%) at educational institutions (HDI Customer Satisfaction Benchmarking). With a
current average service quality score of 4.12 and an overall customer satisfaction score of 70%,
ITS is performing significantly below industry standards.
Table 1
Organizational Mission, Global Goal and Stakeholder Performance Goals
Organizational Mission
The mission of Private California University’s central Information Technology Services
organization is to provide innovative, high-quality, and secure IT services that are core to
the mission of the university.
Organizational Performance Goal
By June 2020, PCU ITS will improve its overall customer satisfaction score from 70% to
90% or higher, as measured by customer satisfaction surveys.
Technical Staff Members
By December 2019, all full-
time ITS technical staff
members will acknowledge
100% of customer issues
assigned to them within four
business hours, as measured
by the IT service
management system,
ServiceNow.
Department Directors
By June 2020, each ITS
director will develop an
explicit service level
agreement (SLA) with
customer stakeholders for
every service supported by his
or her department.
Customer Service
By December 2019, the
ITS Customer Service
Center will resolve 95%
of incoming calls and
emails without escalating
to technical staff, as
measured by the ITS
service management
system, ServiceNow.

Stakeholder Group of Focus and Stakeholder Goal
While the contributions of all stakeholders impact the achievement of the overall
organizational goal to improve customer satisfaction to a level of 90% or higher by June 2020,
for practical purposes, only one stakeholder group served as the focus of this study. The
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 16

stakeholder group of focus for this study was the ITS full-time technical staff. They develop and
support essential enterprise services and applications that enable the PCU community to conduct
world class teaching, learning and research. The availability and proper functioning of these
services directly affects overall customer satisfaction. Responsiveness and timeliness are also
strongly and positively linked to customer satisfaction with IT service delivery (Ellis & Curtis,
1995; Jiang, Klein & Carr, 2002; Jiang, Klein, Parolia & Li, 2012; Sun, Fang, Lim & Straub,
2012).
The stakeholder group’s performance goal, supported by the CIO, is for ITS technical
staff members to acknowledge, that is, send an initial response to, 100% of customer-reported
issues within four hours. This goal was set by the CIO at the request of the University
Technology Committee to improve the timeliness of response to customer issues. The 2017
average rate of initial customer contact by technical staff members was between three and four
days. Customer time lost while waiting for an issue to be resolved impacts the customer’s ability
to complete essential tasks in support of the university’s mission. Failure to accomplish this goal
would negatively impact university productivity and customer satisfaction, and could ultimately
lead to the outsourcing of ITS services and loss of ITS positions.
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this project was to evaluate the degree to which PCU ITS is meeting its
goal of reaching overall customer satisfaction of 90% or higher. The analysis focused on
knowledge, motivation and organizational influences related to achieving this organizational
goal. While a complete performance evaluation would focus on all PCU ITS stakeholders, for
practical purposes the stakeholder group of focus for this analysis was the full-time technical
staff members.
As such, the following questions guide this study:
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 17

1. To what extent is PCU ITS meeting its goal of achieving overall customer satisfaction of
90% by June 2020?
2. What is the technical staff’s knowledge and motivation related to achieving their goal of
sending an initial response to 100% of customer-reported issues within four hours?
3. What is the interaction between organizational culture and context and technical staff’s
knowledge and motivation?
4. What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources?
Methodological Approach
To gain both a broad and deep understanding of the knowledge, motivation and
organizational gaps that may be impacting the performance of ITS technical staff members in
relation to the organizational goal of improving customer satisfaction, a mixed methods approach
was used for this study. A mixed methods approach collects both quantitative and qualitative
data, thus neutralizing the weaknesses of each data type (Creswell, 2014). This design was
appropriate for the ITS organization, which has a strong quantitative orientation. A survey was
sent to all technical staff members, who do not report within the researcher’s department.
General demographics such as gender, time with the organization, and department were gathered
to identify any group-based differences in the knowledge, motivation and organizational
influences that impact technical staff’s ability to achieve its goal. The qualitative portion of the
study was conducted in the form of interviews with technical staff volunteers for a deeper
understanding of the knowledge, motivation and organizational gaps. Ethical considerations that
guided the study are discussed in Appendix D.

SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 18

Review of the Literature
Customer satisfaction with information technology services is lower in higher education
settings than in other sectors. This review of the literature begins with a historical perspective of
customer satisfaction with service and the models used to assess satisfaction. The review
continues with a discussion of information technology as a service and the model most
commonly used to assess customer satisfaction with information technology service quality. The
review then discusses customer satisfaction with information technology service in higher
education. Following the general literature review, the Clark and Estes Gap Analytic Conceptual
Framework is used to consider the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences on ITS
technical staff’s ability to provide an initial response to all customer issues within four hours.
Customer Satisfaction with Service
Customer satisfaction with products and services is an evaluation of perceived outcomes
of an experience, where the more favorable the evaluation, the greater the satisfaction
(Westbrook & Oliver, 1980). Customer satisfaction has long been recognized as a key value for
organizations (Auracher, 1931; Davls, 1958). A central marketing concept is that profits are
generated by satisfying customer needs and desires (Churchill & Surprenant, 1982). According
to Westbrook and Oliver (1980), customer satisfaction impacts future customer behavior, where
high satisfaction increases the likelihood of repeat business and low satisfaction increases the
likelihood of complaints.
History of customer satisfaction with service. Early studies sought to identify the
causal influences that result in customer satisfaction and customer loyalty (Churchill &
Surprenant, 1982). Westbrook and Oliver (1980) found that positive feelings are associated with
high satisfaction, and negative feelings are associated with dissatisfaction. Cardozo (1965)
explored the relationship between customer effort, expectation and satisfaction, based on the
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 19

psychological theories of contrast and dissonance. Expectancy-value judgements influence
affect, which influences intentions, which influence behavior (Bagozzi, 1982; Cadotte, Woodruff
& Jenkins, 1987).
Early assessment models for customer satisfaction. Since the early 1970s, numerous
assessment models have been suggested and tested to measure customer satisfaction (Churchill
& Surprenant, 1982). Westbrook and Oliver (1980) observed that early measurement tools were
most commonly direct consumer inquiries, using a single-question rating of satisfaction level,
with no common scale for measurement or interpretation. Technical service performance levels
were measured relative to anticipation of customer needs, accurate problem definition,
completeness of services offered, responsiveness, and problem-solving efficiency (Simon, 1965).
According to Churchill (1982), disconfirmation theory, which looks at the extent to which
customer expectations are met, not met, or exceeded, was commonly used in early studies to
measure customer satisfaction.
Current assessment of customer satisfaction with service quality. Service quality is
understood to be the gap between customer expectations and customer perceptions (Jiang, Klein
& Crampton, 2000; Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry, 1988). Customer perception of service
quality is viewed as a general attitude toward a product or service, while customer satisfaction is
based on a single transaction or interaction (Parasuraman et al., 1988). The directional
relationship between customer satisfaction and customer perception of service quality has been
widely debated, but it is generally assumed that service quality is an antecedent to customer
satisfaction (Duffy & Ketchand, 1998).
A customer’s overall satisfaction or dissatisfaction with service quality is based on all the
interactions the customer has had with the service organization (Duffy & Ketchand, 1998). From
a customer’s perspective, service quality encompasses the features of the service offering itself,
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 20

as well as the service behavior of the people providing the service (Lepmets, Cater-steel,
Gacenga & Ras, 2012). Due to the difficulty of defining and measuring service quality,
Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) developed SERVQUAL, a model that identifies 10
determinants of service quality: reliability, responsiveness, competence, access, courtesy,
communication, credibility, security, understanding/knowing the customer, and tangibles, which
comprise the physical service setting. Parasuraman et al. (1988) subsequently consolidated the 10
SERVQUAL determinants into five key dimensions: responsiveness, assurance, tangibles,
empathy, and reliability.
Customer Satisfaction with Information Technology Service Quality
Customer satisfaction increases the likelihood of repeat business (Westbrook & Oliver,
1980), therefore IT organizations need to ensure that customers are satisfied with the quality of
their services if they want to continue providing those services. According to Roses, Hoppen,
and Henrique (2009), perceptions of IT service quality may differ between IT organizations and
their customers. In their study, IT’s perception of empathy and responsiveness widely differed
from the customer’s perceptions (Roses et al., 2009). Evaluating the alignment of these
perceptions has strategic importance to enable IT organizations to reduce or maintain efforts in
areas that meet customer expectations, and invest more in areas where customer expectations are
not being met (Roses et al., 2009).
Information technology as a service. When information technology (IT) first emerged
as a business function, the use of IT required large capital investments in hardware, software, and
personnel to develop and support proprietary systems that were seen as providing a competitive
advantage over other organizations (Carr, 2005). Bharadwaj (2000) classified key IT resources
as: (1) physical infrastructure, (2) human resources and skills, and (3) intangible resources, for
example, customer orientation or knowledge. According to Carr (2005), IT has become a utility,
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 21

similar to electricity, and does not provide a competitive advantage on its own merits.
Increasingly since the early 1980s, information technology has come to be viewed as a service
(Rands, 1992). Service behavior has been identified as a new common issue area for IT
organizations, linked to customer satisfaction (Lepmets, Cater-steel, Gacenga & Ras, 2012).
According to Sun et al. (2012), the definition of IT service delivery continues to evolve to a more
customer-centric perspective that is responsive to changing business needs.
Assessment of customer satisfaction with information technology service quality.
The information technology industry has long recognized the importance of customer
satisfaction with IT services (Kettinger & Lee, 1994). Organizations in private, education, and
government sectors have consistently high expectations of IT services in each of the five
SERVQUAL dimensions: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles (Miller,
Brooks, Jones & Winick, 2008). In multiple studies, the SERVQUAL model has been validated
as a reliable tool for measuring IT service quality (Jiang et al., 2000; Pitt, Watson & Kavan,
1995). Cronholm and Salomonson (2014) found that service reliability and responsiveness in
particular are leading indicators of customer satisfaction with information technology services.
Customer satisfaction with information technology in higher education institutions.
Information technology has fundamentally changed higher education, from the administrative
functions that support staff, students and faculty, to the academic environments in classrooms
and online, to the interactions that take place between members of university communities
(Wulf, 1995). Reliability and responsiveness are the top two customer priorities for information
technology services in a higher education setting (Smith, Smith & Clarke, 2007). But, according
to Yohe (1996), there is a gap between expectations and reality for IT services in higher
education settings, in part due to budget constraints and rapid technology development.
Generational differences across higher education stakeholder groups, including students, faculty,
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 22

and staff, may compound customer expectation and perception gaps (Kelly, Elizabeth, Bharat, &
Jitendra, 2016).
Technical Staff Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences
The Clark and Estes (2008) analytical framework enables organizations to identify and
examine gaps between goals and performance utilizing influences of knowledge, motivation and
organizational resources. The following sections examine the knowledge, motivation and
organizational factors influencing ITS technical staff’s ability to meet their performance goal of
responding to customer issues within four hours using a modified version of the Clark and Estes
(2008) gap analysis framework. The first section examines the assumed influences related to
knowledge and skills that impact stakeholder performance. The second section discusses the
assumed motivational influences that impact stakeholder performance. The final section
addresses organizational influences on stakeholder goal achievement.
Knowledge and Skills
Knowledge-related influences relevant to providing customer service in an information
technology setting are important to examine. Job knowledge and skills are strongly and
positively linked to job performance beyond variations of personality, ability and experience
(Motowidlo, Brownlee, & Schmit, 2008; Schmidt, Hunter, & Outerbridge, 1986; Torres & Beier,
2016). In addition to developing and implementing technology solutions for enterprise
applications and services, ITS technical staff also handle escalated customer issues that cannot be
resolved by the frontline team. One goal of technical staff is to acknowledge all customer issues
assigned to them within four business hours. To meet this goal, technical staff members need
knowledge and skills related to customer service practices, knowledge of how to respond to
customers, and strategies for meeting the customer response goal in the context of their other
workload. A gap analysis is the first step in determining whether individuals have the knowledge
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 23

and skills to meet their goal (Clark & Estes, 2008). This study evaluated ITS technical staff
members’ customer service knowledge and skills to determine whether a gap exists.
Information processing theory identifies sensory memory, working memory, and long-
term memory as the components of human learning and knowledge (Schraw & McCrudden,
2006). Individuals use sensory memory to instantly process a myriad of impressions and stimuli,
selecting and transferring only a very limited set of information to working memory for further
processing (Mayer, 2011; Schraw & McCrudden, 2006). According to information processing
theory, working memory is limited in all individuals regardless of their experience or cognitive
ability, while long-term memory is viewed as limitless (Schraw & McCrudden, 2006).
Knowledge is created when information is encoded from working memory to long-term memory
(Schraw & McCrudden, 2006). Connecting new information to prior knowledge, and using
schemas to organize and store information in long-term memory enables increasingly complex
concepts to be processed in working memory (Kirschner, Kirschner, & Pass, 2006; Mayer,
2011). It is helpful to understand information processing theory in relation to the knowledge that
technical staff will need to successfully accomplish their performance goal of acknowledging all
customer issues within four hours.
Knowledge influences. Krathwohl (2002) identified four major types of knowledge:
factual, conceptual, procedural and metacognitive. Factual knowledge includes the basic
elements and terminology of a subject area (Krathwohl, 2002; Rueda, 2011). Conceptual
knowledge comprises the relationships of the basic elements to each other, as well as the
principles, theories, and structures of the subject area (Krathwohl, 2002; Rueda, 2011).
Procedural knowledge includes the specific steps and techniques to complete a task (Krathwohl,
2002; Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011) and is linked to job performance and outcomes (Motowidlo,
Borman, & Schmit, 1997). Metacognitive knowledge is the self-awareness and control of one’s
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 24

own cognitive and problem-solving processes, as well as the strategies to successfully achieve a
goal (APA, 2015; Baker, 2006; Cannon-Bowers, Rhodenizer, Salas, & Bowers, 1998;
Krathwohl, 2002; Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011). Employees need to use self-awareness and self-
regulation to acquire the knowledge and skills required to perform effectively in the workplace
(Birney, Beckmann, & Wood, 2012; Sitzmann & Ely, 2011). This study examined ITS technical
staff members’ knowledge in three areas. First was conceptual knowledge of customer service
principles, second was procedural knowledge of how to write an initial response to customers,
and third was knowledge of metacognitive strategies to meet the goal of responding to customers
within four hours.
Knowledge of customer service principles. ITS technical staff members need conceptual
knowledge of the principles of customer service as a context for why it is important to respond to
customers within four hours. Knowledge of customer service practices can mediate personality
differences, and is a strong predictor of customer service performance (Motowidlo et al., 2008;
Ray, Muhanna, & Barney, 2005; Schmit, Motowidlo, DeGroot, Cross, & Kiker, 1996). In studies
using the service quality (SERVQUAL) model of Parasuraman et al. (1988), responsiveness has
been identified as one of the top two customer priorities for information technology services in a
higher education setting (Smith, Smith, & Clarke, 2007), and is an antecedent to customer
satisfaction with IT service delivery (Jiang et al., 2002; Jiang et al., 2012; Sun, Fang, Lim, &
Straub, 2012). ITS technical staff members need to understand the link between responding to
customers within four hours and customers’ perception of information technology service quality
and performance. With conceptual knowledge of customer service practices, ITS technical staff
members would be more likely to improve their customer service performance.
How to write an initial customer response. To meet the stakeholder goal, ITS technical
staff members need procedural knowledge of how to write an initial customer response.
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 25

Procedural customer service knowledge strongly predicts service performance and mediates both
cognitive ability and personality traits (Bergman, Donovan, Drasgow, Overton, & Henning,
2008). Well-designed procedures can make it easier for individuals to process information or
perform a task (Kirschner et al., 2006; Mayer, 2011). The ITS Customer Response Protocol
(Appendix E) provides specific wording for ITS technical staff members to use when writing an
initial customer response. Because procedural information is not easily held in working memory,
it should be presented at the time it is needed (Kirschner et al., 2006). The ITS Customer
Response Protocol is documented in the ServiceNow knowledgebase where ITS technical staff
members can access it as needed when writing an initial customer response. Knowledge of how
to write an initial customer response using ServiceNow will make it easier for ITS technical staff
members to meet their goal of acknowledging customer issues within four hours.
Knowledge of metacognitive strategies to meet the goal. Knowledge of metacognitive
strategies can enable individuals to self-monitor and adapt to solve problems within a given
context (Krathwohl, 2002). The use of metacognitive strategies can help ITS technical staff
members develop plans to accomplish the tasks associated with responding to customers, assess
their own performance, and adjust their approach as needed when challenges arise, such as
project deadlines or technology failures. These staff members carry a significant cognitive load
with their technical responsibilities, which may limit their available cognitive capacity for
customer service activities. According to cognitive load theory, an individual’s performance is
impacted by the complexity of a task, the individual’s expertise, environmental factors such as
noise, and the cognitive capacity the individual has available for the task (Kirschner et al., 2006).
Metacognitive strategies help individuals improve performance by enabling them to evaluate and
adjust their problem-solving approach based on the situational context (Baker, 2006; Cannon-
Bowers et al., 1998; Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011). Knowledge of metacognitive strategies will
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 26

enable ITS technical staff members to balance their technical responsibilities with the tasks
required to provide initial customer responses within four hours.
Table 2 shows the knowledge influences and knowledge types for ITS technical staff to
meet the goal of providing an initial response to customer issues within four hours.
Table 2
Knowledge Influences and Types
Knowledge Influence Knowledge Type
ITS technical staff members need to know the basic principles of
customer service.
Declarative
Conceptual
ITS technical staff members need to know how to write initial response
communications to customers.
Procedural

ITS technical staff members need to develop strategies and evaluate their
ability to meet the goal of responding to customers within four hours.
Metacognitive

Motivation
Motivation is important to examine because it impacts individuals’ behavior and their
likelihood of successfully achieving a goal (Clark & Estes, 2008; Rueda, 2011). Motivation is
influenced by the degree to which individuals believe they have reasonable goals and sufficient
resources to be effective (Clark & Estes, 2008). Three common indicators of motivation are
active choice, persistence, and mental effort (Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011). Individuals make an
active choice when they begin working toward a goal, whether they chose the goal themselves or
it was assigned to them (Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011). They demonstrate persistence when they
continue working toward the goal despite distractions or obstacles (Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011).
Individuals need to apply sufficient mental effort to successfully achieve a goal, although the
effort required may vary depending on the difficulty of the goal, as well as the individuals’
knowledge, experience, and confidence (Rueda, 2011).
Motivation influences. Motivation can be impacted by a variety of internal and external
factors (Rueda, 2011). In the following sections, two critical motivational factors are put forth as
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 27

impacting ITS technical staff members in achieving their goal. First, they must believe that they
can achieve the goal. Self-efficacy is the belief that one’s actions can produce the desired
outcomes (Pajares, 2006). Second, technical staff must see the usefulness of responding quickly
to customer issues. Utility value is the perceived usefulness of a goal or activity to an
individual’s personal goals (Eccles, 2006). If ITS technical staff members do not view the
stakeholder goal as useful or achievable, they may not actively choose to work toward that goal.
A modified gap analysis can identify whether individuals have the motivation to meet their goal
(Clark & Estes, 2008). This study examined ITS technical staff members’ perceived self-efficacy
and utility value in relation to the stakeholder goal to determine whether a gap exists.
ITS technical staff members’ self-efficacy. Self-efficacy beliefs are defined as
individuals’ self-judgments about their own capabilities to perform specific tasks (Pajares, 2006).
People are more likely to begin a task, persist despite setbacks, and apply sufficient effort to
succeed when they feel competent and confident (Pajares, 2006). Technical staff’s self-efficacy
beliefs in relation to the goal of providing an initial response to all customer incidents within four
hours will play a significant role in whether or not they succeed in the goal (Bandura, 2000).
This study assessed technical staff’s perceived self-efficacy in relation to their performance goal.
ITS technical staff members’ utility value. Utility value is defined as the perceived
usefulness of a task (Pintrich, 2003), or the task’s alignment with personal goals and
psychological needs (Eccles, 2006). Utility value focuses on the benefits of completing a task
rather than enjoyment of the task itself (Clark & Estes, 2008). ITS technical staff members may
not enjoy the tasks related to the stakeholder goal, but if they believe that meeting the goal will
favorably affect their annual performance evaluation, they could be motivated to pursue the goal.
Attitude affects behavior intentions, and has a significant and positive effect on the perceived
utility value of a behavior (Kruglanski et al., 2015). ITS technical staff members’ attitude toward
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 28

the goal of responding to customers within four hours will impact their perception of the goal’s
utility value. This study assessed the utility value technical staff place on acknowledging
customer issues within four hours.
Table 3 shows the assumed motivational influences for ITS technical staff members to
meet the goal of providing an initial response to customers within four hours.
Table 3
Motivation Influences
Motivation Influences
Self-efficacy ITS technical staff members must believe they can
achieve the goal.
Utility value ITS technical staff members need to understand the
usefulness of meeting the initial customer response
goal to their individual career goals and
performance ratings.

Organizational Influences
The organizational influences relevant to improving service quality in an information
technology setting are important to examine because organizational performance may be
negatively affected if work processes are ineffective or organizational resources are insufficient
(Clark & Estes, 2008). Organizational issues can contribute to motivational and knowledge gaps,
and are often the root cause of performance problems (Rueda (2011). Organizations are complex
systems, each with its own culture that develops over time from the core values, goals, beliefs,
emotions and processes of its members (Clark & Estes, 2008). According to Schein (2004),
culture can be viewed as an organization’s personality. Organizational behavior can be observed,
but the causes are generally unconscious (Schein, 2004). Culture can be analyzed at different
levels, from the most visible aspects of the culture, to the underlying assumptions that have been
internalized by individuals operating within the culture (Schein, 2004).
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 29

Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) examined culture using two units of analysis: models
and settings. Cultural models are the shared assumptions and understandings held by an
organization’s members (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001; Rueda, 2011). Cultural settings are the
visible and tangible manifestations of culture, such as the physical work environment or the daily
routines and practices of an organization’s members (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001; Rueda,
2011). An organization’s cultural setting impacts, and is shaped by, the individuals operating
within the cultural model (Rueda, 2011). This study examined organizational influences within
ITS’s cultural model and cultural setting to determine whether any gap existed.
Cultural model: Culture of trust. Over the past six years, ITS has had three different
chief information officers (CIO), each with his own values, priorities, and leadership style. In
2017, the current CIO initiated a three-year organizational transformation initiative with the goal
of elevating ITS services to be commensurate with the prestige of the university. As a result of
past organizational changes, some of which involved layoffs, ITS staff may be distrustful of the
current change initiative. Trust is built through openness and authenticity, and is the basis for
strong relationships in organizations (Rath & Conchie, 2009). Employees’ perception of their
managers’ trustworthiness is likely to affect their behavior (Korsgaard, Brodt, & Whitener,
2002). Employees need healthy relationships with their immediate supervisors and a positive
view of senior leadership in order to be engaged (Berbarry & Malinchak, 2011). Engagement is
significantly increased when employees trust organizational leaders (Rath & Conchie, 2009).
Employees who trust each other work together to complete tasks cooperatively and efficiently
(Rath & Conchie, 2009). ITS must build a culture of trust based on trusting relationships
between leaders and technical staff members, and among the peer technical groups. Operating
within a culture of trust would better enable ITS technical staff members to navigate the
organizational transformation as well as meet their performance goals.
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 30

Cultural setting: Service leadership. Leaders align organizational goals, set
expectations, model values, communicate with and engage employees, and reward desired
behavior (Kezar, 2001). Leaders also provide resources, funding, training, priorities, and
structure to enable staff members to successfully achieve their performance goals. In learning
organizations, leaders are responsible for building organizations where employees are
continually expanding their capabilities (Senge, 1990). It is essential for leaders to communicate
clear goals and priorities to staff members, as well as the potential consequences of their actions
(Hentschke & Wohlstetter, 2004). Transformational leaders focus on relationships, communicate
clear goals, and empower managers and employees with information about what is happening,
and decision-making authority on how to make it happen (Berger, 2014). Service leaders set
goals and reward employees based on service delivery (Schneider, White, & Paul, 1998). Service
leadership makes it more likely that employees’ efforts and behavior will align with service
quality goals (Schneider et al., 1998). ITS must provide leadership to technical staff members
that is focused on service quality.
Culture setting: Resources. Organizations must provide the necessary resources—e.g.,
equipment, personnel, time—for employees to successfully do their jobs (Clark & Estes, 2008).
If there are not enough resources, then existing resources must be aligned with organizational
priorities (Clark & Estes, 2008). One of four key requirements for sustainable organizational
change is sufficient resources for workers to perform their jobs (Schneider, Brief, & Guzzo,
1996). ITS must provide sufficient resources for technical staff members to successfully achieve
their goal of responding to customers within four hours.
Table 4 shows the assumed ITS organization’s cultural model and cultural setting
influences needed to support technical staff members in meeting the goal of responding to
customers within four hours.
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 31

Table 4
Organizational Influences
Organizational Influences
Cultural Model Influence 1 / Culture of trust The ITS organization must create a culture of
trust.
Cultural Setting Influence 1 / Service leadership The ITS organization must provide
leadership focused on service quality.
Cultural Setting Influence 2 / Resources The ITS organization must provide resources
for technical staff to meet their goal.

Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of ITS Technical Staff’s’ Knowledge, Motivation
and the Organizational Context
The purpose of a conceptual framework is to depict, through a graphical and/or narrative
representation, the key ideas and factors being studied and their relationship to each other
(Maxwell, 2013). While the individual knowledge, motivation and organizational influences are
discussed independently above, these influences interact with, and upon, each other in the daily
ITS work environment. The interaction of these influences, and their impact on each other,
determines the extent to which ITS technical staff may be successful in achieving their goal of
providing an initial response to customer issues within four hours.
Figure 1 depicts the interaction between ITS organizational culture and context and ITS
technical staff members’ knowledge and motivation in relation to their goal. The large blue oval
represents the ITS organization and its cultural environment. The black arrow from the large blue
oval points to the red rectangle below it that represents the organizational goal of improving
overall customer satisfaction. Achievement of this goal takes place in a larger context including
influences and factors outside the ITS organization. The green oval inside the larger blue oval
represents the technical staff members, who function within the ITS organizational context, and
their knowledge and motivation related to achieving their goal of responding to customers within
four hours. The black arrow from the green oval representing technical staff members’
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 32

knowledge and motivation points to their goal, depicted by a gold rectangle inside the larger blue
oval. The technical staff members’ goal is shown inside the ITS organization’s environment
because the goal must be achieved within that cultural context. Multiple factors within the ITS
organization act upon and influence technical staff members’ knowledge and motivation to
achieve their goal.

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework depicting the interaction between ITS organizational culture
and context and technical staff members’ knowledge and motivation in relation to their goal.
An organizational culture of trust, service leadership, and sufficient resources are
essential factors for technical staff member’s knowledge and motivation related to their goal of
acknowledging all customer issues within four hours. A culture of trust enables staff members to
communicate openly with their leaders and each other (Rath & Conchie, 2009). Operating within
a culture of trust, technical staff members are more likely to value the goal of responding to
customers within four hours and take action to achieve the goal.
Technical Staff Members
Conceptual Knowledge, Procedural
Knowledge, Metacognitive Strategies,
Self-Efficacy, Utility Value
By December 2019, ITS technical staff members
will provide an initial response to 100% of
customer-reported issues within four hours, as
measured by the IT service management system,
ServiceNow .
By June 2020, PCU ITS will improve its overall customer
satisfaction score from 70% to 90% or higher, as measured by
customer satisfaction surveys.
Information Technology Services
Cultural Models and Cultural Settings
(Culture of Trust, Service Leadership, Resources)
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 33

Service leadership aligns goals, sets expectations, and rewards behavior specifically
related to service quality, making it more likely that a culture of trust will emerge (Kezar, 2001).
Conceptual knowledge of customer service and service quality will help technical staff
understand the importance of acknowledging customer issues within four hours. Even with this
knowledge, technical staff members must feel motivated to actively choose the goal of
acknowledging customer issues within four hours, to continue pursuing that goal when conflicts
and obstacles arise, and to apply sufficient mental effort to successfully complete the goal (Clark
& Estes, 2008). Service leadership in ITS will set expectations for technical staff members to
acknowledge customer issues within four hours.
Service leadership also must align resources with goals in order to provide sufficient
time, staffing, training, and tools for technical staff to successfully achieve their performance
goal (Clark & Estes, 2008). Technical staff needs procedural knowledge of how to provide
timely initial responses to customers using the ITS service management system, ServiceNow.
They also need metacognitive strategies and self-monitoring to plan and adjust their efforts to
meet the performance goal. Procedural and metacognitive knowledge will increase technical
staff’s self-efficacy and enable them to perform the tasks required to meet their goal. Service
leadership will, in turn, reward technical staff for achieving their customer response goal, which
will increase the goal’s utility value to technical staff. A culture of trust within the ITS cultural
model will interact with technical staff’s motivational influence of utility value in relation to
their goal of acknowledging customer issues within four hours. Conceptual and procedural
knowledge directed by service leadership will increase technical staff members’ self-efficacy and
enable them to see the importance and value of meeting the initial customer response goal.
As Figure 1 illustrates, providing a culture of trust, service leadership, and sufficient
resources creates the organizational environment for technical staff members to achieve their
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 34

goal of acknowledging all customer issues within four hours. At the same time, achievement of
the ITS organizational goal is significantly impacted by the ITS organizational influences, as
well as technical staff members’ knowledge, motivation, and achievement of their performance
goal.
Participating Stakeholders: Sampling and Recruitment
The population of interest for this study is the Information Technology Services (ITS)
full-time technical staff, who develop and support essential enterprise services and applications
that enable the university community to conduct world class teaching, learning and research. The
technical staff includes systems administrators, database administrators, systems analysts,
programmers, network administrators, and technical project managers who develop and
implement technology solutions. Technical staff members, who are considered Level 2 support,
also work to resolve escalated customer issues that cannot be addressed by the Level 1 support
frontline staff. The stakeholder performance goal for technical staff, by December 2019, is to
acknowledge—that is, send an initial response to—100% of customer issues within four hours.
This goal is referred to as the stakeholder performance goal throughout the study.
This study examined the knowledge and motivation of technical staff members in relation
to their goal, and the interaction of that knowledge and motivation with the ITS organizational
culture and context. Technical staff members are identified as employees who may be assigned
to resolve escalated technical issues as part of Level 2 operational support. Using these criteria,
the population size for this study was 222 technical staff members within ITS.
Survey Sampling Criteria and Rationale
The criteria below were used to recruit participants.
Criterion 1. Must be regular, full-time employees of ITS. ITS comprises slightly less
than half the information technology staff resources at the university. The rationale for this
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 35

criterion is that only ITS technical staff members can be held accountable by ITS management
for the performance goal of responding to customers within four hours.
Criterion 2. Must handle escalated customer technical issues as part of their job function.
As the conceptual framework depicts, the study examines technical staff members’ knowledge
and motivation in relation to the goal of responding to customer issues within four hours.
Therefore, the sample group must include only staff members with responsibility for achieving
that performance goal.
Criterion 3. Must use ServiceNow to track and resolve customer issues. Since the goal
for this study is for technical staff members to respond to customer issues within four hours
using ServiceNow, each member of the sample group must be a user of that system. The survey
explored technical staff members’ procedural knowledge of how to respond to customers using
ServiceNow, therefore ServiceNow usage is an essential selection criterion.
Survey Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale
The first phase of the study was a quantitative survey sent to all ITS technical staff
members who meet the selection criteria above. The survey used multiple choice questions to
assess technical staff members’ conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge related to
providing customer service and meeting the goal of providing an initial response to customers
within four hours. The survey also sought self-reported data about motivation and organizational
factors influencing their ability to meet the performance goal. Using the guidelines provided by
Johnson and Christensen (2015), an ideal sample size for the 222 ITS technical staff members
would be approximately 153 in order to obtain a representative sample that could be generalized
to the entire population. Because the proportion likely to respond was low, all members of the
sample population were invited to participate in the survey in order to maximize the response
(Johnson & Christensen, 2015). The sample population of technical staff members was
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 36

comprised of 24% female employees and 76% male employees. The survey requested gender
information in order to examine the similarities and differences between male and female
technical staff members’ motivation and organizational factors in relation to the performance
goal (Fink, 2013).
The survey was distributed via email, with an explanation of the purpose of the study,
how its findings would be used, and with an assurance that responses were anonymous as
required by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Email addresses were obtained from the public
USC Web site. No incentive was offered since responses were anonymous. The objective of this
phase was to maximize the survey response rate as the larger the response rate, the more
representative the findings will be for the population of interest (Johnson & Christensen, 2015),
in this case, for each gender strata, and for ITS technical staff members in general.
Interview Sampling Criteria and Rationale
The criteria below were used to recruit participants.
Criterion 1. Must be a member of the survey sample group, using the criteria detailed
above. Rationale for this criterion is to ensure that interviewees have insight into the meaning
underlying the survey results, from the same perspective as those surveyed (Johnson &
Christensen, 2015).
Criterion 2. Must represent different major organizational units across ITS to the extent
possible in order to provide the broadest possible range of perspectives. Details about ensuring
the mix are discussed in the recruitment section below.
Criterion 3. Must be willing to participate in a 30- to 60-minute interview. Not all
technical staff members may feel comfortable speaking about their knowledge and motivation
and their experience within the organization in relation to the performance goal. Interviewees
indicated willingness to be interviewed at the end of the survey, and participation was voluntary.
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 37

Interview Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale
The second phase of the study used a nested sequential sampling design orientation to
invite participants from the population that was surveyed in the first phase of the study (Johnson
& Christensen, 2015). A $15 electronic gift card was offered as an incentive to participants.
Eight technical staff members volunteered to participate and were interviewed. In-person
interviews of 30-60 minutes were conducted, using questions that explored interviewee
experiences, beliefs, feelings, and opinions in relation to the goal of responding to customer
incidents within four hours. Questions were framed in terms specific to the ITS organizational
context and the specific performance goal to minimize sampling issues (Maxwell, 2013). The
objective of the interviews was to gain insights into any gaps in knowledge, motivation or
organizational resources in relation to the stakeholder performance goal.
Data Collection and Instrumentation
Quantitative research examines the cause and effect relationships between variables of
interest in order to test hypotheses (Creswell, 2014). Quantitative studies collect numerical data
that can be analyzed and represented statistically (Creswell, 2014). This study gathered
quantitative data by surveying ITS technical staff members about their knowledge, motivation,
and perceptions of organizational models and settings related to the goal of providing a first
response to all customer-reported issues within four hours. The survey sought to evaluate
technical staff’s conceptual knowledge of customer service, procedural knowledge of how to
send an initial response using ServiceNow, and metacognitive strategies for balancing customer
service activities with their other workload. The survey also measured technical staff’s self-
efficacy regarding their ability to achieve the goal, their utility value associated with customer
service activities, and their perceptions of the organizational environment related to trust, service
climate, and service leadership.
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 38

Surveys
The target population for the survey was the 222 technical staff members who respond to
escalated ServiceNow customer issues and do not work within the author’s department. The
survey was created in Qualtrics and distributed via email to the entire target population with a
14-day response window. Qualtrics enables survey responses to be collected anonymously,
which protects the confidentiality of the respondents (Pazzaglia, Stafford, & Rodriguez, 2016).
Qualtrics also allows respondents to stop and restart the survey at their convenience. Distributing
the survey to the entire target population provided a probability sample, with equal access for
each recipient, and an increased likelihood of collecting data that would represent the entire
population (Pazzaglia et al., 2016). To maximize the response rate, reminders were sent on the
seventh day of the 14-day response window.
Survey questions were designed to examine the key constructs of conceptual and
procedural knowledge, metacognitive strategies, self-efficacy, utility value, trust, service
leadership, and resources. As Fink (2013) recommends, the survey used multiple choice
questions, which studies have found to be more efficient and reliable than open-ended survey
questions. Most questions collected either nominal or ordinal data, which can be analyzed for
percentages or frequency of responses (Salkind, 2017). This type of data was useful in measuring
the average level of technical staff’s knowledge, motivation, and perceived organizational
support and barriers for their goal of acknowledging customer issues within four hours. Survey
respondents also were asked to report their gender identification in order to allow additional
stratification of the data during analysis. According to Major, Morganson, and Bolen (2013), it is
important to consider gender differences because women are significantly underrepresented in
the IT field. Across industries, women represent 25% of IT professionals (Panko, 2008), but only
24% of ITS technical staff are women. According to Wentling and Thomas (2009), women are
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 39

more likely to perceive the IT work environment as unsupportive and non-collaborative.
Therefore, I was interested in comparing the responses of male and female technical staff to
identify any gender-related differences in knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors that
influence their ability to achieve the stakeholder performance goal.
Respondents who completed the survey were invited to participate in the interview phase
of the study. At the end of the survey, the “Thank You” page displayed a separate link for
interested respondents to provide their contact information. This information was captured and
stored separately from the survey responses in order to preserve anonymity. The complete
Survey Instrument is included in Appendix A. Reliability and validity considerations for the
collection of the quantitative data are discussed in Appendix B.
Interviews
Eight one-time interviews were conducted with technical staff members who volunteered
in the quantitative survey portion of the study. At the end of the survey, respondents were invited
to participate in the interview phase, with the offer of a low-value gift card in return for their
time, by providing their email address in a separate link that was not connected to the
quantitative survey responses. Only eight survey respondents volunteered, therefore there were
no selection criteria as all who volunteered were interviewed. A private meeting room was
reserved in a separate building so that interviewees could arrive and leave without being
observed by co-workers. Interview meetings were scheduled within a three-week period, based
on participant availability.
I used a semi-structured interview format by asking the same questions in the same
sequence to all interviewees and using follow-up probes as needed to clarify responses (Patton,
2002). My purpose in selecting this approach was to use a conversational style that would allow
individual perspectives to emerge, while keeping the interview sessions systematic and focused
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 40

(Patton, 2002). I used a neo-positivist orientation toward minimizing bias and collecting valid,
high-quality data (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Each interview opened with demographic questions
about length of time in the organization, length of time in the IT industry, and major area of the
ITS organization. The remaining interview questions were designed to explore ITS technical
staff’s strategies, motivation, and organizational support in relation to the goal of sending an
initial response to all customer issues within four hours, and the interaction of ITS organizational
culture with their knowledge and motivation. As recommended by Patton (2002), I used a mix of
question types based on interviewees’ experiences, opinions, feelings, and sensory perceptions.
My interview protocol included an explanation of the study’s purpose and planned use, an
assurance of privacy and confidentiality for the interviewee, a copy of the consent form for each
interviewee, a request for permission to record the session, an opportunity for the interviewee to
ask questions, and a reminder that the interviewee can stop the interview at any point. The
detailed Interview Protocol is included in Appendix A. Credibility and trustworthiness
considerations for the collection of qualitative data are discussed in Appendix C.
Results and Findings
The purpose of this project was to evaluate the degree to which PCU ITS was meeting its
goal of 90% or higher customer satisfaction by June 2020. The study explored how technical
staff’s knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors influenced the PCU ITS organization’s
efforts to achieve the customer satisfaction goal. The following questions guided this study:
1. To what extent is PCU ITS meeting its goal of achieving overall customer satisfaction
of 90% by June 2020?
2. What is the technical staff’s knowledge and motivation related to achieving their goal
of sending an initial response to 100% of customer-reported issues within four hours?
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 41

3. What is the interaction between organizational culture and context and technical
staff’s knowledge and motivation?
4. What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources?
Using the Clark and Estes (2008) knowledge, motivation, and organizational barriers
(KMO) framework, the following subsections address the first three research questions with the
influences revealed by the data. The fourth research question is discussed in the
Recommendations section.
Results and Findings for Research Question 1
The first research question evaluated the progress of PCU ITS toward its goal of
achieving overall customer satisfaction of 90%. A baseline measure performed by an external
consulting firm in June 2017 showed that overall customer satisfaction was at 70%.
Unfortunately, no additional measure using the same instrument was performed between June
2017 and the time of this study, therefore it was not possible to measure incremental progress
toward the organizational goal. Achievement of the organizational goal is affected, however, by
related knowledge, motivation and organizational influences for the stakeholder of focus, ITS
technical staff, and their goal of sending an initial response to 100% of customer issues within
four hours.
The following subsections discuss the quantitative results and qualitative findings related
to the stakeholder goal. The study utilized surveys sent to ITS technical staff and interviews with
technical staff volunteers conducted in response to the research questions. From a sample pool of
222 technical staff, 34 (15%) responded to the survey and eight (3%) participated in interviews.
Demographic data. Demographic data were collected as part of the survey and
interviews in order to determine whether any differences exist in technical staff’s knowledge,
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 42

motivation, or perceptions of organizational support based on these factors. Gender information
was collected from all survey respondents and interviewees, with an option not to respond if
preferred. Creswell (2014) recommends identifying whether the sample contains individuals
within each stratum in the same proportion as the entire target population. Because the survey
was sent to all technical staff who met the selection criteria outlined above, the sample was
identical to the target population. Respondents, however, were not representative of the entire
population due to self-selection bias. Survey respondents and interviewees were from different
functional areas within ITS, where some units were over-represented, and others were under-
represented. Female respondents were over-represented, while male respondents were under-
represented in both the survey and the interviews.
Gender/gender identity. Survey respondents were asked to indicate their gender/gender
identity. A total of 20 (59%) survey respondents indicated that they were male, 13 (38%)
indicated they were female, and one (3%) preferred not to respond. Of the eight interviewees,
four were male and four were female, representing a 50%/50% split by gender. For both the
survey respondents and interviewees, the percentage of female technical staff representation was
higher than in the overall target population, where the gender distribution is 76% male and 24%
female. Figure 2 displays the gender distribution of the survey respondents, interviewees, and all
ITS technical staff.
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 43

Figure 2. Gender distribution for survey respondents, interviewees, and all technical staff.
Results and Findings for Research Question 2: Technical Staff’s Knowledge and
Motivation
Knowledge results and findings. The knowledge portion of the second research
question focuses on technical staff’s knowledge related to acknowledging 100% of customer
issues within four hours. The data revealed three areas of focus related to technical staff
knowledge. The first area of focus was knowledge of basic customer service concepts,
specifically the components of the SERVQUAL service quality model (Parasuraman et al.,
1998). The second was knowledge of the process for sending an acknowledgement to customer
issues using ServiceNow. The third area of focus was knowledge of strategies for managing time
and workload to achieve the goal of acknowledging all customer issues within four hours. These
three knowledge types are discussed below.
Strong knowledge of basic customer service concepts. Conceptual knowledge includes
the principles, theories, and structures of a subject area (Krathwohl, 2002; Rueda, 2011). Five
key factors were identified by Parasuraman et al. (1998) in their service quality measurement
tool, SERVQUAL, including responsiveness, assurance, tangibles, empathy, and reliability.
38%
50%
24%
59%
50%
76%
3%
Survey Respondents Interviewees All ITS Technical Staff
Gender
Female Male Prefer not to respond
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 44

According to Smith et al. (2007), reliability and responsiveness are the top two concerns of IT
customers in higher education. Technical staff need knowledge of these concepts as a foundation
for providing quality service to IT customers.
To understand technical staff’s knowledge of customer service concepts, survey
respondents were asked, “Which of the following do you believe is most important for ITS to
provide to our customers?” Five options were listed, including technical knowledge, reliable
services, empathy and caring, responsiveness, and innovation. All 34 respondents provided an
answer to this question, with 24 (71%) selecting reliable services and 10 (29%) selecting
responsiveness. Technical knowledge, empathy and caring, and innovation were not selected by
any survey respondents. Technical staff survey respondents selected the top two customer
priorities, according to Smith et al. (2007). This finding reflects a basic understanding of
customer service concepts among technical staff respondents. Figure 3 displays technical staff
responses for each option.
Six of the eight interviewees made statements that reflected the importance of being
responsive to customer issues. One person said, “If I'm the customer on the other side, whether
or not you have an answer for me, I need some sort of response.” Another said, “Just promptly,
thoroughly, I mean, if you say you're going to do this, don't just say it, right? Actually do it.” A
third person referred to adding value to the response. “Getting back with some kind of quick
follow-up question, I think, is kind of ideal because then it's not you saying, ‘I'm working on it,’
but you're showing that you're working on it by a follow-up question.” Two (25%) of the eight
interviewees did not see the importance of being responsive to customer issues. One said, “but,
once you have the tickets, then you're asking, I think, how important is it that you respond in four
hours?” Both mentioned the fact that the ServiceNow system already sends an automated
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 45

response and they felt they should not have to be held to a four-hour deadline for responding to
customers.

Figure 3. Technical staff responses the question multiple choice question: Which of the
following do you believe is most important for ITS to provide to our customers?
The survey indicated that the majority of technical staff respondents have a knowledge of
basic customer service concepts. This knowledge is an asset to the organization. The interview
responses revealed a gap for some in understanding the importance of being responsive to
customer issues. It is important to ensure that all current and new technical staff have the same
level of knowledge of customer service concepts in order to understand the importance of their
performance goal.
Gap in procedural knowledge for responding to customer issues. Procedural knowledge
includes the specific steps and skills to complete a task (Krathwohl, 2002; Mayer, 2011; Rueda,
2011). According to Bergman et al. (2008), procedural customer service knowledge strongly
predicts service performance. To evaluate technical staff’s procedural knowledge of how to
create and send an initial response to a customer issue using ServiceNow, survey respondents
were asked to indicate their level of agreement with the statement: “I could show someone else
24
10
0 0 0
Reliable
services
Responsiveness Technical
knowledge
Empathy and
caring
Innovation
Which of the following do you believe is most important for
ITS to provide to our customers?
71%
29%
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 46

how to use ServiceNow to provide an initial response to customer incidents.” Assessing
procedural knowledge via survey was not an ideal approach. Evaluation of procedural
knowledge would ideally have been done by observing technical staff demonstrating the skill,
but the scope and time constraints of this study did not allow for that option.

Figure 4. Technical staff responses on a Likert-type scale to the statement: I could show
someone else how to use ServiceNow to provide an initial response to customer incidents.
There was an almost 80%-20% split across the agreement and disagreement spectrum,
with 17 (50%) technical staff responses strongly agreeing, 10 (29%) somewhat agreeing, three
(9%) neither agreeing nor disagreeing, one (3%) somewhat disagreeing, two (6%) strongly
disagreeing, and one (3%) non-response (see Figure 4). Although 79% of survey respondents
indicated that they know how to send an initial customer response in ServiceNow, 21% of survey
respondents did not feel capable of demonstrating this skill. This lack of procedural knowledge is
a remaining need that could negatively impact technical staff’s ability to acknowledge all
customer issues within four hours.
Lack of strategies and self-monitoring to meet the performance goal. Metacognitive
knowledge encompasses the strategies to successfully achieve a goal and the ability to self-
17
10
3 1 2 1
Strongly
agree
Somewhat
agree
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Somewhat
disagree
Strongly
disagree
No response
I could show someone else how to use ServiceNow to
provide an initial response to customer incidents.
50%
29%
9% 3% 6% 3%
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 47

monitor and adjust those strategies as needed (Krathwohl, 2002; Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011).
Metacognitive strategies help individuals monitor and control their performance (Mayer, 2011).
To understand technical staff’s metacognitive strategies for meeting the goal of providing an
initial response to all customer issues within four hours, survey respondents were asked, “How
often do you usually check and respond to customer incidents?” Four possible answers were
provided: several times a day, once a day, several times a week, once a week or less.

Figure 5. Technical staff responses on a Likert-type scale to the question: How often do you
usually check and respond to customer incidents?
With a goal of acknowledging customer issues within four hours, only a response of
“several times a day” would enable technical staff to meet their performance goal. There were
four (12%) responses for several times a day, seven (21%) for once a day, 14 (41%) for several
times a week, and nine (26%) for once a week or less (See Figure 5). This finding suggests that
88% of technical staff survey respondents are checking ServiceNow less often than necessary to
acknowledge customer issues within four hours, while only 12% are checking ServiceNow often
enough to meet the goal.
4
7
14
9
Several times a day Once a day Several times a week Once a week or less
How often do you usually check and respond to
customer incidents?
12%
21%
41%
26%
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 48

To more deeply explore technical staff’s metacognitive strategies and self-monitoring for
meeting their goal, the eight interviewees were asked, “On a typical day, what strategies do you
use to keep up with ServiceNow incidents?” Five of the eight interviewees reported using
specific strategies for keeping up with incoming customer issues in ServiceNow, such as keeping
the ServiceNow queue open, using email to quickly respond to incoming cases, and checking
ServiceNow at key points throughout the day. One person said, “I utilize the color categories, the
categorization and the organization in Outlook to keep all my tickets categorized according to
priority. I check them off according to what I responded to, what is pending.” Another said, “We
have taken proactive measures to ensure that all of our customers receive an initial response
within four business hours of receiving their initial request even if just to acknowledge that we
received and are working on it.” A third person said, “It's like you can check it when you come
in, you can check it at lunch, you can check it after lunch, and you can check it at the end of the
day. And that's got four hours covered.”
Three of the technical staff lacked clear strategies for keeping up with customer issues in
ServiceNow. Two of the three said that they have difficulty remembering to check ServiceNow
for incoming customer issues. One said, “ServiceNow is so recent, to keep up with them, just
remembering to look at them, just remembering to go in there because it's not something we've
been doing for six years, right?” Another person said, “It's not a strategy. I don't really have one.
I think it would be better if I had some kind of a strategy. That would be something that we could
all use, I think.” These comments directly reference the need for strategies to be developed and
for technical staff to monitor their own performance of responding to customer issues in
ServiceNow. Although many factors could contribute to these findings and results, they could
indicate a gap in service leadership for providing processes and resources that support service
related activities. The lack of consistent and effective strategies for keeping up with incoming
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 49

ServiceNow cases points out a remaining need that is impacting technical staff’s ability to meet
their performance goal.
Motivation results and findings. The motivation portion of the second research question
focuses on technical staff’s motivation related to acknowledging 100% of customer issues within
four hours. The data revealed two areas of focus related to technical staff motivation. The first
area of focus was self-efficacy, that is, the belief that one can achieve a goal. The second was the
perceived utility value, or usefulness to one’s personal goals, of acknowledging all customer
issues within four hours. These two motivation types are discussed below.
Low self-efficacy to meet the performance goal. To understand technical staff’s self-
efficacy in relation to meeting the goal of acknowledging all customer issues within four hours,
survey respondents were asked, “What percentage of ServiceNow incidents do you think you can
respond to within four hours?” Responses were free-form numeric. Numeric responses were
grouped into the following categories: five (15%) responded in the 0-10% range; four (12%)
responded in the 11-50% range; seven (21%) responded in the 51-89% range, and 13 (38%)
responded in the 90-100% range. There were five (15%) non-responses, the second highest non-
response rate among the survey questions. I defined efficacious as falling within the 90-100%
range. These results show a one-third/two-thirds split along the efficacious and non-efficacious
spectrum. The average percentage for all technical staff survey respondents was 64%, which falls
below the 90-100% efficacious range. Figure 6 displays the number of responses for each
grouping.
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 50

Figure 6. Technical staff responses to the question: What percentage of ServiceNow incidents do
you think you can respond to within four hours?
Disaggregating the data by gender reveals a 13% difference between male and female
technical staff’s average self-efficacy in relation to meeting the stakeholder performance goal. Of
the 20 male technical staff respondents, 50% responded in the 90-100% efficacious range, while
40% responded in the less than 90% efficacious range, and 10% did not respond. The average
percentage for male technical staff survey respondents was 68% efficacious. Of the 13 female
technical staff respondents, only 23% responded in the 90-100% efficacious range, while 54%
responded in the less than 90% efficacious range, and 23% did not respond (See Figure 7). The
average percentage for female technical staff survey respondents was 55% efficacious.
5 5
4
7
13
No response 0-10% 11-50% 51-89% 90-100%
What percentage of ServiceNow incidents do you think you
can respond to within four hours?
12%
15% 15%
21%
38%
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 51

Figure 7. Technical staff self-efficacy in relation to meeting the goal of responding to customer
issues within four hours, disaggregated by gender.
The interview protocol did not include any questions specific to self-efficacy, but several
participants made comments related to confidence in their ability to meet the four-hour initial
response goal. Workload and incoming case volume were themes for respondents with high self-
efficacy as well as for those with low self-efficacy. One person said, “When there's not much
going on, I think that it's really simple, at least to provide an initial response.” Another said, “I
don't get that many. So, it's not that difficult, normally." Respondents who reflected low self-
efficacy, “I don't know that that's possible to respond within four hours because we have so many
of them.” Another said that at times, “we're working on projects and in meetings and I don't have
my eyes on the queue. Then I find it a little bit more difficult to stay on top of the initial
responses, even in a four-hour window.” A third person said, “When my attention is diverted
away from the queue, that's when I get into some difficulty being able to try to respond and meet
the standards.” One respondent simply said, “Sometimes it's not possible within four hours.”
Participant responses indicate a link between technical staff confidence in being able to meet the
goal and the volume of incoming issues and other workload. These findings support the low
average self-efficacy among technical staff shown in the survey results.
50%
40%
10%
Male Technical Staff Self-Efficacy
(Average Response=68%)
Efficacious (90-100%) Less Efficacious (<90%)
No response
23%
54%
23%
Female Technical Staff Self-Efficacy
(Average Response=55%)
Efficacious (90-100%) Less Efficacious (<90%)
No response
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 52

While many factors could contribute to these results, they may point to a lack of
procedural knowledge for how to acknowledge customer issues using ServiceNow, a lack of
strategies for keeping up with incoming customer issues in ServiceNow, and/or a lack of
organizational support in the form of service leadership and resources to successfully meet the
goal of acknowledging all customer issues within four hours. These findings suggest that self-
efficacy is a remaining need affecting technical staff’s ability to meet the performance goal of
acknowledging all customer issues within four hours.
The results further indicate that female technical staff feel less efficacious in relation to
meeting the goal than their male peers. Wentling and Thomas (2009) found that women in IT
perceive their work culture as dominated by a “good old boy’s network,” which makes them feel
excluded and impacts their confidence. This finding could possibly explain ITS female staff’s
lower self-efficacy.
Gap in utility value for responsiveness to customers. Utility value is the perceived
usefulness of a task for achieving a personal goal (Rueda, 2011). To understand technical staff’s
utility value in relation to meeting the goal of acknowledging all customer issues within four
hours, survey respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement on a 5-point Likert
scale with the statement, “My responsiveness to customers affects my annual performance
rating.” Of the 34 survey respondents, 14 (41%) strongly agreed, nine (26%) somewhat agreed,
six (18%) neither agreed nor disagreed, three (9%) somewhat disagreed, one (3%) strongly
disagreed, and one (3%) did not respond (see Figure 8). This finding reflects that only 68% of
the respondents perceive a connection between their performance evaluation and their
responsiveness to customers.
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 53

Figure 8. Technical staff responses on a Likert-type scale to the statement: My responsiveness to
customers affects my annual performance rating.
Disaggregating the data by gender shows an interesting distinction between female and
male technical staff responses. Of the 13 female respondents, 10 (77%) agreed, while two (15%)
were neutral, none disagreed, and one (8%) did not respond. Of the 20 male respondents, 13
(65%) agreed, while three (15%) were neutral, and four (20%) disagreed. This suggests that the
female technical staff respondents perceive a stronger positive connection between their
responsiveness to customers and their performance evaluations than their male colleagues (see
Figure 9).
14
9
6
3
1 1
Strongly agree Somewhat
agree
Neither agree
nor disagree
Somewhat
disagree
Strongly
disagree
No response
My responsiveness to customers affects my annual
performance rating.
41%
26%
18%
9%
3% 3%
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 54

Figure 9. Technical staff responses, disaggregated by gender, to the statement: My
responsiveness to customers affects my annual performance rating.
To gain a deeper insight into how technical staff view the utility of being responsive to
customers, interviewees were asked, “How does being responsive to customers help you achieve
your own career goals, if at all?” Most interviewees saw the usefulness of being responsive to
customers, but related that more to their day-to-day functions rather than their personal career
goals. One technical staff member said, “When I help people, it’s like I'm helping them to help
me to do my job, right? If they can do their job, it makes my job easier. Otherwise they keep
bothering you.” Another respondent spoke about the usefulness of having a good relationship
with customers. “I think that it just helps to establish the rapport, a good rapport with the
customers. As long as we're communicating, they'd be more forgiving of mistakes.” One viewed
the value of responsiveness in the context of her professional reputation, saying, “I have a pretty
good reputation as being somebody who gets stuff done. So if I'm transitioning anywhere else,
especially on this campus, people remember that. I need to keep that reputation of getting things
done.” Two of the respondents saw the utility of being responsive in terms of “pain avoidance.”
One said, “It's mandated, so whatever keeps me out of the limelight for negative.” Another said,
77%
15%
8%
65%
15%
20%
Agree Neutral Disagree No response
My responsiveness to customers affects my
annual performance rating.
(Disaggregated by Gender)
Female Male
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 55

“It's funny because my goal is to get rid of the tickets that are annoying. They start hanging over
my head is what happens, and they build up, and then I feel guilty that I'm not answering them.”
One respondent saw no value at all in the goal of acknowledging customer issues within four
hours. “For me personally, I don’t take that as a personal goal.”
These results suggest that utility value is a remaining need for some technical staff’s
motivation to achieve the goal of acknowledging all customer issues within four hours. While
many factors may contribute to these results, they could point to a gap in service leadership,
which requires managers to clearly set expectations, communicate the goal, hold staff
accountable, and recognize staff for being responsive to customer issues.
Results and Findings for Research Question 3: Interaction between Knowledge, Motivation
and Organizational Findings
Organizational results and findings. The organizational portion of the third research
question focuses on the ITS organization’s culture and context related to technical staff’s ability
to meet their performance goal. At the time of data collection, a major ITS organizational
transformation had recently been announced, although not many details had been shared. The
data revealed three areas of focus related to ITS’s organizational factors. The first area of focus
was providing a culture of trust. The second was providing service leadership, and the third was
providing sufficient resources for technical staff to successfully achieve their goal. These three
organizational influences are discussed below.
Issues related to culture of trust. A culture of trust creates an environment where
employees feel engaged and actually perform more efficiently than in an environment where
trust is low (Rath & Conchie, 2009). To evaluate technical staff’s perception of trust in ITS,
survey respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement on a 5-point Likert scale with
the statement, “ITS reflects a culture of trust.” Of the 34 survey respondents, five (15%) strongly
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 56

agreed, eight (24%) somewhat agreed, nine (26%) neither agreed nor disagreed, nine (26%)
somewhat disagreed, two (6%) strongly disagreed, and one (3%) did not respond (see Figure 10).
This finding reflects that only 39% of the respondents perceived a culture of trust in ITS.

Figure 10. Technical staff responses on a Likert-type scale to the statement: ITS reflects a
culture of trust.
To more clearly understand technical staff’s reasons for their assessment of trust in ITS
culture, survey respondents were asked to explain their responses. Of the 39% who responded
positively regarding a culture of trust, one person wrote, “I trust the people on my team to do
their jobs well.” Another wrote, “I generally trust everyone in the department.” A third
respondent said, “We generally trust people to be competent in their jobs and give them the tools
they need. Most supervisors don't micro-manage and worry about ‘insider threats.’”
Of the 61% who did not perceive a culture of trust, several mentioned the uncertainty
around the organizational transformation that was in its early stages when data was being
collected. One respondent wrote, “The transparency in the transformation is still convoluted
with no definite answers, just timelines and suggestions.” Another wrote, “Uncertainty does not
5
8
9 9
2
1
Strongly agree Somewhat
agree
Neither agree
nor disagree
Somewhat
disagree
Strongly
disagree
No response
ITS Reflects a Culture of Trust
15%
24%
26% 26%
6%
3%
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 57

equate to trust.” A third said, “Due to transformation, there is a strong distrust of leadership’s
intentions. It is widely believed that transformation is a vehicle to reduce the workforce.” Other
respondents perceived a lack of leadership trust in staff. “I don't think leadership trusts many of
the people doing the work and conversely I don't think the people doing the work trust the vision
and direction of leadership.” Another respondent wrote, “Leadership does not respect or trust its
staff members.” One respondent mentioned a general lack of trust. “I feel there is an underlying
current of non-trust within our own unit, and in the larger organization as well. I think there is a
blame game that exists that is not healthy.” These remarks indicate a bidirectional lack of trust
between leadership and staff.
These results and findings indicate that creating a culture of trust in ITS is a remaining
need which could be affecting the ability of technical staff to achieve their goal. In addition, a
lack of trust in the organization could potentially impact technical staff’s value for the
performance goal. While many factors may have contributed to these findings, they could point
to a perceived gap in communication and transparency related to the organizational
transformation.
Issues related to providing service leadership. Service leadership involves aligning
goals, setting expectations, developing and enforcing policies and processes, and providing
recognition and rewards focused on service excellence. To understand technical staff’s
perceptions of service leadership in relation to setting expectations, survey respondents were
asked, “In the past month, how many times has your manager spoken to you or your group about
the importance of being responsive to customers?” Responses were free-form, forced numeric. I
then grouped the numeric responses into ranges. Of the 34 survey respondents, 11 (32%) said
zero times, 13 (37%) said one to five times, five (14%) said more than five times, and six (17%)
did not respond. This question had the highest non-response rate in the survey. The overall
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 58

average was 2.6 times. Figure 11 displays the ungrouped numeric responses. Figure 12 depicts
the grouped responses.

Figure 11. Responses to the question: In the past month, how many times has your manager
spoken to you or your group about the importance of being responsive to customers?
To gain a deeper understanding of the types of expectations managers are setting about
the importance of customer responsiveness, interviewees were asked, “What, if anything, does
your manager say to you about being responsive to customers?” Three of the eight interviewees
reported clearly communicated expectations from their manager on the topic of being responsive
to customer issues. One technical staff member said, “When I first started, I think it was just
communicated, the policy, the protocol, the ITS protocol.” Another said, “Our manager says it's
important to be responsive to customers.” A third said, “We talk about it in the staff meetings
and we set a team goal to respond within four hours.”
11
1
6
1
4
1 1 1 1 1
6
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 12 No
response
In the past month, how many times has your manager spoken to
you or your group about the importance of being responsive to
customers? (Average=2.6 times)
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 59

Figure 12. Aggregated responses to the question: In the past month, how many times has your
manager spoken to you or your group about the importance of being responsive to customers?
Five of the interviewees reported that their managers do not set specific expectations
related to customer responsiveness. Some managers are viewed as “just knowing” that staff are
being responsive. One staff member said, “Actually, there's not a lot of comments. But he just
knows that I have been meeting with my customer.” Another said, “I don't really hear much
about that. Every once in a while we get reminded whenever we have our staff meetings. I think
if it was a problem, we'd know about it.” Other managers have either never communicated about
responsiveness, or have actively told staff they can ignore the goal. One technical staff said, “I
wasn’t aware. I don't remember anyone saying we needed to get back to these people within four
hours. I can't remember anyone ever coming in and sitting down and saying customers are our
number one.” Another respondent said the manager “never said that. But, some of the time he
lets you know that, look, you can be delayed sometimes.” A third person said, “I never thought
of my mandate as answering tickets.” These remarks clearly indicate a lack of service leadership
in the form of manager communication regarding the importance of customer responsiveness.
6
11
13
5
No response 0 times 1-5 times More than 5 times
In the past month, how many times has your manager
spoken to you or your group about the importance of being
responsive to customers? (Average=2.6)
17%
32%
37%
14%
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 60

The survey results indicate that only half of technical staff survey respondents have heard
their managers speak about the importance of being responsive to customers, while the other half
reported no manager communication about responsiveness, or did not response to the prompt.
Likewise, the interview findings indicate that most managers are not communicating effectively
or at all with their staff about the importance of being responsive to customers. While many
factors could contribute to these findings, they may point to a lack of manager accountability for
providing service leadership. This gap in service leadership is a remaining need in the
organization, which affects technical staff’s ability to achieve their performance goal.
Lack of sufficient resources to meet the performance goal. Organizational resources are
the tangible supplies and equipment, as well as time and human resources, needed to accomplish
tasks and achieve goals (Clark & Estes, 2008). To discover any gaps in organizational resources,
interviewees were asked, “What, if anything, is preventing you from meeting the goal of
responding to customers within four hours?” Six of the eight technical staff interviewed spoke
about challenges related to resources. Two people spoke about insufficient staffing. One said, “I
think that because we are down resources, it's a little bit difficult to always do that when we have
other meetings.” Another person said, “They know we are understaffed and overworked. We
could use a little help, because we're dying, and that's not fair to the campus, to those that we
support.” Several people spoke about workload and the challenge of competing priorities. One
said, “You have all these different things that are all high priority. Then you have to just decide,
okay, which one is a higher priority, but it's all different, because it's relative to different
functions.” Another said, “Sometimes things get away from you, because I'm juggling so many
different things now.” A third person said, “If it's the only thing I did, that would be one thing,
but it's hard when you have your time scheduled in different blocks, and then you know you can't
work on this.” These remarks indicate resources such as time and staffing are not sufficient for
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 61

technical staff to successfully meet the goal of acknowledging customer issues within four hours.
Therefore, resources are a remaining need in the organization. One factor contributing to this
finding could be a gap in service leadership, which provides and aligns resources, such as
workload, priorities, and staffing, to support the goal of being responsive to customers.
Impact of organizational influences on stakeholder knowledge and motivation. The
third research question also examines the interaction between organizational culture and context
and technical staff’s knowledge and motivation. As outlined in the conceptual framework above,
a culture of trust, service leadership, and sufficient resources are essential factors for technical
staff’s knowledge and motivation related to their performance goal of acknowledging all
customer issues within four hours. The data show a lack of trust in ITS, which inhibits technical
staff from communicating openly with their leaders and each other. According to Rath and
Conchie (2009), “relationship flat-out trumps competence in building trust” (p. 85). Operating
without a culture of trust, technical staff members are less likely to value their performance goal
and take action to achieve it.
The data also show a gap in service leadership in relation to setting consistent
expectations for technical staff around being responsive to customers. This service leadership
gap may in turn contribute to low utility value for technical staff in relation to their performance
goal. The lack of sufficient resources revealed by the data could negatively affect technical
staff’s self-efficacy regarding their ability to achieve the goal. The gap in service leadership as
well as insufficient resources may contribute to technical staff’s knowledge gaps in the areas of
procedural knowledge and metacognitive strategies for achieving the customer issue
acknowledgement goal.

SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 62

Summary of Results and Findings
In summary, the quantitative and qualitative data collected revealed assets and remaining
needs which can help inform recommendations for organizational practice in PCU ITS.
Technical staff demonstrated knowledge of basic customer service concepts that enabled them to
identify what is most important to customers (asset). A majority reported knowing how to
acknowledge a customer issue using ServiceNow well enough to demonstrate it to someone else,
but 21% reported they did not know how to do so (remaining need). Technical staff did not have
effective strategies for keeping up with incoming customer issues in order to meet the goal of
responding within four hours (remaining need). Technical staff overall lacked self-efficacy in
relation to achieving their performance goal, and female technical staff had lower self-efficacy
than their male peers (remaining need). Although a majority of respondents saw utility value in
being responsive to customers, and female staff saw more value than male staff, 33% of the
respondents did not (remaining need).
Technical staff perceived that ITS does not reflect a culture of trust, with a particular lack
of trust between leadership and staff (remaining need). Respondents reported that only about half
of managers are demonstrating service leadership by setting expectations with their staff about
the importance of being responsive to customers (remaining need). Three-quarters of interview
participants reported a lack of sufficient time and staffing resources to successfully achieve the
performance goal (remaining need). Table 5 summarizes the mean and standard deviation for the
survey items with five-point Likert scale rankings.
Table 5
Summary of Likert Scale Survey Questions
Survey Question

Mean

Standard Deviation
I could show someone else how to use ServiceNow to
provide an initial response to customer incidents. 4.18 1.13
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 63

ITS reflects a culture of trust. 3.15 1.18
My responsiveness to customers affects my annual
performance rating. 3.97 1.13

There were some additional findings within the data. Technical staff interview
participants overwhelmingly reported that the goal of acknowledging customer issues within four
hours is important to them, either personally, or because they understand its importance to
customers (asset). This aligns with the identified asset of technical staff’s knowledge of basic
customer service concepts. Technical staff revealed confusion regarding the expectation of
acknowledging customer issues within four hours, with some staff not knowing whether that
meant business hours or around-the-clock, and not understanding the difference between
acknowledging an issue and resolving it (remaining need). This underscores the identified gap in
procedural knowledge and could also be a contributing factor to the lack of self-efficacy and
utility value revealed in the data.
Recommendations for Practice
This section details the recommendations for organizational practice to address the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational gaps that emerged from the data collection and
analysis. Theoretical principles and context-specific recommendations for each influence are
discussed in the following sections. Addressing organizational gaps is critical to creating an
environment and context for technical staff to succeed in their performance goal. Therefore, the
discussion begins with organizational recommendations, followed by knowledge and motivation
recommendations.
Organizational Recommendations
Introduction. The list of organizational influences in Table 6 were identified in the data
as remaining needs. Organizational issues are often the root cause of performance problems and
can contribute to motivational and knowledge gaps (Rueda, 2011). Organizations are complex
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 64

systems, each with its own culture that reflects the core values, goals, beliefs, emotions, and
processes of its members (Clark & Estes, 2008). Schein (2004) defines culture as a set of shared
assumptions learned and adopted by a group in the process of solving problems that has worked
well enough to be considered “correct” and to be taught to new members. Gallimore and
Goldenberg (2001) examined culture using two units of analysis: models and settings. Cultural
models are the shared assumptions and understandings held by an organization’s members
(Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001; Rueda, 2011). Cultural settings are the visible and tangible
manifestations of culture, such as the physical work environment, available resources, and the
daily practices of an organization’s members (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001; Rueda, 2011).
Recommendations to address the identified organizational gaps are outlined in Table 6 and
detailed in the following sections.
Table 6
Summary of Organizational Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Organization
Influence

Principle and Citation

Context-Specific
Recommendation
ITS does not reflect a culture
of trust. (Cultural Model:
Trust)
Trust is built through openness
and authenticity and is the
basis for strong relationships
in organizations (Rath &
Conchie, 2009).
The organization will build
trust by evidencing
transparency, openness, and
authenticity in a variety of
stakeholder forums.
ITS is not providing service
leadership by setting goals and
rewarding employees based on
service excellence. (Cultural
Setting: Service Leadership)
Effective organizations ensure
that organizational messages,
rewards, policies and
procedures that govern the
work of the organization are
aligned with or are
supportive of organizational
goals and values (Clark &
Estes, 2008).
The organization will establish
messages, rewards, policies,
procedures and goals focused
on service excellence.
ITS is not providing sufficient
resources for technical staff to
meet their performance goal.
(Cultural Setting: Resources)
Effective change efforts
ensure that everyone has the
resources (equipment,
personnel, time, etc.) needed
to do their job, and that if
The organization will provide
technical staff with the
resources needed to meet their
performance goal.
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 65

there are resource shortages,
then resources are aligned
with organizational
priorities (Clark & Estes,
2008).

Develop a strong culture of trust. ITS does not reflect a strong culture of trust. Rath
and Conchie (2009) state that trust is the basis of strong relationships in organizations, and that
openness and authenticity build trust. Trust eases the social interactions that make it possible for
an organization to meet its strategic goals (Zak & Knack, 2001). For maximum benefit, trust
must permeate all levels of the organization, from the top executives to individual contributors
(Starnes, Truhon, & McCarthy, 2010). Zak (2018) has found that trust significantly improves
organizational performance as well as employee engagement and well-being. As ITS implements
its three-year organizational change strategy, leaders need to focus on communicating with staff
(Gilley, Gilley, & McMillan, 2009). Employees need to become engaged and involved in
decision-making and collaborating across organizational boundaries (Gilley, Gilley, &
McMillan, 2009). McKenzie-Mohr and Schultz (2014) recommend using behavior change tools,
such as commitments, social diffusion, goal setting, social norms, prompts, incentives, and
feedback to address the resistance to change among employees. Therefore the recommendation is
for the ITS organization to build trust by consistently demonstrating transparency, openness, and
authenticity in all interactions, and by involving and engaging technical staff using a variety of
tools and forums. For example, ITS leaders should conduct monthly or bi-weekly “stand up”
meetings in the main hallway, led by whichever executives are available, with a brief update on
the status of the transformation followed by an open Q&A session. ITS leaders should also
schedule time to walk around the office each week and speak informally with employees,
making themselves visible, available, and approachable for ideas and questions.
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 66

Schein (2004) recommends that leaders create an environment where employees can
come together to discuss trust and shared goals. Schneider, Brief, and Guzzo (1996) suggest that
trust within an organization is closely linked to the interpersonal relationships between its
members, and that changes will more likely succeed and last when those relationships are
characterized by mutual trust. Clark and Estes (2008) state that clear and candid communication
builds trust, which in turn increases employee commitment to organizational change goals. They
further state that valuing the separate contributions of their co-workers helps employees build
trust across organizational units (Clark & Estes, 2008). Theory indicates that establishing strong,
positive relationships and clear, candid communication with all stakeholders will enable the ITS
organization to build a culture of trust.
Provide service leadership by setting expectations related to customer
responsiveness. Data indicated that ITS is not providing service leadership by setting
expectations and rewarding employees based on customer responsiveness. Clark and Estes
(2008) state that effective organizations align their messages, expectations, rewards, policies, and
procedures with organizational goals and values. Therefore, the recommendation is for ITS to
establish messages, rewards, policies, procedures, and performance expectations focused on
customer responsiveness and service excellence. For example, all technical staff should have an
annual performance goal to provide an initial response to 100% of customer issues within four
hours. Individual performance can be measured using ServiceNow data to determine the extent
to which each staff member met the performance goal.
Rueda (2011) states that organizational policies and practices can influence whether
individual or group performance goals are met. According to Kezar (2001), leaders should align
organizational goals and reward desired behavior. Schneider, White, and Paul (1998) state that
providing service leadership means setting goals and rewarding employees based on the quality
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 67

of service delivery. Schneider, Brief, and Guzzo (1996) identify rewards as a key dimension of
organizational climate, including which behaviors, competencies, and outcomes are appraised
and rewarded. Theory suggests that, to provide service leadership, ITS organizational policies,
procedures, goals, and rewards must be focused on delivering service quality.
Provide sufficient time and staffing resources to meet the performance goal. ITS is
not providing sufficient resources for technical staff to meet their performance goal. The data
showed that staff respondents do not have sufficient time and staffing to respond to customer
issues within four hours. Clark and Estes (2008) state that organizations must provide the
necessary resources—e.g., equipment, personnel, time—for employees to successfully do their
jobs. ITS technical staff do not have sufficient time to meet the initial customer response goal in
the context of their other workload. Therefore, the recommendation is for the ITS organization to
provide technical staff with the time and resources they need to be able to provide an initial
response to all customer issues within four hours. For example, managers should help staff
develop strategies and prioritize work to allow time for customer responsiveness. Managers
should also work with ITS leaders to add staffing where needed, reduce workload where
possible, and reprioritize work to allow sufficient resources for technical staff to meet their
performance goal.
When there are resource shortages, Clark and Estes (2008) recommend aligning resources
with organizational priorities. Clark and Estes (2008) suggest teamwork training should include
the coordination skills needed to accomplish work efficiently and without conflict. Schneider,
Brief, and Guzzo (1996) identify resources for workers to perform their jobs as one of four key
requirements for sustainable organizational change. In a study of 374 German employees from
various industries, Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, and Schaufeli (2001) found that when work-
related resources are limited or lacking, employees become disengaged from their jobs. Thus,
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 68

theory and empirical evidence indicate that the ITS organization must provide sufficient
resources for technical staff to achieve their performance goal.
Knowledge Recommendations
Introduction. The knowledge influences in Table 7 were identified as remaining needs
in the data. The data indicated a gap in technical staff’s procedural knowledge of how to send an
initial response to customer issues using ServiceNow. Data also showed technical staff lack
metacognitive strategies and self-monitoring to effectively manage incoming ServiceNow
customer issues. Recommendations to address the identified knowledge gaps are outlined in
Table 7 and detailed in the following sections.
Table 7
Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Knowledge
Influence
Principle and Citation Context-Specific
Recommendation
Technical staff do not know
how to demonstrate the steps
required to send an initial
response to customers using
ServiceNow. (Procedural
Knowledge)
Facilitating transfer promotes
learning (Mayer, 2011).
Provide job aids including a
brief video and a knowledge
article that detail the steps for
sending an initial customer
response.
Technical staff do not have
effective strategies manage
incoming ServiceNow issues.
(Metacognitive Strategies)
Self-regulatory strategies,
including goal setting,
enhance learning and
performance (APA, 2015:
Dembo & Eaton, 2000; Denler
et al., 2009).
Provide training for technical
staff to develop personal and
team strategies to manage
their motivation, time, and
workload, and monitor their
performance.

Enhance technical staff’s procedural knowledge. Data demonstrated that some technical
staff do not know how to send an initial response to customer issues using the ServiceNow
service management tool. Clark and Estes (2008) recommend using job aids to provide self-help
information for individuals to complete job-related tasks or achieve performance goals. Mayer
(2011) states that facilitating transfer promotes learning. Therefore, the recommendation is to
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 69

provide a step-by-step written procedure, as well as a video demonstration, of how to create and
send an initial response to customer issues to help technical staff successfully perform this task.
It is recommended that managers show the video and provide copies of the written procedure
during a staff meeting to ensure that all staff members are familiar with the procedure.
Procedural knowledge includes the specific steps to complete a task (Krathwohl, 2002;
Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011) and is linked to job performance and outcomes (Motowidlo,
Borman, & Schmit, 1997). Kirschner et al. (2006) recommend presenting procedural information
at the time it is needed, because that type of information is not easily stored in working memory.
Well-designed procedures can make it easier to perform a task by providing easy-to-follow steps
that can be referenced as the task is being performed (Kirschner et al., 2006; Mayer, 2011).
Providing both a written procedure and a video demonstration of someone performing the
procedure will facilitate transfer to the work activities related to achieving the performance goal
(Mayer, 2011).
Increase metacognitive awareness and strategy use. Technical staff lack effective
strategies to manage incoming ServiceNow incidents in order to meet their goal of
acknowledging all customer issues within four hours. To address this gap, self-regulatory
strategies, including goal setting, enhance learning and performance (APA, 2015: Dembo &
Eaton, 2000; Denler et al., 2009). To enhance goal performance, technical staff need to learn
how to develop strategies for managing their time and workload, and for monitoring their
performance (Dembo & Eaton, 2000). Therefore, training is recommended to help technical staff
acquire and practice skills in problem-solving and self-regulation strategies that will enable them
to improve their performance in relation to the goal of acknowledging all customer issues within
four hours. For example, a customized workshop in time management, work prioritization, and
self-monitoring should be developed and delivered to each manager’s group within ITS. During
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 70

the workshop, technical staff can develop individual and team strategies for effectively managing
incoming ServiceNow cases to meet the goal, and identify the approaches that will help them
monitor their own performance in relation to the goal of acknowledging customer issues within
four hours.
Metacognitive knowledge is the self-awareness and control of one’s own cognitive and
problem-solving processes, as well as the strategies to successfully achieve a goal (APA, 2015;
Baker, 2006; Cannon-Bowers, Rhodenizer, Salas, & Bowers, 1998; Krathwohl, 2002; Mayer,
2011; Rueda, 2011). Clark and Estes (2008) recommend the use of training when a skill is so
new that employees would not be able to acquire it only from information or job aids. Training
provides guided practice and feedback to help ensure the individual has effectively acquired the
skill (Clark & Estes, 2008). Training individuals in metacognitive strategies requires an
instructional approach that develops strategic, flexible, and productive problem-solving skills
(Hargrove, 2013). As technical staff learn effective problem-solving skills, they will be better
able to develop strategies for keeping up with ServiceNow incidents and meet their goal of
responding to all customer issues within four hours.
Motivation Recommendations
Introduction. The motivation influences in Table 8 emerged as remaining needs in the
data. Active choice, persistence, and mental effort are the three common indicators of motivation
(Clark & Estes, 2008; Mayer, 2011, Rueda, 2011). Active choice occurs when an individual
turns intention into action and begins working on a task. Persistence means continuing to work
on a task despite obstacles or distractions. Mental effort is applied to successfully complete the
task. Because technical staff are failing to meet their performance goal, lack of active choice and
persistence are assumed to be causing the performance gap. Recommendations to address the
motivational gaps are outlined in Table 8 and detailed in the following sections.
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 71

Table 8
Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Motivation
Influence

Principle and Citation Context-Specific
Recommendation
ITS technical staff do not have
a high confidence level that
they can achieve the four-hour
initial customer response goal.
(Self-Efficacy)
Learning and motivation are
enhanced when learners have
positive expectancies for
success (Pajares, 2006).
Provide frequent, accurate
team feedback and targeted,
private individual feedback on
progress, linking rewards with
goal achievement.
ITS technical staff do not see
the usefulness to their personal
goals and performance ratings
of being responsive to
customers. (Utility Value)
Learning and motivation are
enhanced if the learner values
the task (Eccles, 2006).
Coach technical staff to
increase the importance and
utility value of customer
responsiveness.

Increase technical staff self-efficacy. Data demonstrated that ITS technical staff are not
confident that they can achieve the goal of providing an initial response to all customer issues
within four hours. In order to make recommendations in this area, Pajares (2006) found that
motivation is increased when individuals have positive expectancies for success. Building
positive expectancies for success in technical staff will increase their motivation to respond to
customer issues within four hours. To build positive expectancies for success, Pajares (2006)
recommends providing frequent, accurate, credible, targeted and private feedback on
performance progress, while Pintrich (2003) recommends linking rewards to progress. Therefore,
the recommendation is to provide frequent, accurate team feedback and targeted, private
individual feedback on progress toward the goal, linking rewards with goal achievement.
Personal efficacy, or self-efficacy, is the belief that an individual can bring about desired
outcomes through his or her own actions (Bandura, 2000). Self-efficacy is particularly important
when a task is challenging or obstacles are encountered (Rueda, 2011). Clark and Estes (2008)
state that under-confidence can lead to motivational problems linked to choice in pursuing a goal
and to persistence in achieving the goal despite distractions. To increase self-efficacy, Pintrich
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 72

(2003) recommends providing clear and accurate feedback that focuses on the development of
competence, expertise, and skill. Pintrich (2003) also recommends linking rewards to
improvements in competence, skills, and outcomes. Theory suggests that increasing self-efficacy
by providing feedback, and by linking rewards to goal progress and achievement, will increase
motivation and result in improved goal performance for technical staff. For example, managers
could review team performance toward the goal as a regular agenda item in team meetings, and
review individual performance toward the goal in one-on-one meetings, pulling real-time data
from ServiceNow. Based on the results, the manager can offer coaching, help with prioritization,
and recognition for progress toward the goal.
Enhance utility value for the performance goal. ITS technical staff do not see the
usefulness to themselves and their personal goals of being responsive to customers or meeting
the customer issue acknowledgement goal. To address this need, expectancy-value theory based
principles will be employed. Eccles (2006) found that motivation is enhanced if an individual
values the goal or task. Increasing the value that technical staff place on customer service
activities will increase their motivation to achieve the customer response goal. Pintrich (2003)
recommends focusing discussions on the importance and utility of activities. Therefore, the
recommendation is to coach technical staff on the importance of customer responsiveness, and
set expectations regarding accountability for meeting the goal of acknowledging all customer
issues within four hours.
Utility value is defined as an individual’s perception of the usefulness of a task to
themselves (Pintrich, 2003). To increase a task’s value, Pintrich (2003) recommends providing
rationales about the importance of the task, and Eccles (2006) suggests modeling enthusiasm and
interest in the task. Rationale is a verbal explanation of a task’s value, communicated in a
manner that supports individual autonomy (Reeve, Jang, Hardre, & Omura, 2002). Connell and
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 73

Wellborn (1991) suggest that the value of a task will be increased if individuals are provided
with opportunities to experience a sense of autonomy. Coaching, a performance management
activity that takes place one-on-one between managers and their direct reports (Gregory & Levy,
2010), offers an opportunity for managers to set expectations and communicate rationale,
interest, and enthusiasm for a task in a manner that supports employee autonomy. Therefore,
theory indicates that coaching discussions with technical staff about the importance of customer
responsiveness, conveying enthusiasm and interest in the goal of acknowledging all customer
issues within four hours, will increase technical staff’s value for those activities. For example,
managers should include an annual performance objective for all staff members regarding
customer responsiveness and meeting the customer issue acknowledgement goal.
Overview of Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan
Based on the above recommendations, a multilevel implementation and evaluation
program has been defined to address the identified knowledge, motivation, and organizational
resource gaps, based on Kirkpatrick’s four-level training evaluation framework from the New
World Kirkpatrick Model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Following is an overview of the
program. Appendix G provides a detailed description of the implementation and evaluation plan.
In order to achieve the highest level result as indicated by the stakeholder goal of
acknowledging 100% of customer issues within four hours by December 2019, and the
organizational goal of increasing overall customer satisfaction to 90% or greater by June 2020,
the following internal indicators will need to be achieved: 1) 100% of customer issues receive an
initial response in four hours or less, and 2) overall average initial customer response equals four
hours or less. Achievement of the internal indicators will also lead to the following external
indicators being achieved: 1) an increase in average customer satisfaction to 90% or greater, and
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 74

2) a reduction in the number of customer issues that are escalated to the CIO due to slow
response by a technical staff member.
In order to achieve the internal leading indicators, the following critical behaviors would
need to exist: 1) technical staff develop, use, monitor, and adjust strategies to meet the goal of
acknowledging all customer issues within four hours, 2) technical staff write and send an initial
response to all customer issues within four hours of case assignment in the ServiceNow service
management system, and 3) technical staff inform managers when workload and priorities
prevent them from meeting the four-hour issue acknowledgement goal. These behaviors must be
supported by required drivers in the organization: ITS must develop a culture of trust in which
technical staff believe in the trustworthiness of their managers and senior leaders; ITS must
implement messages, policies, procedures, and rewards that are focused on delivery of high-
quality service; ITS must align priorities, workload, and resources with service excellence;
managers must provide frequent, accurate team feedback and targeted, private individual
feedback on progress toward the goal, linking rewards with goal achievement; and managers
must regularly coach technical staff with interest and enthusiasm to increase the importance and
value of customer responsiveness.
In order for technical staff to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and motivation and
bring about the critical behaviors, technical staff need to understand the basic concepts of
customer service including the importance of being responsive to customer issues, they must
know how to provide an initial response to a customer issue using the ServiceNow service
management system, and they need to be able to develop strategies for managing their time and
workload to meet the initial customer response goal. Technical staff must also understand the
usefulness to themselves of meeting the goal, and feel confident that they can achieve it.
Appendix G provides the detailed learning goals, training program, and evaluation approach.
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 75

Future Questions and Research
This study focused on technical staff’s initial responsiveness to customer issues. Future
research could expand this narrow focus to include overall responsiveness throughout the issue
resolution process, as well as responsiveness to customer requests. This study was limited to
specific knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences, so future research could study
additional influences for a more complete picture of technical staff’s ability to meet customer
responsiveness goals. The study was also limited to survey and interview data, therefore, future
research could include observations and document review of customer issues within the
ServiceNow system. Additional limitations of the study are discussed in Appendix F.
Future research could evaluate the effectiveness of the recommendations in this study and
the impact of the organizational transformation on achieving the ITS customer satisfaction goal
and technical staff’s initial customer response goal. Other stakeholders, particularly managers of
technical staff, could be the focus for a study on their specific role in technical staff’s customer
responsiveness. Concurrent initiatives focused on improving the organizational culture may also
influence technical staff’s performance over time. Future research could evaluate the impact of
these cultural initiatives on technical staff and organizational performance.
Conclusion
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences related to PCU ITS’s achievement of 90% or higher overall customer satisfaction by
June 2020. The study focused on the interaction between ITS culture and context and technical
staff’s knowledge and motivation related to their goal of acknowledging 100% of customer-
reported issues within four hours. Concurrent with this study, the ITS organization was
undergoing a major transformation of its cultural models, including behavioral norms and core
values, and cultural settings, including organizational structure and processes. As part of its
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 76

organizational transformation, ITS is recommended to address the organizational gaps identified
in this study by establishing a culture of trust, providing service leadership that focuses
expectations and rewards on service excellence, and aligning resources with the goal of being
responsive to customers. Providing technical staff with training on how to send
acknowledgements to customer issues using the ServiceNow system and how to develop
strategies to meet the goal and monitor their performance will address the remaining knowledge
needs identified in the study. Addressing organizational and knowledge needs will enhance
technical staff’s motivation to achieve the performance goal by increasing their self-efficacy and
utility value in relation to the goal.

SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 77

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Appendix A: Protocols
Survey Protocol
Survey Email Invitation
You are invited to complete a brief survey as part of Karen Juday's doctoral study on
customer satisfaction with IT service quality. The purpose of the study is to understand the
current state of ITS in relation to customer service focus. Results will be aggregated and used to
identify recommendations on how to continuously improve customer satisfaction with ITS
service.
The survey should take about 5-10 minutes to complete. There are no right or wrong
answers. Your honest responses will be the most helpful to the study. You may skip any question
you do not wish to answer, and you may stop the survey at any time. All responses are
anonymous. If you agree to participate in the survey, please follow this link to the survey:
Survey Instructions
You are invited to complete the following brief survey as part of Karen Juday's doctoral
study on customer satisfaction with IT service quality. The purpose of the study is to understand
the current state of ITS in relation to customer service focus. Results will be aggregated and used
to identify recommendations on how to continuously improve customer satisfaction with ITS
service.
The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. There are no right or wrong
answers. Your honest responses will be the most helpful to the study. You may skip any question
you do not wish to answer, and you may stop the survey at any time. All responses are
anonymous. If you agree to participate in the survey, please click "Continue" below:
Survey Questions
1. Please indicate your gender/gender identity:
a) Female
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b) Male
c) Prefer not to respond
2. How long have you worked in ITS?
a) Less than 2 years
b) 2-5 years
c) 6-14 years
d) More than 15 years
e) Prefer not to respond
3. What area of the ITS organization do you work in?
a) Business Systems Applications
b) Enterprise Infrastructure and Services
c) Security
d) Other
e) Prefer not to respond
4. Please rank the following aspects of your job in order of importance to you:
a) Administrative (meetings, department email, etc.)
b) Project Work (enhancing/developing technology services, etc.)
c) Production Support (maintenance, break-fix, etc.)
d) Customer Service and Support (ServiceNow, customer communication, etc.)
5. Please explain why you ranked Customer Service and Support as you did:
________________________________________________
6. Which of the following do you believe is most important for ITS to provide to our
customers?
a) Technical knowledge
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b) Reliable services
c) Empathy and caring
d) Responsiveness
e) Innovation
7. How often do you usually check and respond to customer incidents?
a) Several times a day
b) Once a day
c) Several times a week
d) Once a week or less
e) Never
8. What percentage of ServiceNow incidents do you think you can respond to within four
hours?
a) 100%
b) More than 75% but less than 100%
c) More than 50% but less than 75%
d) More than 25% but less than 50%
e) 25% or less
Please explain why you chose the percentage you did:
___________________________________________________________________________
____
9. In the past month, my manager has spoken to me/my group ___ times about the importance
of being responsive to customers.
Please indicate the degree to which you agree with the following statements.
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10. I could show someone else how to use ServiceNow to provide an initial response to customer
incidents.
a) Strongly agree
b) Somewhat agree
c) Neither agree nor disagree
d) Somewhat disagree
e) Strongly disagree
11. ITS staff members provide exceptional service to each other.
a) Strongly agree
b) Somewhat agree
c) Neither agree nor disagree
d) Somewhat disagree
e) Strongly disagree
Please explain or give an example: ____________________________________________
12. ITS reflects a culture of trust.
a) Strongly agree
b) Somewhat agree
c) Neither agree nor disagree
d) Somewhat disagree
e) Strongly disagree
Please explain your response: ______________________________________________
13. Responding to customer incidents within four hours impacts overall customer satisfaction.
a) Strongly agree
b) Somewhat agree
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c) Neither agree nor disagree
d) Somewhat disagree
e) Strongly disagree
14. My responsiveness to customers affects my annual performance rating.
a) Strongly agree
b) Somewhat agree
c) Neither agree nor disagree
d) Somewhat disagree
e) Strongly disagree
15. ITS processes are aligned with providing exceptional customer service.
a) Strongly agree
b) Somewhat agree
c) Neither agree nor disagree
d) Somewhat disagree
e) Strongly disagree
Please explain or give an example: ___________________________________________
Survey Wrap-Up
Thank you very much for taking the time to complete this survey. If you would be willing
to be participate in a confidential 30-minute interview to more deeply explore this topic, please
click on the link below to provide your name and email address. This information will not be
linked in any way to your survey responses, which will remain anonymous. Interview
participants will receive a small gift of appreciation for their time.

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Interview Protocol
Interview Opening Remarks
Thank you very much for agreeing to participate in this study. I am conducting research
as part of my EdD program in Organizational Change and Leadership with Rossier School of
Education. The interview will take around 30 minutes, and consists of 12 questions. There are no
right or wrong answers. You can skip any question you don’t want to answer, and you can stop
the interview at any time.
Your responses will be kept confidential, and will only be shared in summary form, with
no identifying information. Specific recommendations will be made to ITS leadership related to
improving customer satisfaction with ITS service as a result of this study. Again, your answers
will be kept confidential, and will be summarized with other interview responses so that no
individual participant can be identified.
I would like to record the interview to help me remember your responses. Immediately
following this session, I will upload the recording to a secure server and delete it from my
device. Within a week, I will transcribe the session and permanently delete the recording. The
transcription will be stored under a pseudonym so your responses cannot be connected back to
you.
Do I have your permission to record the interview?
Do you mind if I also jot down a few notes to jog my memory?
Do you have any questions for me before we get started?
Please review the Interview Information sheet. I brought an extra copy in case you would
like to keep one. Remember that you can skip any question or stop the interview at any time.
OK, let’s get started.

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Interview Questions
1. How long have you worked in ITS?
2. How long have you worked in the IT industry?
3. Which of the following major ITS areas do you work in: Business Systems Applications,
Enterprise Infrastructure and Services, Security, or other?
4. What percentage of time do you spend on customer service activities in relation to your
technical duties?
The next set of questions are focused on your personal thoughts and experiences.
5. How do you feel about the requirement to respond to all customer incidents within four
hours?
6. How important is it to you to meet that goal?
7. What, if anything, is preventing you from meeting the goal of responding to customers within
four hours?
8. How does being responsive to customers help you achieve your own career goals, if at all?
9. On a typical day, what strategies do you use to keep up with ServiceNow incidents?
10. What, if anything, does your manager say to you about being responsive to customers?
11. In your opinion, what is the most important thing you personally can do for ITS customers?
• Probe: Can you provide any examples?
12. Is there anything else you think I should know about this subject that I didn’t ask you?
Thank you very much for your time, and for your thoughtful answers. As a small token of
my appreciation, I will send you an electronic gift card.

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Appendix B: Validity and Reliability
In quantitative studies, reliability and validity are essential for a researcher to be able to
draw accurate and trusted conclusions from the data that is collected. Reliability refers to the
consistency of results when using a measurement tool (Salkind, 2017). This study focused on
internal consistency reliability by providing multiple questions to measure each construct, and by
correlating each individual item score with the total score (Salkind, 2017). Before distributing
the survey, I reviewed the questions with managers of the target population of technical staff to
ensure the wording was unambiguous and likely to be interpreted consistently. As recommended
by Salkind (2017), instructions were standardized across all survey items.
Validity is the extent to which a measurement tool measures what it intends to measure
(Salkind, 2017). Content validity can be established by reviewing the survey with subject matter
experts (Salkind, 2017). For expertise in quantitative methods, I reviewed the survey questions
and design with my dissertation chair and committee members. For expertise in the KMO
(knowledge, motivation, organizational resource) framework, I reviewed survey questions with
my dissertation chair and fellow students in the program. For expertise in ITS terminology, I
reviewed survey questions with managers of technical staff members.
Criterion validity can be increased by correlating survey data with another measure that
assesses the same set of abilities (Salkind, 2017). As a member of the ITS organization, I have
access to data in the service management tool, ServiceNow for technical staff members’
performance of the goal to provide an initial response to all customer issues within four hours.
This data, which reflects actual outcomes, can be compared to technical staff members’ survey
responses regarding their procedural knowledge and metacognitive strategies related to the goal.
Increasing the reliability of the study by utilizing the maximum sample size available is another
way to increase the validity of the findings. Using the techniques listed above, I strove to ensure
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that the findings and conclusions of this study would convey reliability and validity when
presented to stakeholders and other researchers.

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Appendix C: Credibility and Trustworthiness
In qualitative studies, credibility and trustworthiness are essential because outcomes of
these studies can impact people’s lives (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). In order to be considered
credible and trustworthy, a qualitative study must be conducted in a rigorous and ethical manner
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Practitioners who may want to apply the study’s findings in their
own context must have confidence in the way it was conducted (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
According to Maxwell (2013), validity is “the correctness or credibility of a description,
conclusion, explanation, interpretation, or other sort of account” (p. 122). In qualitative inquiry,
reality is relative and changeable, rather than fixed and discoverable (Maxwell, 2013; Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). A validity threat represents the alternative ways in which qualitative data could be
interpreted, that differ from the conclusions reached by an individual researcher (Maxwell,
2013). Therefore, a researcher must anticipate alternative explanations for the data, and design
strategies to address them to the extent possible (Maxwell, 2013).
What makes qualitative studies rigorous and trustworthy is the researcher’s careful design
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Interview questions were designed to be open-ended and neutral, and
to gather rich data about technical staff members’ opinions, experiences, and feelings in relation
to the goal of providing an initial response to all customer issues within four hours. I presented
myself as neutrally as possible during the interviews. As recommended by Maxwell (2013), I
prepared verbatim transcripts from the recorded interviews to demonstrate that data was not
selective based on what I felt was important. Another design approach recommended by
Maxwell (2013) is to use comparison across a variety of settings and participants. I gathered data
from groups with different technical responsibilities and management styles, to represent
perspectives from across the ITS organization.
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In qualitative inquiry, the researcher is the data collection instrument, and as such must
be as transparent as possible about his or her relationship to the study participants, worldview,
assumptions, and biases (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). To address my potential biases and
misinterpretations, I solicited feedback from the interviewees at the analysis phase regarding the
conclusions I drew from the interviews. Maxwell (2013) states that this is most effective way to
minimize misinterpretation of what interviewees said and what they meant. I included a full
disclosure of my own biases and perspectives to minimize validity threats, and to ensure that the
findings and conclusions of this study convey credibility and trustworthiness when read by
participants and stakeholders, as well as by other researchers.

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Appendix D: Ethics
I used a mixed-methods approach to gain both a broad and deep understanding of the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational gaps that may be impacting ITS technical staff
members’ ability to provide an initial response to customer issues within four hours. In the
quantitative phase of the study, I sent a survey to all ITS technical staff members who do not
report within my department. The qualitative phase was conducted in the form of interviews with
survey respondents who volunteered to participate in the interview phase of the study. The
interviews enabled me to gain a deeper understanding of the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational gaps.
For both the quantitative and qualitative phases of the study, I ensured that participants
had provided informed consent. Informed consent includes making participants aware that their
participation is voluntary, that they can stop participating at any time, and that they have been
informed of any elements of the study that may impact their well-being (Glesne, 2011). Study
participants also have a right to privacy and confidentiality (Glesne, 2011; Rubin & Rubin,
2011). The survey was conducted anonymously to protect participants’ identities. The interviews
were recorded, but all data gathered was kept strictly confidential. Any personal or identifying
information collected in the survey or interviews was removed prior to publication. Both survey
and interview data was stored in password-protected files on a secure, password-protected
device.
Study participants received full disclosure regarding the purpose of the study and how the
results would be used and distributed. The purpose of the study was aligned with the ITS
organizational goal of improving customer satisfaction. In addition to satisfying the requirements
of my dissertation, the study’s findings and recommendations will be shared with the Chief
Information Officer for his consideration and potential action. Glesne (2011) describes an
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intervener as a researcher who discovers and attempts to correct a situation that he or she
determines to be wrong. I hoped to intervene on behalf of the ITS technical staff members by
identifying research based recommendations that could improve their knowledge, skills,
motivation and organizational resources in relation to their goal of responding to customers
within four hours.
I provided all survey and interview participants with a disclosure statement that included
the purpose of the study, how the study would be used and distributed, an assurance of
confidentiality, a promise to remove any identifying information from the final report, and
instructions to stop at any point they decide they no longer want to continue. In addition, survey
participants were informed that their responses would be anonymous. To indicate consent,
survey participants were asked to click on a link to proceed to the survey after reading the
disclosure statement. Rubin and Rubin (2011) recommend showing the utmost respect to
interviewees by being honest rather than deceitful, by gaining permission to record, and by being
punctual and polite throughout the interview. I asked interviewees for permission to record their
interviews. Interviewees were provided with a copy of the disclosure statement. I verbally
reminded them that they could skip any question or stop the interview at any time.
As the director of ITS Customer Service, my interest in this study was both academic and
professional. My position as a leader in the organization could have created a potential power
issue for study participants, making them feel coerced, and impacting the validity of the survey
or interview data (Creswell, 2008). To reduce the impact of the power dynamic, the quantitative
data was collected using an anonymous survey. Surveys were sent and responses were collected
using Qualtrics, so that responses could not be tied to specific individuals. Rubin and Rubin
(2011) advised researchers not to pressure interviewees to participate, or to answer any questions
that make them uncomfortable. Interviewees were invited, not coerced, to participate. Glesne
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 101

(2011) suggests that researchers show gratitude for the time and value provided by the study
participants, especially for interviews. I provided $15 electronic gift cards to interviewees in
gratitude for their time. I listened respectfully, without imposing my own opinions. I watched
interviewees’ body language and tone for cues of discomfort or reluctance, and I reminded them
as necessary that they need not continue.
My disciplinary orientation is the lens through which I view my problem of practice, and
is a compilation of all my education and experience (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). I self-identify as
part of the information technology (IT) industry even though I work within higher education.
The first 21 years of my career were spent in IT at Ford Motor Company, which also ingrained a
business mindset that has persisted through 18 years in higher education. As a 40-year veteran of
numerous technology-related positions in multiple organizations, I have assumptions about the
knowledge, skills, and motivation of ITS technical staff members. Using the mixed-methods
approach helped to mitigate the inherent bias and weakness of both quantitative and qualitative
approaches, by cancelling each other out (Creswell, 2008). When analyzing and reporting the
data, I used multiple perspectives and unbiased language, as recommended by Creswell (2008). I
also requested peer reviews of my findings to identify any biases or assumptions I may have
overlooked.

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Appendix E: ITS Customer Response Protocol

1

To ensure that ITS provides high-quality customer service, ITS staff should follow the protocol below to
provide customers with personal acknowledgement and status updates for incidents and service
requests submitted via ServiceNow.
It is important to remember, that while a customer’s ticket is in your queue, you are the owner of that
ticket and determine that customer’s experience of ITS customer support. You are responsible for
ensuring that the customer gets the assistance he or she needs. If you cannot personally help the
customer, make sure that the person or group you are “handing off” to is informed and takes on
ownership of that ticket. Every customer should be highly satisfied with the service quality and
communication that ITS provides.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Customer Response Protocol Metrics

The requirements below are now measured and reported in ServiceNow via updates to the Additional
Comments journal field. Please be sure to include all customer communications in this field, so that our
metrics are accurate, as these metrics may be relevant to your annual performance goals.

REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMUNICATING WITH CUSTOMERS IN SERVICENOW

With some exceptions, you are expected to contact the customer a minimum of three times* during
the ticketing process. For incidents, the priority level of the ticket will determine the time frame for
response.

Measurement hours for the metrics are 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding
USC Holidays.

Example: A ticket opened at 4:45 p.m. on Friday, where the first update is added at 9:30
a.m. on Monday, will have a duration of 1 hour and 15 minutes.

1. Acknowledgement: Contact the user to acknowledge that the ticket has been received.

• Priority 1 (Critical) and 2 (High) incidents: within 1 business hour **
• Priority 3 (Medium) incidents and lower: within 4 business hours
• Service Request: within 8.5 business hours

What metric is being captured?
Ticket Acknowledgement – the time between the ticket being created and the first Additional
Comment being added by any user. This metric is typically reported as an average update time
per assignment group but can also be per ITIL User.

2. Status Update: Contact the user at least once to give an update on the ticket’s progress.

• Priority 1 (Critical) and 2 (High) incidents: Hourly (1 business hour) or as agreed upon
between staff member and customer and/or manager/Major Incident Manager
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 103

2

• Priority 3 (Medium) and lower incidents: Daily (8.5 business hours) or as agreed upon
between staff member and customer and/or manager
• Service request: Weekly (40 business hours) or as agreed upon between staff member
and customer and/or manager

What metric is being captured?
Ticket Update – the time between each additional comment update made after the first
comment. The comment can be added by any user. Typically reported as an average update
time per assignment group.

Note: If the resource, manager, and/or customer agree to an update frequency that is not
outlined in the protocol, (e.g. weekly) the agreed frequency of updates is not measured by the
metric.

3. Completion/Resolution: Contact the user immediately prior to closing/resolving the ticket.

What metric is being captured?
None

Exceptions to all of the above:

* If the incident or service request can be resolved/completed within the stated time frame, you
may skip the Acknowledgement and/or Status Update steps.

** For Priority 1 (Critical) and 2 (High) incidents, an additional layer of communication will be
handled by the Operations Center and the on-call Incident Manager.

For additional information on the difference between Additional Comments and Work Notes fields and
when updates are made to the Activity Log in the RITM vs. the TASK, see the following articles:

KB0011894: ITS Customer Response Protocol
KB0012309: ITS Customer Response Protocol Metrics
KB0011870: When to use Additional Comments vs Work Notes
KB0011918: Additional Comments, Work Notes and Updates to the Activity Log
KB0010479: ServiceNow Service Catalog and Request Fulfillment Training

KB0010940: Incident Management Training

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3

COMMUNICATION TEMPLATES

Use the following templates as guidelines to help you construct polite, informative, and helpful
communications with users. Use your best judgement to determine what needs to be included in each
email on a case-by-case basis.

Requests

1. Acknowledgement

After the system sends an auto-generated response following the opening of the ticket and any
approvals, an ITS staff member (either the assignee or the queue manager, as decided by the
assignment group) should respond to the user with an email that includes the following:

• Salutation.
• Acknowledgement that the ticket has been assigned to an ITS staff member.
• Any questions regarding the requirements.
• Request for a follow-up meeting or phone call, if required.
• A target delivery date of request fulfillment or date of next follow-up.
• Where to go for more information.
• A business closing that includes your name, title, and Information Technology Services.

Template:

Dear [Name of User],

I have been assigned to work on your request.

Options (use those that apply):
• I expect that work will be completed by [date].
• I am assessing your requirements and will get back to you by [date] with an
update.
• I have questions regarding your requirements. Please take a few moments to
answer the questions below, which will better enable me to assess your request
and estimate a delivery date.
• I have questions regarding your requirements which would be best answered
[over the phone/through a meeting]. Let me know when would be a good time
to speak further.

If you have any questions, please respond to this email or call me at [phone number].

[Close—Best, Sincerely, etc.],

[Name]
[Title]
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4

USC Information Technology Services

2. Status update message

Let the user know how the request is progressing, if more information is required, or if there are any
changes to the target date. The assigned ITS staff member should respond with an email that includes
the following information:
• Salutation.
• Any additional questions.
• Any changes to what has already been agreed.
• Where to go for more information.
• Timing of next update.
• Close, including your name and title.

Template:

Dear [Name of User],

Options (use those that apply):
• I have evaluated your request, and it should be completed by [date].
• I have questions regarding your requirements. Please take a few moments to
answer the questions below, which will better enable me to assess your request
and estimate a delivery date.
• I have questions regarding your requirements which would be best answered
[over the phone/through a meeting]. Let me know when would be a good time to
speak further.
• If you have any questions, please respond to this email or call me at [phone
number].

[Close—Best, Sincerely, etc.],

[Name]
[Title]
USC Information Technology Services

3. Resolution

Before completing the request, notify the user that the work is complete. The assigned ITS staff member
should respond with an email that includes the following:
• Salutation.
• Indication that the request is complete.
• Any additional details or references.
• Close, including your name and title.

Template:
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5

Dear [Name of User],

I have completed your request. Please let me know if it has not been fulfilled to your complete
satisfaction.

If you have any questions or additional issues, respond to this email or call me at [phone
number].

[Close—Best, Sincerely, etc.],

[Name]
[Title]
USC Information Technology Services

Incidents

1. Acknowledgement

After the system does an auto-generated response to the opening of the ticket, a ITS staff member
(either the assignee or the queue manager, as decided by the assignment group) should respond with an
email that includes the following:
• Salutation.
• Acknowledgement that the ticket has been assigned to a ITS staff member.
• Any questions regarding the issue being reported.
• Notification if a meeting or phone call is required.
• A target for resolution or next update date/time.
• Where to go for more information.
• Close, including your name and title.

Template:

Dear [Name of User],

I have been assigned to resolve your issue.

Options (use those that apply):
• I have assessed your issue. I expect that work to resolve this incident will be
completed by [date/time].
• I am assessing your issue and will get back to you by [date/time] with
questions related to this incident.
• Below are questions to better enable me to assess your issue and estimate
how long it will take to resolve it.
• Let me know when we can speak further regarding your reported issue.

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6

If you have additional questions or have any new information related to your issue, please
respond to this email or call me at [phone number]. If your issue is urgent, please call the ITS
Customer Support Center (CSC) at 213-740-0555.

[Close—Best, Sincerely, etc.],

[Name]
[Title]
USC Information Technology Services

2. Status update

Let the user know how resolution of their issue is progressing, if more information is required, or if there
have been any changes to the estimated resolution date/time. The assigned ITS staff member should
respond with an email that includes the following:
• Salutation.
• Any additional questions.
• Any changes to what has already been agreed upon.
• Updates to the status.
• Where to go for more information.
• Date/time of next update.
• Close, including your name and title.

Template:

Dear [Name of User],

Options (use those that apply):
• I have assessed your issue and it should be resolved by [date/time].
• I have questions regarding your issue. Please take a few moments to answer the
questions below, which will better enable me to assess your issue and estimate
how long it will take to resolve it.
• I have questions regarding your issue which would be best answered [over the
phone/through a meeting]. Please let me know when would be a good time to
speak further.
• If you have any questions, please respond to this email or call me at [phone
number].

[Close—Best, Sincerely, etc.],

[Name]
[Title]
USC Information Technology Services

3. Resolution

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7

Notify the user that his or her issue has been resolved or that a workaround has been devised. The
assigned ITS staff member should respond with an email that includes the following information:
• Salutation
• Status of the resolution or application of a workaround
• Where to go for more information
• Close, including your name and title.

Template:

Dear [Name of User],

Your issue has been resolved. Please let me know if it has not been resolved to your complete
satisfaction.

If you have any questions or additional issues, respond to this email or call me at [phone
number]. If your issue is urgent, please call the ITS Customer Support Center (CSC) at 213-740-
5555.

[Close—Best, Sincerely, etc.],

[Name]
[Title]
USC Information Technology Services

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Appendix F: Limitations and Delimitations
This mixed-methods study included a survey sent to 222 ITS technical staff that collected
both quantitative and explanatory qualitative data, followed by interviews with eight volunteers
from among the survey respondents. The study sought technical staff’s perceptions and
descriptions of their experiences in relation to the goal of acknowledging 100% of customer-
reported issues within four hours by December 2019. There were limitations and weaknesses in
the study that were beyond the scope of my control.
Only 34 technical staff responded to the survey, which reflects a response rate of 15%.
The low response could potentially be explained by the timing of the study, which coincided
with major organizational transformation and culture change initiatives. There were multiple
surveys sent to the target population for this study within the same timeframe, which could have
resulted in “survey fatigue” and influenced technical staff’s willingness to respond. My position
in the ITS organization also may have created a power dynamic that influenced whether or not,
or in what way, technical staff participants responded. Those who participated may have chosen
to leave out information or skew their responses either positively or negatively. An additional
factor could have been the low trust within the ITS culture, which was shown by the data to be a
remaining organizational need. Due to the low (15%) response rate, generalizability of the
findings and results to the entire target population, or to other similar populations, was limited.
The study was limited to a short timeframe; a longer study may have yielded a higher
response rate and more detailed or different results. The study was limited to the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences I chose to evaluate, while other factors may have been
involved. The survey and interview protocols were developed for this study, and therefore not
validated over multiple studies. My choice of questions to explore each influence may have
limited the data I was able to collect, and the applicability of the study to other groups. Data was
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 110

limited to the survey responses and information shared during the interviews, whereas
observations and document reviews may have provided more information about technical staff’s
performance in relation to their goal. The results will serve to better inform best practices within
PCU ITS but cannot be broadly applied to larger populations.

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Appendix G: Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan
Implementation and Evaluation Framework
The implementation and evaluation plan to address the identified knowledge, motivation,
and organizational resource gaps is based on Kirkpatrick’s four-level training evaluation
framework from the New World Kirkpatrick Model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The four
levels of evaluation are 1) reaction, 2) learning, 3) behavior, and 4) results. This framework
emphasizes planning training evaluation programs with the desired outcome in mind. According
to Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick, the design of any training program should begin by defining the
fourth level first, i.e., desired results, in terms of key measures important to the organization’s
overall performance. The next step is to define level three, which includes the new behaviors
expected to result from the training that will lead to the desired results. Next, level two is
defined, which links learning outcomes to the new behaviors that will be expected following
training. Level two may include pre-training, formative, and summative assessment to ensure the
desired learning has taken place. Finally, the framework recommends defining level one, to
evaluate the reactions of the learners to the training, identifying any potential obstacles to the
desired learning, which leads to desired new behaviors, and ultimately, the desired change in
results from investing in the training program.
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
Level 4 of Kirkpatrick’s New World Model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016) evaluates
the extent to which a specific training program has achieved its intended purpose and clearly
contributed to business results in a manner that can be measured and demonstrated to
stakeholders. Leading indicators are frequent periodic measurements and observations that
demonstrate progress toward positive training results (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). As
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depicted in Table G-1 below, key external outcomes include an increase in average customer
satisfaction from the current level of 70% to 90% or greater, and a reduction in the number of
customer issues that are escalated to the CIO due to slow response by a technical staff member.
Key internal outcomes include 100% of customer incidents receiving an initial response in four
hours or less, and overall average initial customer response equals four hours or less. Included in
Table G-1 are the metrics and measurement methods to determine whether the desired results
have been achieved.
Table G-1

Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes
Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
External Outcomes
Improved perception of
ITS responsiveness by
University community
Anecdotal and survey comments
indicating improved perception
of responsiveness.
Interviews and surveys with
internal stakeholders who are
primary users of ITS services.
Internal Outcomes
Increased percentage of
customer incidents receive
an initial response within
four hours.
Percentage of customer
incidents that received an initial
response in 4 hours or less.
Data analysis/reporting in
ServiceNow on the percentage
of customer incidents that
received an initial response in 4
hours or less.
Decreased average time
customer waits for an
initial response.
Average initial response time for
customer incidents.
Data analysis/reporting on
average elapsed time in
ServiceNow from customer
incident case creation to initial
response by technical staff.
Decreased number of
customer incidents
escalated to the CIO for
slow response.
Number of customer incidents
escalated to the CIO for slow
response.
Manual tracking of cases
escalated to the CIO for slow
response.
Level 3: Behavior
Critical behaviors. In order to achieve the external outcome of customer satisfaction
increasing to 90% or greater and the internal outcome of all customer incidents receiving an
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initial response within four hours, ITS technical staff need to write and send an initial response to
all customer incidents within four hours of case assignment in the ServiceNow service
management system. They need to develop and use strategies to balance their technical duties
with customer response activities. They also need to self-monitor their ability to meet the
stakeholder performance goal and adjust their strategy as needed. Finally, technical staff need to
let their managers know when they are unable to meet the performance goal due to other
priorities so that managers can assist them in balancing their workload. Table G-2 below depicts
the metrics, methods, and timing for each of these critical behaviors.
Table G-2

Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation
Critical Behavior Metric(s)
Method(s)
Timing
1. Technical staff
write and send initial
response to customer
incidents within four
hours of case
assignment.
Average initial
response rate
Data analysis from
ServiceNow service
management system
Weekly until
average initial
response is four
hours or less for one
month, then
monthly ongoing.
2. Technical staff
develop and use
strategies to balance
technical duties with
customer response
activities.
Technical staff report
using workload
management
strategies.
Self-reporting by
technical staff.
Annual staff survey
3. Technical staff self-
monitor their ability
to meet the initial
response goal and
adjust their strategy as
needed.
Technical staff report
monitoring and
adjusting workload
management
strategies.
Self-reporting by
technical staff.
Annual staff survey
4. Technical staff
inform managers
when workload and
priorities prevent
them from meeting
the initial response
goals.
Technical staff and
managers report this
practice.
Self-reporting by
technical staff and
managers.
Annual staff survey
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Required drivers. The ITS organization must first develop a culture of trust in which
technical staff believe in the trustworthiness of their managers and senior leaders. Within a
culture of trust, ITS must implement messages, policies, procedures, and rewards that are
focused on delivery of high-quality service. ITS also must align priorities, workload, and
resources with service quality. To support and encourage technical staff to meet their
performance goal, managers must provide frequent, accurate team feedback and targeted, private
individual feedback on progress toward the goal, linking rewards with goal achievement.
Managers also must regularly coach technical staff with interest and enthusiasm to increase the
importance of customer service activities in relation to their technical duties. Table G-3 below
lists the methods required to reinforce, encourage, monitor and reward the critical behaviors
identified above.
Table G-3
Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors
Method(s) Timing
Critical Behaviors Supported
1, 2, 3 Etc.
Reinforcing
Post-training job aid to remind
technical staff of key service
quality concepts.
Ongoing, as needed 1, 2, 3, 4
Procedural knowledge article
in ServiceNow with detailed
steps for writing an initial
response to customer issues.
Ongoing, as needed 1
Video demonstrating the steps
to create an initial customer
response in the ServiceNow
service management system.
Ongoing, as needed 1
Encouraging
Managers listen to technical
staff challenges, such as
competing priorities, and help
resolve them.
Ongoing 4
Managers and technical staff
teams co-create and evaluate
strategies to manage group
Ongoing 2, 3, 4
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workload with customer
response performance goal.
Rewarding
Managers provide recognition
for progress toward the goal.
Monthly 1,3
Managers reward technical
staff for goal achievement.
Ad hoc 1
Monitoring
Managers meet with technical
staff to provide individual
feedback on initial response
rate.
Bi-Weekly 1, 2, 4
Managers communicate team
performance on average initial
response rate.
Monthly 1
Organizational support. To support the critical behaviors that technical staff must
adopt to meet their performance goal of providing an initial response to all customer issues
within four hours, ITS needs to address the organizational influences identified in the findings.
First, ITS must develop a culture of trust that permeates all levels of the organization (Starnes,
Truhon, & McCarthy, 2010). Annual staff surveys and periodic pulse surveys will be conducted
to measure the perceived level of trust in the organization. Next, ITS must provide service
leadership by aligning its messages, goals, policies, procedures, and rewards with the delivery of
high-quality service (Clark & Estes, 2008). ITS managers, directors, and senior leaders will be
held accountable for aligning goals, policies and procedures, messages, and rewards with the
delivery of high-quality service. Finally, ITS must ensure that technical staff have sufficient
resources to successfully accomplish their performance goal (Clark & Estes, 2008). Managers
must be held accountable for ensuring that technical staff reporting to them have sufficient time,
priority, and resources to handle customer service activities.
Level 2: Learning
Learning goals. In order to perform the critical behaviors that will drive the desired
internal and external outcomes listed above, technical staff need to understand the basic concepts
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of customer service including the importance of being responsive to customer issues, they must
know how to provide an initial response to a customer issue using the ServiceNow service
management system, and they need to be able to develop strategies for managing their time and
workload to meet the initial customer response goal. Technical staff must also place a high value
on meeting the goal, and feel confident that they can achieve it.
The specific learning goals for technical staff are:
1. List and explain the five components of RATER (responsiveness, assurance, tangibles,
empathy, reliability) and their relationship to service excellence and customer satisfaction
(Conceptual Knowledge).
2. Explain the importance of being responsive to customer issues (Conceptual Knowledge).
3. Locate and use the ServiceNow knowledgebase article that includes the written
procedure, template language, and video demonstration for acknowledging customer
issues (Procedural Knowledge).
4. Demonstrate the correct steps for providing an initial response to a customer issue using
the ServiceNow service management system (Procedural Knowledge).
5. Prepare a personal strategy for managing time and workload to meet the four-hour initial
response goal (Metacognitive Knowledge).
6. Feel confident in their ability to meet the initial-response goal (Self-Efficacy).
7. Recognize the usefulness to themselves of meeting the four-hour issue acknowledgement
goal (Utility Value).
Table G-4 below lists the methods and timing for evaluating the knowledge, skills,
attitude, confidence, and commitment related to these learning goals.
Program. The learning goals listed above will be achieved with a two-day training
workshop with technical staff members, managers, and directors in groups of 20-25, to optimize
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 117

training cost based on the total number of employees to be trained. The instructor will begin by
describing the importance of service quality and by engaging the group in an activity that links
the delivery of quality service to their own experiences as customers. Attendees will learn the
five basic concepts of customer service using the RATER acronym for responsiveness,
assurance, tangibles, empathy, and reliability. They will then work in groups of four to five
participants to outline their process when solving a customer issue and reflect on the customer’s
experience during that process to identify where that experience could be improved. The
instructor will lead a discussion about strategies for workload and time management to help
technical staff meet their four-hour initial-response goal, then technical staff will develop
individual strategies while managers and directors develop strategies to enable and support their
groups to meet the goal. Strategies will then be shared in small groups. The instructor will
demonstrate how to access the knowledge base article in ServiceNow that contains the
procedural steps, template, and video demonstration for creating an initial response to a customer
incident. The instructor will also demonstrate how to access ServiceNow reports that show
average initial-response rate for teams and individuals. Technical staff members will be given the
opportunity to practice using the knowledge base article to generate initial responses to customer
incidents in the test version of ServiceNow, while managers and directors have an opportunity to
practice accessing ServiceNow initial-response reports for their teams and individual staff
members. The final activity in the workshop will be an individual reflection and written
commitment statement that will be collected by the instructor and mailed to participants one
month after the workshop to remind them of their intentions for applying workshop materials on
the job. At the end of the workshop, attendees will be given a job aid to remind them of the key
course concepts.
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Evaluation of the components of learning. According to Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick
(2016), learning has five components: knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence, and commitment.
Evaluating knowledge involves assessing whether learners understand the course content.
Knowledge can be evaluated before, during, and after training, depending on the nature of the
content and the individuals being trained. Evaluation of skill can be achieved by having the
learner demonstrate performance of a task or activity. Attitude can be evaluated during training
through observation of student body language and engagement, and if appropriate, through a
post-training survey. Confidence and commitment can be evaluated using discussion or another
activity where students can ask questions or share concerns.
Table G-4
Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program.
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Conceptual Knowledge “I understand it.”
RATER presentation/explanation One time, during training
Customer experience activity One time, during training
In-class discussion One time, during training
Procedural Skills “I can do it right now.”
Practice demonstrations One time, during training
Spot check of actual initial responses to
customer issues with follow-up demonstrations
as needed
Monthly and as needed
Attitude “I believe this is worthwhile.”
In-class discussion One time, during training
End of course survey One time, end of training
Post-training survey Quarterly for the first year after training
Confidence “I think I can do it on the job.”
In-class discussion One time, during training
End of course survey One time, end of training
Post-training survey Quarterly for the first year after training
Commitment “I will do it on the job.”
In-class discussion One time, during training
End of course survey One time, end of training
Data analysis from ServiceNow on actual
performance
Monthly, ongoing
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Level 1: Reaction
Reaction, which evaluates the extent to which training is considered enjoyable, engaging,
and useful, is Level 1 in the Kirkpatrick New World Training Evaluation Model (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016). Level 1 can be evaluated during and immediately after training, and should
require the least amount of planning and resources. The three components of Level 1 are
customer satisfaction, engagement, and relevance. Customer satisfaction with training is
considered the least important measure, but there is a positive correlation between customer
satisfaction and learning (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Engagement, which is the extent of
learner involvement with and contribution to training activities, is directly related to engagement
and learning (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Relevance is the extent to which learners can
immediately apply what they have learned on the job; this is the most important measure because
it links to the intended purpose of the training (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Table G-5
below lists the methods or tools to be used for evaluating technical staff reactions to the
recommended training program, and the timing for each measure.
Table G-5
Components to Measure Reactions to the Program.
Method(s) or Tool(s) Timing
Engagement
Body language and affect During training
Contributions to discussion During training
Participation in small group activities During training
Completion of workload management strategy After training
Relevance
Pulse check-in via discussion After each break
Anonymous survey After training
Customer Satisfaction
Anonymous survey “satisfaction” rating After training
Anonymous survey “Likely to recommend”
rating
After training

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Evaluation Tools
Immediately following the program implementation. For Level 1 evaluation, the
instructor will assess attendance, body language, affect, participation in discussions and
activities, and punctuality during the workshop. These data will indicate the engagement with the
course material. The instructor will also conduct periodic pulse-checks by asking participants if
the material is relevant to their work. At the end of the training, an electronic survey will be
distributed to all attendees to assess their overall satisfaction with the training, and their
perception of its relevance to their job performance. For Level 2 evaluation, the instructor will
assess whether participants are understanding and applying course concepts to small and whole
group discussions and activities during the training.
Immediately following the workshop, a Qualtrics survey will be distributed via email to
all participants. The survey will evaluate participants’ overall satisfaction and engagement with
the workshop experience, as well as the perceived relevance of the workshop materials to
participants’ daily work. The survey will also evaluate participants’ conceptual and procedural
knowledge gained during the workshop, as well as their attitude toward the material and related
performance goal, their confidence in being able to perform the skills and achieve the goal, and
their commitment to make the effort to achieve the goals. The survey instrument is attached in
Appendix W-1.
Delayed for a period after the program implementation. Approximately six weeks
after participants attend the workshop, leadership will administer a survey containing open and
scaled items using the Blended Evaluation approach to measure, from the participant’s
perspective, satisfaction and relevance of the training (Level 1), confidence, commitment to and
value of applying their training (Level 2), application of the workshop concepts, skills, and
strategies to the goal of providing an initial response to customer issues within four hours, and
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the support they are receiving from their managers (Level 3), and the extent to which their
performance has improved customer perception and goal achievement, and reduced or eliminated
case escalations to the CIO (Level 4). The survey instrument is attached in Appendix W-2.
Data Analysis and Reporting
A primary Level 4 goal for technical staff is to decrease the average initial response time
for customer incidents in business hours. Each month, managers will receive a report showing
the average initial response time for their groups. The CIO and other ITS leaders will review
overall organization performance for the month. Figure G-1 below shows the ITS monthly
average rate in business hours for incident acknowledgement for 2018.

Figure G-1. Customer Incident Acknowledgement Trend for 2018.
Another key Level 4 outcome for technical staff is to increase the percentage of customer
incidents that receive an initial response in less than four hours. Figure G-2 below depicts
percentages for customer incidents acknowledged in less than four hours vs. more than four
hours, comparing results before training to after training. These monthly reports will serve as
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monitoring and accountability tools. They will be used by managers to coach individuals and
teams. Similar reports will be created to monitor Levels 1, 2 and 3.

Figure G-2. Customer incident acknowledgement percentages before and after training.
Summary
The New World Kirkpatrick Model provided the framework for the implementation and
evaluation plan of this study (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The four levels of training
evaluation are used to ensure that technical staff obtain the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational resources to successfully provide an initial response to all customer issues within
four hours. The plan begins with level four, results, by identifying internal and external outcomes
that indicate progress toward achievement of the stakeholder and organizational goals, along
with the metrics and measurement methods to be used. Next, the plan identifies critical behaviors
that technical staff should demonstrate following training, and the organizational drivers that
must be in place to support these behaviors. The plan then defines learning goals, a detailed
training program to meet the learning goals, and methods to evaluate the learning components of
SATISFACTION WITH IT SERVICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 123

the program. Finally, the plan identifies methods to evaluate participant reactions in relation to
overall satisfaction, engagement, and relevance of the training materials and experience. Data
will be gathered and analyzed throughout the program implementation to determine whether or
not each level meets expectations, and the reason for why it does or doesn’t (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016).
During training, the instructor will ensure that the levels of reaction and learning are
meeting expectations by doing periodic pulse checks with participants and addressing any issues
that arise (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Activities during training will provide the instructor
with formative assessments of participant learning. Participant reaction and learning will also be
assessed using an electronic survey immediately after training. A delayed summative assessment
six weeks after training will evaluate the extent to which critical behaviors are being applied on
the job, and whether or not leading indicators for the desired outcomes have been positively
impacted. If behaviors and results are not meeting expectations, the instructor can request
additional feedback from participants about what may be preventing them from applying new
behaviors and improving results (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). If behaviors and results are
meeting or exceeding expectations, the instructor can request feedback from participants about
their successful strategies for applying learning to improve their performance (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016). A final report on organizational outcomes, i.e., level 4 results, will be
provided to organizational leaders six months after training is completed for all technical staff.
This report will evaluate the overall success of the training program and will inform the
development of future training programs.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Customer satisfaction with IT service quality at educational institutions is lower than other industries (Help Desk Institute, 2012). Customer perception of service quality is a key determinant of customer satisfaction (Jana, 2014). Lower IT service quality could result in reduced return-on-investment, loss of productivity, and the potential loss of opportunities for innovation and growth. This study evaluated technical staff customer responsiveness in the context of an organizational transformation. The technical staff stakeholder group responds to customer issues that are escalated by frontline customer service, providing advanced knowledge and skills to resolve technical issues and enable customers to meet organizational goals. The mixed methods study surveyed 222 technical staff and interviewed 8 of the 34 survey respondents. The evaluation identified knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs and presented recommendations to address those needs. Based on the findings, the organization is recommended to build a culture of trust, provide leadership focused on service quality, and ensure sufficient time and staffing resources are available for technical staff to meet customer responsiveness goals. Professional development workshops are also recommended to train technical staff on customer service topics.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Juday, Karen (author)

Core Title Customer satisfaction with information technology service quality in higher education: an evaluation study

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Publication Date 02/14/2019

Defense Date 12/17/2018

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag culture of trust,customer satisfaction,employee motivation,Higher education,information technology,OAI-PMH Harvest,organizational transformation,responsiveness,service leadership,service quality,SERVQUAL,technical staff

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Seli, Helena (committee chair), Hirabayashi, Kimberly (committee member), Shook, Douglas (committee member)

Creator Email juday@usc.edu,juday1ka@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-120364

Unique identifier UC11675767

Identifier etd-JudayKaren-7062.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-120364 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-JudayKaren-7062.pdf

Dmrecord 120364

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Juday, Karen

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA