Influence of front-desk staff service quality on students' affective commitment, trust and word of mouth in higher education

Private universities are growing in the present era. The enrollment ratio is also getting high, and universities are putting efforts to attract more students. Hence, it is essential to provide students with the best quality services as it spreads positive word of mouth. Therefore, the present paper is designed to study the impact of front desk staff service quality on word of mouth through the mediating effect of students' affective commitment and students' trust. An online questionnaire survey was conducted in Karachi, Pakistan. This study used the partial least square method to run structural equation modeling analysis. The findings revealed that all paths show a positive and significant relationship except front desk staff service quality and word of mouth. Moreover, students' affective commitment and trust mediate the relationship between front desk staff service quality and word of mouth. Results also illustrate that gender exerts a significant moderating role on front desk staff service quality, students' affective commitment, and word of mouth. The study provides practical implications for policymakers, private university management, and educational institutions. Firstly, it is crucial to provide effective communication training to the front desk staff to learn the basic etiquette of greetings and humbleness. Secondly, there must be experienced personnel who can assist students promptly