In some Latin American countries, educational systems aim to respond to institutional and regulatory demands, but also to build their own idea of the Nation (Bottinelli, 2017), highlighting the relationship between education and society. From a sociological perspective, there are cultural norms, values, and social structures that influence human behavior and affect customer loyalty (Ghilini, 2023). Therefore, it is necessary for institutions to align their values in a way that is accepted and recognized through the products or services they offer.

To satisfy social needs, educational institutions rely on structures for the exercise of academic, research, and outreach functions, as well as for management development and the fulfillment of local and international criteria and requirements. They represent academic spaces for the formation of human beings in cognitive, technical-procedural, and attitudinal competencies, which are required for professional growth and social development (Taiye et al., 2021).

Universities offer higher education services with differentiating characteristics (Susan et al., 2023) that strive for transformative quality (Nguyen et al., 2021). This pursued differentiation aims to meet student value expectations and foster their satisfaction with the services, enabling them to promote the institution and project a positive image of it in society (Coelho and Henseler, 2012; Yadav and Pathak, 2017). This, in turn, can increase its reputation, loyalty, and commitment to the services (Susan et al., 2023; Leonnard et al., 2014; Coelho and Henseler, 2012), as well as loyalty that values actions, facilities, behavior, and disposition (Yadav and Pathak, 2017).

In emerging countries, it is argued that the quality of service at the university level is below the global standard (Olokundun et al., 2019), putting them at a disadvantage in the face of international competition (Villaseñor et al., 2015). Therefore, they work toward ensuring the quality of their education systems and develop actions to differentiate themselves, gain credibility, and have an impact (Ordorika, 2015). They aim to offer services that meet desires and expectations (Akdere et al., 2020) and cover value characteristics that lead to states of fulfillment with the service (Cheng-Kun et al., 2023), supported by curricular programs and pedagogical practices (Monteiro et al., 2023). This fulfillment, associated with student satisfaction, becomes a predictor of loyalty intentions (Leonnard et al., 2014) and leads to positive recommendation processes about the institution (Masa'deh et al., 2022).

In recent years, universities have been pressured to implement evaluation processes aimed at quality assurance (Villaseñor et al., 2015) focused on positive quantitative indicators associated with research production and impact (Villaseñor et al., 2015), teaching, internationalization, resource management, and other aspects required for successful performance and the construction of institutional reputation and image (Ordorika and Rodriguez, 2010). The results of quality measurements do not always meet the demands of national and international evaluating bodies, nor the growing expectations of students (Taiye et al., 2021). For this reason, universities continuously work on service quality as a fundamental aspect that not only influences the satisfaction and loyalty of internal users but also the image and reputation in society at large.

The research aims to explain the satisfaction of students at a private university in Lima, Peru, based on the quality of service, and to determine how this contributes to student loyalty and institutional image. This objective leads to the formulation of the hypothesis: Quality of service generates satisfaction, and this contributes to student loyalty and institutional image.

Specific objectives are defined to determine whether service quality generates satisfaction and if this contributes to building loyalty among university students and to constructing the institutional image. Similarly, it aims to determine if student loyalty contributes to image creation. Based on these objectives, specific hypotheses are formulated: H1: Service quality generates satisfaction, and this contributes to building loyalty among university students; H2: Service quality generates satisfaction, and this contributes to constructing the institutional image; and H3: Student loyalty contributes to the creation of the institutional image. The models and methodologies for evaluating the quality of service offered by universities become a central element to be studied, allowing for explanations of how service quality contributes to student loyalty and the promotion of institutional image.

The research was quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional, hypothetico-deductive, and had an explanatory scope to understand image, loyalty, and satisfaction based on the quality of service provided by the university to its students.

The study was conducted at a private university that carries out its academic activities in the departments of Lima and Ica, Peru. The data collection took place during the semesters 2022-I, 2022-II, and 2023-I. The participating students met the following requirements: (a) enrollment during the evaluated periods; (b) pursuing professional degrees in administration and accounting sciences; and (c) voluntary participation (Table 2).

To test the hypotheses and validate the model, multivariable analysis techniques were employed. The study began with service quality as the independent variable, loyalty and image as the dependent variables, and satisfaction as the mediating variable. An ordinal scale was used to measure the four variables according to the designed model, which is shown in Figure 1, Table 3.

The theoretical model was validated using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) according to the proposed hypotheses. Perceived service quality by university students explained 99% of students' satisfaction with the services provided by the university, through reliability, responsiveness, security, empathy, and tangibility. Satisfaction, in turn, influenced institutional image by 91%, and loyalty by 47%. Finally, the image perceived by students explained 39% of loyalty toward the university they attend.

The proposed model shows adequate goodness-of-fit indices for predicting the service quality variable with X2 = 77.620, degrees of freedom = 2, ρ = 0.000, GFI = 0.947, CFI = 0.985, TLI = 0.954, and CFI = 0.985, which exceed the recommended threshold of 0.90. However, the RMSEA = 0.240 does not fall within the recommended range (0.05 to 0.08), indicating that the fit may not always be achieved.

Based on the statistical findings, the central hypothesis of the research can be validated: Service quality generates satisfaction and contributes to building loyalty and image in a university (Table 4).

Taking into account the theoretical foundations, it was statistically demonstrated that service quality influenced 99% of university students' satisfaction (p = 0.000 < 0.001), and in turn explains 83% of loyalty (p = 0.000 < 0.001), improving the variability of the overall model regarding loyalty. There is a 26% difference in explaining loyalty improvement among university students. Considering the goodness of fit results, the research hypothesis is validated: Service quality generates satisfaction and this contributes to building loyalty in students at higher education institutions (X2 = 65.540, degrees of freedom = 1, ρ = 0.000, GFI = 0.940, CFI = 0.983, TLI = 0.948, and CFI = 0.983, and RMSEA = 0.314).

Relationships are explained by 91% (p = 0.000 < 0.001), maintaining the percentage of influence as per the use of structural equation modeling. The goodness of fit indices proved adequate to validate the hypothesis: Service quality generates satisfaction, and this contributes to the construction of institutional image (X2 = 30.130, degrees of freedom = 1, ρ = 0.000, GFI = 0.971, CFI = 0.993, TLI = 0.972, and CFI = 0.993, and RMSEA = 0.211).

Finally, there is a direct relationship between institutional image and loyalty, which was assessed using ordinal logistic regression due to not meeting the assumptions for linear regression. These assumptions were previously verified using SPSS 26. The model fit is adequate with p = 0.000 < 0.05, and the goodness of fit was not significant (p = 1.93 > 0.05). The calculated Nagelkerke coefficient was 0.529, indicating that 52.9% of the variability in the institutional image perceived by university students explains the presence of loyalty. Regarding the hypothesis: Institutional image contributes to the creation of institutional loyalty, both levels of the variables were found to be significant. Institutional image was considered in three levels: low, medium, and high; while loyalty was categorized as good, regular, and high. This demonstrates that institutional image influences the loyalty of university students.

For the research, measurement models of service quality employed in different contexts were identified. It was necessary to extract representative elements to define the central variables in the research, from which hypotheses with relationships to be tested were formulated. The formulated hypotheses were accepted, validating relationships between service quality, satisfaction, image, and loyalty.

It was possible to relate concepts of interest in educational contexts. As the central variable, service quality was assumed to be crucial in generating satisfaction and in building and projecting other related variables such as student loyalty and institutional image. Analyses were conducted based on these variables to establish connections and stimulate discussions. The relationship between service quality and student satisfaction is notable, demonstrating the influence of the latter, which has a stronger impact on institutional image than on loyalty. This highlights the importance of formulating strategies and performance models in educational services to evaluate the configuration and relevant actions regarding service quality (Mwiya et al., 2019), thereby continuing to build both image and loyalty. It is essential to intensify the implementation of strategies and other innovative approaches for effective organizational management in higher education institutions (Galeeva, 2016).

Regarding institutional image, it is influenced by the satisfaction of students with the institution, affirming that at the University, students are loyal due to their willingness to recommend the university positively. Service quality generates satisfaction and has positive effects with a significant link to loyalty (Agarwal and Dhingra, 2023). Students access educational services and feel satisfied when they are respected (Rodríguez Gudiño et al., 2022).

Service quality generates satisfaction, and this contributes to the construction of institutional image. University image inspires satisfaction (Palacio et al., 2002), with reciprocal relationships existing between satisfaction and image. In this sense, relationships between the defined variables are strengthened, confirming also that student loyalty contributes to the creation of institutional image, thereby confirming the third hypothesis of the research.

From a sociological perspective, the variables studied in the research highlight individual and social behaviors influenced by social and cultural norms that shape the perceptions of users of products or services offered by institutions. In this context, the central unit of analysis was a university in Lima, Peru. Students were considered key informants, providing insights into their perceptions of the quality of services offered. The proposed hypotheses were validated, underscoring the importance of providing quality in the services offered by the institution.

The existence of quality in education entails satisfaction with tangible aspects such as infrastructure; reliability, concerning the trust demonstrated by staff and systems; efficient and timely responsiveness; security in providing information and specific services; and empathy from individuals within the institution. Together, these aspects lead to overall satisfaction and result in recommendations of both the services and the institution. Achieving these through quality processes aligned with the minimum requirements set by the National Superintendence of Higher University Education, Concytec, and Indecopi, helps solidify student loyalty and build a positive image within society.

In the university setting, certifying essential processes instills confidence in students to pursue their studies in an institution that demonstrates clear processes endorsed by accrediting bodies and audit firms. Additionally, continuous improvement in performance from period to period is focused on the education and employability of future professionals.