Who should clean the university? The in-house outsourcing decision from a student perspective

• Published in: Facilities (Bradford, West Yorkshire, England) Vol. 39; no. 9/10; pp. 635 - 651
• Main Author: Palm, Peter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Publishing Limited 02.06.2021; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Cleaning; Colleges & universities; Customer services; Higher education; Outsourcing; Perceptions; Quality of service; Strategic management; Students; Success; University buildings; FM-services; Student satisfaction; In-house management; Cleaning services; Outsourcing; Quality in FM
• ISSN: 0263-2772; 1758-7131; 1758-7131
• DOI: 10.1108/F-03-2020-0025

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how the students perceive the cleaning of the university, from an in-house and outsourced perspective. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on a survey conducted in the different university buildings with a total of 240 students. The survey was then analysed through an ordinal regression. Findings The ordinal regression indicates a statistically significant result were student are more satisfied with the cleaning performed by the outsourced service provider. Research limitations/implications The research in this paper is limited to one Swedish university. But, the overall strategies for how to organise the cleaning service at the university do address all universities. However, the research is limited and more research has to be performed. Practical implications The insight the paper provides regarding how the students perceive the cleaning service at the university gives direct implications to university in relation to how to consider the cleaning service as an important factor. Originality/value It provides the first study from a student perspective on the question of cleaning of the university, when previous studies have indicated cleaning as an important function not least to student’s performance and academic results.