An exploratory approach of the association between integrated marketing communication and business performance in higher education institutions

Abstract

ABSTRACT Integrated marketing communication (IMC) has attracted growing interest from scholars. In recent years, they have emphasised the need to apply IMC to all organisations and assess their business performance. Echoing this line of thought, this exploratory paper analyses the interrelationship between the level of IMC adopted and business performance in higher education institutions (HEIs). The methodology used is linear regressions and CART trees to test the proposed hypotheses. Results show a positive association between the degree to which IMC is adopted and business performance on three levels (institutional, faculty, and master’s). This paper makes several contributions. First, we propose three scales that measure the business performance of HEIs, their faculties, and their master’s degrees. Second, we assess the relationships between IMC and business performance on three distinct levels in higher education (HE) in a non-English speaking European country. Third, we take into account two different perspectives: those of managers and academics. Finally, our discussion highlights that universities should strive to achieve the highest level of IMC because this is positively associated with their performance in terms of sales, branding, and satisfaction.