Assessing Brand Equity of Affiliated Universities in Vietnam National University, Hanoi

Abstract

This research aimed to assess the brand equity of affiliated universities in Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU). There were 486 undergraduates and post-graduates from member universities in VNU participating in the research. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, Delphi analysis, and Structural Equal Modeling (SEM) were utilized to identify components of brand equity of the affiliated universities. The findings show that brand equity consists of seven components: brand recognition, lecturer quality, university reputation, brand association, facilities, loyalty, and perceived quality. Among these, facilities have the biggest impact on brand equity with β=0.819, followed by brand recognition and lecturer equity with β=0.783 and β=0.758. On the other hand, loyalty appears to be the factor with the least influence with β=0.740. In short, strategies of investment in the teaching staff need greater attention and effective enforcement; besides, it is also necessary to continuously supplement and upgrade technical facilities for teaching and research activities and improve brand recognition in line with the university identity.