Investigating the Effect of Institution Reputation on Student Loyalty’s Dimensions in the Framework of Relationship Marketing in Higher Education

Abstract

The intensifying competition among higher education institutions has prompted the adoption of relationship marketing as a strategy to attract and retain students. In this approach, students are viewed as customers, and their satisfaction and loyalty are key factors in a university’s success and profitability. Therefore, creating value for students is essential in this competitive environment. Relationship marketing emphasizes building long-term relationships and interactions with students through effective communication. To identify the essential factors of creating value for students and their loyalty, a questionnaire was distributed among 230 students of Kharazmi and Shahid Beheshti Universities. Further, the antecedents of loyalty were estimated further by using structural equation modeling and AMOS software. This study offers a novel approach by examining two dimensions of student loyalty-recommended and patronage-to provide a more comprehensive understanding of loyalty toward higher education institutions. According to hypotheses, results indicate that the students’ perception of the reputation of the higher education institution has a positive and meaningful relationship with dimensions of loyalty, and students’ perception of the reputation were only affected by the facility variable, and there is no significant relationship with service quality and social activities. The findings provide insights into effective relationship-marketing strategies that higher education institutions can adopt to enhance their reputation and foster greater student loyalty, encouraging both dimensions of loyalty. Universities can promote positive perceptions of institutional reputation and cultivate loyal attitudinal and behavioral tendencies among students by following this approach.