Marketing of postgraduate education in Taiwan: issues for foreign universities

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors which influence Taiwanese students' destination choice for their overseas postgraduate studies. Constructs elicited from the literature were overall perception of education quality, available information, country characteristics and accrual of potential benefits. Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of a literature review, from which the authors identified four constructs: quality of available information; overseas country characteristics; potential benefits; and perceptions of overall education quality. The data required for this research were collected by means of a consumer-type survey. A questionnaire was developed with 40 items adapted from previously validated scales. A non-probabilistic sampling procedure, i.e. convenience sampling, was adopted owing to the unavailability of a satisfactory sampling frame. Final-year undergraduate students from four universities in Taiwan were targeted. There was upfront a screening question which eliminated students who were not knowledgeable about overseas postgraduate education from continuing the survey. A total of 312 survey questionnaires were administered by trained interviewers, during a two-week period, and 301 completed questionnaires were collected. Findings – The research findings revealed that the overall perception of education quality in host country influences the choice of the destination country. Path analysis has shown the catalytic need for intermediation by potential benefits accrued. Postgraduate Taiwanese students, having a better appreciation of western acculturation and potential migration and job prospects, together with the constructs of quality of information and country characteristics, have a better overall perception of education quality of destination country. Research limitations/implications – Universities targeting Taiwanese postgraduate students need to highlight aspects of potential benefits in their marketing literature and promotional materials. The results of this study will certainly benefit overseas educational institutions and their marketing departments. Originality/value – This is one of the very few studies which uses partial least squares to address a complex situation associated with the hierarchy of determinants in the selection of a foreign university.