University Brand Research Articles

Branding the “wow-academy”: The risks of promotional culture and quasi-corporate communication in higher education

This article examines the branding of the new Tampere University in Finland and the reactions it evoked in Finnish social media and news media between 2018–2020. The merger of the University of Tampere and Tampere University of Technology into a new foundation-based university provoked considerable public debate and sparked uproar over the communication style and practices of the university’s new management. The main reason for the outcry was that the new governance model of the university ignored the traditional democratic way of running a university. Our article contributes to the growing literature on public relations communication in higher education by focusing on promotional culture and the role of the changing media landscape in university branding. We analyze how and why the brand messages were contested and transformed into memes and satirical commentaries on social media. When the university’s management tried to restrain this subversive play with legal sanctions, the issue escalated into the news media. Our qualitative analysis demonstrates the possible repercussions of a quasi-corporate style of communication on the credibility of the university as a higher education institution in a hybrid media environment.

The role of website features in creating value co-creation behaviors and enhancing the brand image and reputation of higher education institutions

PurposeDespite promising conceptual developments in value co-creation behaviors, the scholarly attention afforded to the importance of the university website features in strengthening the university brand image and reputation through students’ value co-creation behaviors is limited. University website features are conceptualized as a hierarchical construct with three dimensions: usability, availability and information. This study aims to investigate the effect of university website features and value co-creation behaviors of students on promoting brand image and brand reputation at Islamic Azad University in Iran.Design/methodology/approachThis study is quantitative. Using convenience sampling techniques, a responsive group of 384 students was chosen from the Islamic Azad University of Tehran in Iran. Survey methods were used for data collection. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to test the derived hypotheses.FindingsThe findings of this study indicated that website features have a positive effect on fostering value co-creation behaviors (participation and citizenship behavior), and participation behavior, in turn, improves university brand image and reputation. At the same time, among value co-creation behaviors, citizenship behavior has no impact on the university’s brand image. Finally, the brand image formed through website features and participation behavior positively affects brand reputation.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was conducted in the higher education (HE) sector in one cosmopolitan Iranian city (i.e. Tehran), to which Iranians from other cities travel for studying. Thus, the results of this survey include a variety of subcultures. In the future, a study that incorporates all major metropolitan cities of Iran may increase the generalizability of the findings. Unrelated to the purpose of this study, a future research study may extend the currently studied geographical dimensions and examine the antecedents of university brand reputation across different nations using a cross-cultural approach.Practical implicationsPragmatically, the findings of this study urge university policymakers, information technology managers and marketers to consider the university website’s unique role in assisting co-creation behavior, which in turn promotes university brand image and reputation in the HE market. One of the ways to assess a university’s brand image and reputation is through the university ranking system. Ascending the ranking system can allow a university to attract qualified students.Originality/valueThese findings contribute to the marketing literature by empirically validating the three elements in the website features construct, providing intelligence on how website features can drive value co-creation behaviors, brand image and reputation. Also, results revealed that the brand image of universities positively affects brand reputation. This study highlights the importance of national and international rankings of universities and students’ sensitivity to such rankings. Undoubtedly, this is evident in Iranian students’ behavior in selecting their university.

The impact of consumer psychology on university brand choice

Purpose. The purpose of this study is to how the university brand wins the psychology of college students, and discusses the decision-making behavior of college students’ school choice and university brand based on consumer psychology.
 Results. According to the results of the analysis, university brand wins the consumer psychology of college students through university brand value. The key factor that university brand affects the consumption psychology of college students is that education is regarded as the primary purpose of the brand. University brand is carried by people, and students and staff are the significant identification of university brand image and the fundamental guarantee of establishing this brand. University brand is a kind of brand that needs late effect evaluation. University brand reflects the educational quality and characteristics of the university, reflects the social reputation of the university, and represents the employment prospects of graduates. The university brand represents competitiveness. College students, as consumers, will consider the influence of college brand on future employment, and their choice of college will also affect its brand. College students’ brand selection can be divided into three time points and four development stages.
 Scientific novelty. This article combines knowledge related to psychology and management, thus contributing to an interdisciplinary understanding of the university brand; analyzing many products, consumers cannot accept all of them, so the brand plays an important role in the consumer behavior of students.
 Practical value. This article analyzes how university brand wins the psychology of college students, the key factors for the university brand to win the psychology of college students, and discusses the decision-making behavior of college students’ school choice and university brand based on consumer psychology. The strategy provides a certain theoretical basis.

University branding: student experience, value perception, and consumption journey

ABSTRACT This study provides empirical insights into university branding and links it to student experience, value perception, and consumption journey. It also explores the relationship between these factors and their assistance to university brands in tackling the global issue of international student mobility. A review of branding literature, consumer experience, customer value, and consumer journey from extant studies on consumer behaviour and relevant studies on branding in the higher education sector provided a theoretical background for the study. Using focus group interviews, data were collected from international students in the Japanese higher education sector and analysed using content analysis. Empirical evidence of the interactions among these factors and branding supports the importance and feasibility of integrating these aspects into university branding. Thus, this study theoretically contributes to branding research by introducing the concepts of consumer experience, customer value, and consumer journey into the studies of branding in the context of higher education and their associations with university branding. It also provides managerial implications for branding a university from the aspects of student experience, value perception, and the consumption journey to address the issue of global student mobility.

Reconditioning the Freshman Gene: Can a “Positive Visualisation Course” Successfully modify Freshmen Students’ Perceptions of a University’s Brand Image?

Branding in higher education has proven to be an effective strategy that has received considerable attention in recent years, and a growing number of articles on the subject have begun to appear in the literature. However, a clear gap within the literature indicates that the concept of students’ perceptions of university brand image has not been thoroughly researched. Consequently, this research focuses on investigating the impact of a positive visualization course in brand identity upon the perception of freshmen students of a university’s brand image. A Qualitative Grounded Theory methodological approach has been employed consisting of semi-structured interviews specifically targeting first-year university students. The preliminary findings resulting from this research, reveal a beneficial influence of the positive visualization course in brand identity upon freshmen students’ perceptions of the university’s brand image. Investigating this topic is greatly beneficial since it has enabled the researcher to provide substantial insights into how freshmen students formulate perceptions.

Demystifying factors fueling university brand evangelism in the higher education sector in Tanzania: A social identity perspective

Extant literature examines the role of alumni in supporting higher education institutions (HEIs) through donation behavior. However, scant empirical studies examine the influence of alumni in the context of extra-role brand building behaviour in HEIs. This study examines university identification and university social community identification in influencing university brand evangelism when mediated with a sense of belonging. The study collected data from 606 alumni of 15 HEIs in Tanzania and analyzed it using structural equation modelling. The findings reveal that most alumni engage in university brand evangelism when they are highly identified with their university and its entire social community. Furthermore, the findings confirm that a higher level of identification is inadequate to predict and explain university brand evangelism, unless a sense of belonging is included as a mediator. Therefore, HEIs’ management should build social and personal identification to stimulate a sense of belonging, which fuels alumni intent to engage in university brand evangelism.

Survive Amidst the Competition of Private Universities by Maximizing Brand Image and Interest in Studying

Increasing the demand for college provides financial benefits for private universities to survive amid intense competition. The ability to increase interest in college, especially for prospective new students, is largely determined by accreditation, telemarketing, and the university's brand image. The main study in this research is to analyze the brand image model and college interest which is influenced by accreditation and telemarketing. The analytical method in this study uses a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach based on Partial Least Square (PLS). The population in this study was 100 students of class XII in SMA/SMK/Private Aliyah in the city of Medan. The sampling technique used was accidental sampling where 100 class XII students were the main target. Data collection techniques using a questionnaire (questionnaire). The results showed that (1) directly accreditation was not significant to brand image, (2) telemarketing directly had a significant effect on brand image, (3) directly accreditation had a significant effect on college interest, (4) telemarketing directly had a significant effect on interest college interest, (5) directly brand image has a significant effect on college interest, (6) indirectly brand image has no role in mediating accreditation of college interest and (7) brand image indirectly has a role in mediating telemarketing on college interest.

The Student Psychological Contract as a Predictor of University Brand Evangelism in Tanzanian Higher Education:

This study sought to extend empirical and theoretical understanding of university brand evangelism as an outcome of the student psychological contract in the higher education sector. The conceptual model was developed and tested using structural equation modeling on 451 students at two colleges of higher education in Tanzania. The findings indicate that the student psychological contract influences university brand love en route to university brand evangelism. Thus, university operations should be well-defined by a social contract that stipulates the obligations of both students and staff. For students to engage in university brand evangelism, higher education institutions must fulfill their expectations as stipulated in the contract. More specifically, their staff should fulfill their obligations emanating from promises made to students. This calls for specific standard procedures to fulfill expectations and thus optimize university brand evangelism.
 Key words: Higher education sector, higher education institutions, university, branding strategies, student psychological contract, university brand evangelism

UNIVERSITY BRANDING AND STUDENT SATISFACTION: THE EMERGING LANDSCAPE OF UNIVERSITIES IN PAKISTAN

It gives higher education a competitive landscape brand-building for an educational institution. Adopting strategies that give them a viable advantage in the educational institute is fundamental for the universities. This study aims to understand how a university's reputation is shaped by its heritage, trustworthiness and service quality. It also investigates their relationship with students' satisfaction by using signaling theory. It also examines the impact of the university's reputation as a mediator. The data is collected from different university students in Pakistan through a questionnaire and then analyzed their results on Smart PL. Findings indicate an essential role of the university's brand image in students' minds, directly affecting the satisfaction level of students across Pakistan. Findings also indicate that university reputation plays a partial mediating role between the university's brand image Implications of findings for theory and practices were discussed in the study.

UNIVERSITY BRAND: MODEL AND METHODOLOGY FOR COST EVALUATION

The authors consider the elements of the university brand, which have a number of distinctive features due to the specific characteristics of the university and the characteristics of the products provided by the university in the market of educational services, the market of scientific and technical products and the labor market. The authors clarify the content of the university brand model, which makes it possible to take into account the characteristics of markets, competitors and the specifics of the target audience. When developing a university brand model, the authors suggest taking into account its position in international university rankings. The analysis of indicators of the international rankings of universities QS, THE, SIR, ARWU and RUR made it possible to identify groups of criteria for evaluating universities, reflecting certain aspects of their activities, which must be used when developing a university brand model. The authors propose to evaluate the effectiveness of the developed university brand model based on the value of the university brand.

The Impact of the Communicative Behaviour in Social Media on the University Brand Image

Purpose: Communicative behaviour as a state of relationship which influences bilateral feelings, needs, and thoughts for more unambiguous and open communication (Ivanov & Werner, 2010) can affect the brand image. Correspondingly, communication from the side of the universities toward students through social media has a significant role.
 Facebook is a powerful communicational channel. It effectively and efficiently took control of the business sector, advertising sector, and furthermore, educational realm. It has an enduring influence on the way how people communicate, and as time passes, it becomes an essential part of their lives.
 The article presents the behaviours of Georgian higher educational institutions in social media, especially on Facebook, and the attitude of the existing or potential students towards communicative behaviour of HEIs. The findings show what kind of influence does communication in Facebook has on customer perception and correspondingly brand image.
 Study design/methodology/approach: Considering the sensitivity and nature of the research two types of studies were selected. Observing the behaviour of the universities directly on their Facebook pages was selected as the leading type of the research, since the content, as well as their responsiveness and engagement in further communication, is clearly visible visually. In addition, we have decided to listen to the customers themselves. Because of this reason focus groups of existing and potential students were selected to talk about their expectations and the reality in terms of communicative behaviour of the universities.
 Findings: The results of both, observation as well as focus group research showed the lacks and lapses of communicative behaviour of Georgian universities on social media, specifically on Facebook. The most crucial ones were detected to be the following: delays in distributing valuable information, content not so much significant and interesting for students, indirect answers to student queries or ignoring at all.
 Originality/value: Considering the globalizing landscape branding has become crucial for the universities for different reasons. Not only attracting potential students but also for retaining the existing ones and being exceptional they have to follow modern trends. Communication, direct or indirect, being one of the most significant for branding deserves more attention. The value of the current research is showing the expectations of the existing and potential customers and presents the gaps between “what is done” and “what should be done”.

ФАКТОРЫ ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ БРЕНДА УНИВЕРСИТЕТА (НА ОСНОВЕ РЕЗУЛЬТАТОВ ФОКУС-ГРУППОВОГО ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ, ПРОВЕДЕННОГО В УНИВЕРСИТЕТЕ ЕСЕНОВА, Г.АКТАУ)

Abstract. The process of globalization is an important and at the same time very difficult process. Depending on one's own needs, opportunities and goals of obtaining higher education, many factors have to be taken into account when making a decision in the conditions of the present time. Today, there are many universities and educational programs on the educational services market, which often only complicates the selection process, since a large amount of information (sometimes contradictory) creates a number of additional questions. In this regard, the brand of the university is becoming more important and relevant, so understanding its role and place in the process of choosing a university is an important task for sociology. Educational brands have their own specifics, different from the brands of the traditional commercial sector. Despite the obvious commercialization of education in general and the fact that recently higher education institutions are most often considered in the context of the educational services market, universities are still non–profit organizations, and higher education is a social institution. The process of globalization in the modern world has transformed the perception of higher education: higher education has turned from an intangible limited resource into a product, has become part of the international market of educational services. In order to be economically profitable in the current conditions of a market economy, universities are forced to fight for a place in the market, resorting to such methods as increasing student enrollment, absorbing weaker educational institutions, opening branches, increasing tuition fees, as well as improving branding strategies. Since November 1, 2021, a CSR sociological center has been established on the basis of Yesenov University at the Department of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan. The main goal of CSR YU is to carry out fundamental and applied research works that are relevant and of practical importance in the context of the implementation of innovative educational strategies of Yessenov University. This article is based on the results of a sociological study conducted to determine the state of such key indicators of the university's image as the «brand index» and the «happiness index» of Yessenov University and to identify the optimal set of tools for the effective development of the YU brand. The article analyzes the main approaches to brand research, describes the main stages of conducting and the results of a comprehensive study. Keywords: globalization, education, sociology of education, Kazakhstan, Yesenov University, university, image, educational brand, university brand, social image of the university.

University brand: factors, tools and main tendencies of development information about authors

Trends towards transformation of the system of higher education create the need for universities to adapt to the dynamically changing conditions of the external competitive environment. In this connection, university branding as a specific distinguishing characteristic from competitors is an integral part of the development strategy of a modern university, and the effectiveness of marketing activities to form a brand of an educational organization depends largely on the influence of internal and external factors and a set of tools applied. However, in the scientific literature, these aspects have come into common use mainly in relation to commercial organizations, giving short shrift to the institutions of higher education, which determines the goal setting of the study, which is to identify the main directions of the development of a university’s brand under present-day conditions of functioning. To achieve this goal, the authors used methods of synthesis, systematization, logical-structural, comparative and cause-and-effect analysis of the literature which highlights the theoretical and practical issues of university branding. The directions of brand formation identified as a result of the study are based on the method of an expert survey conducted in May 2021. Overall, the systematization of university branding factors has been carried out;
 a set of tools for creating a brand of a higher educational institution in the context of the transformation of the education system has been proposed; and the main directions for the development of the university brand from an expert survey have been identified.The authors have found that the most promising areas of university branding are corporate, educational and reputational aspects of activities.

Research, ranking, and university branding: Investment for excellence in health professions’ education

Research is known to serve society and optimise educational institutions’ reputation, hand in hand with knowledge; this applies to all disciplines, including those related to health professions education, such as pharmacy and medicine. Institutional reputation attracts high-quality students and instructors, which will, in turn, enhance productivity and lead to a further better reputation. Reputation relies on branding strategies, encompassing research excellence as an intrinsic value and institutional ranking as an external recognition; additionally, institutional and programme accreditations both include quality standards related to research. However, in educational institutions, the research-education nexus faces many challenges, including lack of time due to education overloading and administrative duties, in addition to insufficient human and financial resources. Administrators need to facilitate an optimal research culture and an adequate context for cutting-edge research to be implemented in higher education institutions.

ALGORITHMS OF IMPROVING OF THE PROCESS OF PROFESSIONAL POTENTIAL REALIZATION BY UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR AS A BEARER OF BRAND

The article considers the professional potential of a university professor, which provides not only the formation of a personal brand but also its successful promotion in the market of educational and scientific services. Therefore, the professional potential is a fundamental component of the structure of a university professor’s personal brand. The algorithmic interconnection of the concepts of “personal potential”, “personal resources” and “human capital” is clarified. It is emphasized that the professor’s awareness of the professional potential necessary and sufficient to form a personal brand is determined primarily by the motivation of the specialist to identify their own intellectual, leadership, creative, communicative and other resources and reserves. The author specifies that in the structure of the university professor’s professional potential, the priority is constructs that are both in demand by the profession and relevant to the requests of the target audience. The real and potential determinants of slowing down the process of realization of the university professor’s professional potential are listed. It is proved that the intensification of readiness for effective realization of professional potential by university professor requires obligatory consideration of contextual and situational peculiarities of personal brand positioning and synergistic possibilities of co-branding with other university specialists as brand carriers or even university brand. Methods of counteracting the real and potential determinants of slowing down the process of university professor’s professional potential realization are highlighted. They are: the inability of a specialist to objectively assess the scope and probable prospects for the realization of their own potential; barriers in brand communication; the impact of previous failure stressors; the dominance of fear of image and/or reputational losses over the subjectively predicted attractiveness of the consequences of the professional potential realization; achieving a local maximum in professional self-realization, etc.
 Keywords: personal brand; branding; co-branding; university professor; professional potential; personal resources; algorithm; higher education institution.

Addressing the interplay amongst university support, student experience, and university brand image at Vietnamese higher education institutions

During the last three years, the Covid-19 pandemic has made landmark changes in all aspects of the society and higher education is no exception. The current study examines the interrelationships between university support, student experience, and university brand image. The study used partial least square–structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and Smart PLS 3.3.7 to conduct the analysis. Research data were collected by structured questionnaire with 300 students from various studying majors of 12 prominent universities across the nation. The findings firstly suggest that university support has a positive and significant impact on students’ perceived support and overall student experience. Second, the student experience has a noticeable impact on the university image. In addition, the current paper also emphasizes the significant role of student experience in mediating the relationship between university brand image and student perceived support. Practically, universities have been suggested to provide more support for students, including both policies and activities, to improve student perceptions of support and experience. An outstanding student experience is critical to develop and enhance the university brand image. As a result, the findings aid higher education institutions in enhancing their competitiveness in today’s dynamic educational environment.

The Role of Pragmatic Strategies on University Campaign

This paper aims to provide information that pragmatic strategies is needed to offer university campaign and branding. Researcher used Aristotle’s argumentation, ethos, logos and pathos to gain target audiences at Universitas Raden Mas Said Surakarta website. The advertisement in the form of word organization that was distributed with Google Ads. It is perceived that this practical application will improve attention and awareness of google users. Narrative design was conducted to find the answers associated to the research problem and the result was analyzed using rhetorical discourse analysis. It revealed that the word form, word organization, and context are able to influence the audience. All of these techniques use a pragmatic strategy approach where the advertiser does not invite the target audience directly, but the university and the target audience are brought together based on core of (word organization) supply and (audiences’ need) demand. This way is very efficient and effective to use during the covid-19 outbreak. This is also a reflection that conventional advertising has begun to be replaced by digital advertising. If compared to the previous year, there will be a 41% increase in registrants in 2021. This strategy has a significant impact and is very influential.

The Impacts of University Brand on Korean and US Consumers: Focusing on Brand Reputation and Brand Fit

Purpose This study examines the impacts of brand reputation and fit of university brand on brand evaluation, purchase intention, and willingness to pay price in a cross-cultural context. Design/Methodology/Approach An experiment with questionnaire survey method was used in Korea and the U.S. to compare the different brand effects of university brands. Findings This study identifies the cultural difference between Korean and U.S. consumers regarding university brands. Korean consumers prefer the reputation of a university brand, while, to the contrary, U.S. consumers prefer the fit of a university brand. Research Implications This study clarifies the advantages of a university brand in the corporate-university alliance. Particularly, it can help brand managers find an appropriate alliance partner using the information regarding appropriate characteristics of a university brand. In addition, this study investigates the cultural differences of consumers responding to university brand.

The Impact of Rebranding on University Brand Equity

Universities are required to be different from competitors and attract more students. One of the strategies undertaken is rebranding to build stronger brand equity. This research was conducted at a private university in Indonesia to determine the effect of rebranding on brand equity and to analyze differences in brand equity before and after rebranding. This study uses a quantitative approach. The dimensions of university brand equity are brand awareness, perceived quality, brand association, and brand loyalty. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey of students, lecturers, and employees with a total of 268 respondents. Quantitative analysis shows that rebranding has an effect on university brand equity with a low coefficient of determination. The results of the different t-test showed that there was no difference in brand equity before and after the rebranding. From these results, it can be concluded that the brand equity of the old brand was successfully transferred to the new brand with a shift in perception of the dimensions of brand equity. The success of the transfer of brand equity is because the institution respects the history of each of the origin universities. In addition, increasing reputation from high school to university is also one of the strong reasons for the success of brand equity transfer, especially when it is associated with brand awareness, brand association, and perceived quality. This study supports the results of previous studies by Marques et al. (2020) and Beise-Zee (2022).

Internal corporate social responsibility and university brand legitimacy: an employee perspective in the higher education sector in Tanzania

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the influence of internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) towards university brand legitimacy (UBRL) with the mediation effect of university brand perceived ethicality in the higher education sector in Tanzania.Design/methodology/approachThe study collected data from 399 employees of two universities through a cross-sectional survey research design. The data were analyzed using structural equation modelling.FindingsThe findings of this study suggest that internal CSR influences UBRL when mediated with university brand perceived ethicality.Research limitations/implicationsA cross-sectional survey research involving self-administered questionnaire was used. Therefore, the generalization of the findings should be made with caution.Practical implicationsHigher education institutions should invest in ethical management practices that consider internal CSR to ensure employees as legitimacy-granting constituents motivated to grant legitimacy to the university brand.Originality/valueThis study is among initial endeavors to examine internal CSR as a driver of UBRL in the higher education domain context.