Recent developments in the theories of export marketing have resulted in the conceptualisation of export market orientation in the manufacturing industry. However, little research investigating the concept of export market orientation in the higher education context exists, despite the importance of the export market in shaping the direction of the marketing of higher education. Building on the existing literature on export marketing and higher education marketing, this research offers a conceptualisation of export market orientation in universities and its antecedents and consequences from a managerial perspective. A mixed-method research design was adopted, consisting of two main phases. The first phase involved conducting key informant interviews with the international marketing managers of UK universities. Together with the literature review, an analysis of the key themes led to the development of research hypotheses and an operational model. The model was tested in the second phase with a survey directed at the international marketing managers of different UK universities. Partial Least Squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the survey responses. The structural model showed a good fit with the data and good convergent, discriminant and nomological validity and reliability stability. This research is the first to formulate and develop the concepts of export market orientation and export performance in the higher education context. The outcome of this research adds new perspectives to the growing body of higher education marketing literature, and suggests directions for future research. This research also offers important implications for management bodies in universities, academia and public policy-makers alike.

<p> After years of courting public audiences, academic art museums have shifted their focus back to their campus constituents. These changes have meant putting a premium on attracting and engaging university students. Museums have been successful in doing so through classes. Yet, what about students as active constituents outside of class? Students' limited free time is one hurdle in engaging students outside of class, but students must know about their campus art museum and its programs before they can decide whether to attend or not. Therefore a study of the challenges, and successes, in marketing these museums and their programming to students was undertaken. Specifically, 29 campus art museums in the United States were surveyed on their relationship with students, current marketing strategies, what types of media are used, and how these forms of media are evaluated. Survey results revealed challenges of limited staff time and the lack of an analytical framework for some marketing materials. Successes in marketing to students were limited, but positive comments and feedback from respondents exhibit several best practices for marketing to students. These include enlisting the help of trusted resources around campus, creating positive word of mouth among the student body, and engaging students in both the creation and marketing of programs. Additionally, best practices from civic museums, and reports on marketing to student-aged individuals, were drawn on in order to offer prescriptive advice.</p>

This thesis examines the decision making and information search process of students choosing university courses in Victoria Australia. The position adopted for this study is that of a buyer or consumer behaviour perspective. This is the first study of its kind undertaken in Australia. Much related research been done in the United States and elsewhere. However, the Australian higher education system has unique characteristics. Consequently, while existing student-choice models drawn from elsewhere provide a useful foundation, they are not sufficient to answer the key question: How do students choose universities in Australia? Implicit in this overarching question are several issues examined by this study: how a student makes a choice is related to what choices there are to be made, and why the student makes a choice about a particular institution. (For complete abstract open document)

This paper adds to existing literature regarding MBA selection processes and helps identify and better understand the needs that motivate consumers to pursue an MBA degree. Through a series of qualitative, one-on-one interviews with 17 brand-new MBA students or prospective students, this research found that while many people have "always wanted" to earn the advanced degree, most have toyed with the idea of a graduate business degree for many years. The most frequent reasons that people cite regarding their decision to seriously consider an MBA at a large southern university centers around four desires. These are, not surprisingly, the desire to earn more money, the desire to change careers, the desire to advance their careers by obtaining a required credential, and the desire for knowledge that can be obtained by earning the degree. Further, this research identified the single most important factor that prospects considered when determining which university to attend for the MBA degree: the university's ability to help make them more marketable or advance their career. Other answers included cost, university's reputation, convenience, program duration, the university's location, and the caliber of peers in the classroom.

Submitted by Noeme Timbo (noeme.timbo@metodista.br) on 2016-09-08T19:02:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Amanda Vieira Ferrari Gasparin.pdf: 1913457 bytes, checksum: 74db9b8dc571afccde4e8808d00777b2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-08T19:02:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Amanda Vieira Ferrari Gasparin.pdf: 1913457 bytes, checksum: 74db9b8dc571afccde4e8808d00777b2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-06-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The present marketing context of higher education, where competition is becoming increasingly aggressive, has led education institutions to establish a more strategic and competitive advertising communication management process, seeking to achieve a distinctive position in the competition in order to attract its stakeholders. This work has involved the application of communication objectives in the higher education market, analyzing the ways in which institutions have established communication processes with their target public, directed to the Brazilian private universities. The research is based on literature review, depth interviews with communication and marketing managers from the investigated sector and analysis of the content from online media communication pieces. Initially it was prepared a report about the current context of higher education market in Brazil: its evolution and characterization. Then it was established marketing applied to the higher education sector: concepts and the role assigned to it. Later marketing communication was related to the higher education service and its use in the sector. Then interviews were conducted in-depth - semi-structured, with communication and marketing managers from two institutions located in São Paulo (Insper and Universidade São Judas Tadeu) with opposing positions and different classifications regarding its image to the market - In order to know their views and opinions about the market and marketing communications actions that they have adopted. Finally, content analysis was prepared comparing ads (advertisements) in online media of the two HEI studied. All analysis procedures content have been established and categorized based on communication objectives defined by Yanaze (2011). / O presente contexto mercadológico da educação superior, onde a concorrência é cada vez mais acirrada, tem levado as instituições de ensino a estabelecer um processo de gestão de comunicação e marketing mais estratégico e competitivo, buscando alcançar uma posição diferenciada em relação à concorrência, a fim de conquistar seus públicos de interesse. Este trabalho contemplou a aplicação dos objetivos de comunicação no mercado de ensino superior, analisando as formas pelas quais as instituições vêm estabelecendo os processos comunicacionais com seus públicos-alvo, estando direcionado para as Universidades privadas brasileiras. A pesquisa se apóia em: revisão bibliográfica, entrevistas em profundidade com gestores de comunicação e marketing do setor pesquisado e análise de conteúdo de peças de comunicação em mídia online. Inicialmente foi elaborado um relato acerca do contexto atual do mercado de ensino superior no Brasil: sua evolução e caracterização. Em seguida, definiu-se marketing aplicado ao segmento de educação superior: conceitos e o papel designado a ele. Posteriormente relacionou-se comunicação mercadológica com o serviço de educação superior e sua aplicabilidade neste setor. Depois, foram realizadas entrevistas em profundidade - semiestruturadas, com gestores de comunicação e marketing de duas instituições, localizadas na cidade de São Paulo (Insper e Universidade São Judas Tadeu) com posicionamentos antagônicos e classificações distintas quanto à sua imagem para o mercado -, com a finalidade de conhecer suas visões e opiniões sobre o mercado e as ações de comunicação de marketing que vêm adotando. Finalmente, foi elaborada análise de contéudo, comparando anúncios (peças publicitárias) em mídia online das duas IES estudadas. Todos os procedimentos da análise de contéudo foram estabelecidos e categorizados com base nos objetivos de comunicação definidos por Yanaze (2011).

This exploratory study identifies the importance of Instagram to market universities in Southeast Asia and the strategies to make interesting content to reach more Southeast Asian students. According to the statistics in 2020 by Statista, Southeast Asia is ranked second in the world’s most active social media users, and Instagram is now quickly catching up with the giant platform Facebook and becoming the rising star. In the study, the main Instagram account of KTH Royal Institute of Technology @kthuniversity was analysed. Three main points were the center of attention: the visual power of the posts, the engaging captions, and the best timing to post. The study’s methods are focus group discussion with current KTH students from Southeast Asia and an online survey distributed to Southeast Asian students in general. The results, first, indicate that Instagram influences the choice-making of Southeast Asian students’ study destinations. Second, based on the first finding, several strategies to make interesting content to catch their interest are proposed. Southeast Asian students are more interested in photo-based posts with shorter captions and emojis. Photos showing university buildings, Stockholm/Sweden, and students’ life are more attractive. Regarding the timing, the study shows that the students do not have any specific days or time to check their Instagram, but universities should stick to the previous study mentioning that the best posting time is during breakfast and lunch. / Denna undersökande studie identifierar Instagrams betydelse för universitet i Sydostasien och strategier för att skapa intressant innehåll för att nå fler sydostasiatiska studenter. Enligt statistik för år 2020 av Statista rankas Sydostasien som nummer två bland världens mest aktiva användare av sociala medier, och Instagram kommer nu snabbt ifatt den gigantiska plattformen Facebook och är nu den stigande stjärnan. I studien analyserades det huvudsakliga Instagram-kontot för KTH Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan, @kthuniversity. Tre huvudpunkter stod i fokus: inläggens visuella kraft, de engagerande bildtexterna och den bästa tiden att publicera. Studiens metoder är fokusgruppsdiskussion med nuvarande KTH- studenter från Sydostasien och en onlineenkät som distribueras till Sydostasiatiska studenter i allmänhet. Resultaten indikerar först att Instagram påverkar valet för studenter i Sydostasien. Vidare, baserat på den första upptäckten, föreslås flera strategier för att göra intressant innehåll för att fånga deras intresse. Sydostasiatiska studenter är mer intresserade av fotobaserade inlägg med kortare bildtexter och emojis. Bilder som visar universitetsbyggnader, Stockholm / Sverige och studenternas liv är mer attraktiva. När det gäller tidpunkten visar studien att studenterna inte har några specifika dagar eller tid för att kontrollera sin Instagram, men universitet bör hålla sig till den tidigare studien vilket nämner att den bästa publiceringstiden är under frukost och lunch.

Thesis (D. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2005 / Distinctive challenges are currently facing South African higher education institutions. Among others they are funding; quality assurance; globalisation; the emergence of private higher education; the idea of an entrepreneurial university as an alternative; enrolment capping; as well as merged and incorporated institutions. It is critical that these challenges be addressed urgently. However, the lack of proper marketing and branding strategies at institutions of higher learning in view of the new unfolding national and international landscape, leaves much to be desired. In the past, branding of higher education in South Africa was not an area of priority, because higher education operated in a protected, regulated market with a steady income. The current higher education scenario necessitates higher education institutions to revisit their branding strategies as a means to grapple with the distinctive challenges facing them with the purpose of enhancing quality; delivering graduates to the world of work; as well as being relevant by being responsive to society and the economic needs of the country in order to adhere to the outcomes of the National Plan for Higher Education (NPHE) (RSA DoE 2001). A thorough literature study involving current and relevant literature on branding and branding practices was undertaken, after which a mainly qualitative research approach was followed. Focus group interviews at two entrepreneurial universities abroad; informal conversation interviews at seven South African higher education institutions; as well as a case study were conducted. Participant observation in the workplace relating to branding and branding practices also took place. The constant comparative method of data analysis was used to capture recurring patterns and themes during the research process. What became evident from the literature was that branding strategies of higher education institutions are generally restricted to informing and visual identity. The results of a survey done in 2004 by UNITECH, a body representing marketing and communication units of universities and former technikons (currently Universities of Technology) in South Africa, was also quite significant for this study. The following deductions regarding marketing and communication practices at South African higher education institutions could be made from this survey: There is a lack of an integrated marketing approach; executive management lacks understanding of branding practices; there is a lack of strategy with regard to marketing and branding; as well as a lack of internal communication. These deductions were consistent with the researcher’s own observations and are also confirmed by the informal conversation interviews held at the seven South African higher education institutions as part of the empirical investigation. The case study to highlight the branding practices of a higher education institution in the central region revealed that the implementation phase focused strongly on external/outward exercises, and that the internalisation aspects of their branding were narrowed to information only. The new visual identity of the institution was emphasised, whilst the internal processes remained the same as always. The aforementioned aspects are an indication that South African higher education institutions need to re-visit their internal practices. A market orientation mindset is of crucial importance for higher education institutions in South Africa to move towards an entrepreneurial mindset. The Universities of Warwick (England) and Twente (the Netherlands) were selected for this study as a result of the astounding successes they have achieved with their entrepreneurial activities. According to the respondents from both universities, the following aspects – among others - are extremely important for their successes: visionary leadership; an integrated entrepreneurial culture; a focus on external as well as internal communication; and relevance. The primary purpose of this study was to develop a model for South African higher education institutions which would ultimately result in brand enhancement of institutions that would be perceived as relevant and society-minded to live up to the challenges of the new and changing landscape in South Africa. The proposed model in this study is based on two overarching fundamentals, namely the experience economy and its relatedness to brand, as well as relevance and branding, which should be an integrated approach that could ultimately lead to successful external branding.