Increased competition for top students, reduced public funding, and comparative "shopping" by prospective students have resulted in universities taking a more market-oriented approach to improve student enrolment (Moore 2004). The outcomes of this market-oriented approach of universities are: First, students are increasingly seen as customers of knowledge by universities, and universities as suppliers of knowledge to these customers (Svensson & Wood ,2007). Second, students are being faced with an array of education choices and information (passively or actively gained). As with physical product consumption, the institution brand with its underlying appeals can function as a route map for students through this bewildering variety of choices/information.
Despite the plethora of studies on education purchase, the impact of brands on students' choice of international tertiary education provider has not been fully explored. This is especially so within the context of brand image and brand trust. The purchase of an international tertiary education can be a risky (uncertain) venture because of the time and cost involved. Consumer's trust in a brand contributes to a reduction of uncertainty in consumer purchases (Garbarino & Mark 1999). However, the concept of brand trust is not explored in education. While the research on brand image within the context of education is not new, its definition and measurement varied or seldom explore in relation to country-of-origin, promotion channel and individual values in student's choice decisions. This thesis aims to address these research gaps. It explores the impact of two psychological associations with brand: brand image and brand trust (in relation to individual values, country of origin and promotion channel) on Chinese students' choice of international tertiary education provider, using the Bednall and Kanuk's (1997) decision-making model as the research's underlying framework.
Since no existing measures or scales related to brand image and brand trust suitable for use in this thesis were identified from the literature, a two-stage research method to collect both qualitative (in-depth interviews) and quantitative data was used to develop measures for this thesis. The adopted research design is consistent with Anderson Churchill (1979) and Gerbing's (1988) guideline for scale development.
Information gathered from 36 in-depth interviews, 416 pilot surveys in Singapore and Malaysia, and 287 surveys (post enrolment data) in New Zealand revealed that choice patterns for international tertiary education providers are focused on: i) A university's brand image, as reflected in the brand positioning messages of an institution competencies, course related issues, and brand identity (university values and missions statement); ii) Brand trust as reflected by the expressed opinion of friends and family members and students' positive experiences with university staff; iii) The social political image of a university's country of origin; iv) The perceived direct barriers to tertiary education (English language proficiency and course admission requirements); and v) High Context communications through education fairs, corporate sponsorships of scholarships/bursaries and international student exchange programs.
In addition, a customer-centric approach to the student-university relationship helped improve the identity and brand image of a university. The presence of senior academic staff (professor level) at education fairs; good accessibility of academic staff on campus; having knowledgeable and culturally sensitive frontline staff (reception & marketing personnel); and small, customised tutorial classes would identify the university as customer-centric and contribute to a positive university life experience. These help projected an image that the university is concerned with their students' learning outcomes. Not only will positive university life experiences lead to improved learning outcomes for students, it helps strengthen future alumni-university relationships, resulting in alumni being willing to promote their alma mater to their children, friends and colleagues. This free publicity can help enhance the brand image and brand trust in a university, differentiating it from other universities.
This thesis verified the findings of McMahon (1992) that superior economic development in the destination country is not an important 'pull' factor in student mobility. It complimented the findings of Gray, Fam and Llanes (2003) by showing the importance of customised strategy in international education offerings and illustrated the link between brand image and country image (socio-political) in the purchases of educational services, evidence that was absent in the study by Zhou, Lawley and Perry (2000).
While pre-enrolment data from the in-depth interview and pilot survey indicated that Singapore and Malaysian Chinese students are value bound in their decision of New Zealand as their intended study destination, there is no evidence from the main survey (post-enrolment) that individual values had an influence on their choice decision. The in-depth interview indicated that Singapore and Malaysian Chinese students found New Zealand society appealing because of its low corruption and high level of honesty and fairness because these values help to reinforce group harmony, a prominent characteristic of Chinese society. Further research is recommended in this area. Overall, this thesis will contribute to the body of knowledge in students' decision-making and university branding.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/244842 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Chung, Kim-Choy, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Otago. Department of Marketing |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://policy01.otago.ac.nz/policies/FMPro?-db=policies.fm&-format=viewpolicy.html&-lay=viewpolicy&-sortfield=Title&Type=Academic&-recid=33025&-find), Copyright Kim-Choy Chung |
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