Internal Image of Czech Tertiary Business Schools and Its Influence on The Interest of New Applicants for Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7160/eriesj.2024.170102Keywords:
recommendation, satisfaction, higher education, WOMAbstract
Attracting prospective students could be difficult and expensive. Candidates, when choosing a future school for their studies, consider a great number of factors. Information from official university websites don´t suffice to persuade. Among others, the word of mouth plays a significant role. The aim of this paper is to present findings about important factors influencing the overall satisfaction of current students with university life as well as their willingness to share positive references. The study took place in the Czech Republic with students attending business schools at universities. Primary data was collected via online questionnaire with students of bachelor’s master’s, and doctor degrees (n = 274) and in-depth interviews (n = 10). Data was processed with regression analysis and Spearman’s correlation coefficient. The main findings suggest that there is a close positive correlation between students’ satisfaction and the willingness to recommend the university. The quality of student life and the reputation of the school were identified as the most important factors influencing this satisfaction and willingness to recommend.
References
Agrey, L. and Lampadan, N. (2014) ‘Determinant factors contributing to student choice in selecting a university’, Journal of Education and Human Development, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 391- 404.
Alexopoulos, E., C. (2010) ‘Introduction to Multivariate Regression Analysis’, Hippokratia, Vol. 14, pp. 23-8.
Alhaddad, A. (2015) ‘A structural model of the relationships between brand image, brand trust and brand loyalty’, International Journal of Management Research & Review, Vol. 5, pp. 137-144.
Anwar, A. and Jalees T. (2020) ‘Brand Orientation and WOM: Mediating Roles of Brand Love’, Journal of Management Sciences, Vol 7, No. 1, pp. 14-30. https://doi.org/10.20547/jms.2014.2007102
Avenarius, H. (1993) ‘Introduction: Image and Public Relations Practice’, Journal of Public Relations Research, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 65-70. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532754xjprr0502_01
Barreda, A. A., Bilgihan, A., and Kageyama, Y. (2015) ‘The Role of Trust in Creating Positive Word of Mouth and Behavioral Intentions: The Case of Online Social Networks.’ Journal of Relationship Marketing, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 16-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332667.2015.1006002
Berková K., Frendlovská D., Pospíšil Závodný J., Vojáčková H., Kolářová D. (2020) ‘Education towards Entrepreneurial Careers in a Czech College: An Empirical Study’, Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.7160/eriesj.2020.130101
Bhattacharya, C., and Sen, S. (2003) ‘Consumer-company identification: A framework for Understanding consumers’ relationships with companies’, Journal of Marketing, Vol 67, No. 2, pp. 76-88. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.67.2.76.18609
Borraz-Mora, J., Hernandez-Ortega, B. and Melguizo-Garde M. (2020) ‘The Influence of Generic-Academic Competences on Satisfaction and Loyalty: The View of Two Key Actors in Higher Education’, Journal of Higher Education Policy, Vol. 42, No. 5, pp. 563-578. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2019.1689802
Brakus, J. J., Schmitt, B. H., and Zarantonello, L. (2009) ‘Brand experience: What is it? How is it measured? Does it Affect Loyalty?’, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 73, No. 3, pp. 52-68. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.73.3.052
Caffee, A. (2017) ‘College admissions report’. https://articles.niche.com/the-classof-2017-goes-to-college/
CZSO (2020a) Czech Statistical Office | Students and graduates of universities and colleges in the Czech Republic: An analysis, [Online], Available: https://www.czso.cz/csu/czso/vzdelavani-analyzy-komentare [4 November 2020].
CZSO (2020b) Czech Statistical Office | Use of information and communication technologies in households and among individuals, [Online], Available: https://www.czso.cz/csu/czso/5-pouzivani-mobilniho-telefonu-a-internetu-na-mobilnim-telefonu [8 April 2021].
Dass, S., Popli, S., Sarkar, A., Sarkar, J. G. and Vinay M. (2021) ‘Empirically examining the psychological mechanism of a loved and trusted business school brand’, Journal of marketing for higher education, Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 23-40. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2020.1742846
Dearden, J. A., Grewal, R. and Lilien, G. L. (2019) ‘Strategic Manipulation of University Rankings, the Prestige Effect, and Student University Choice’, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 56, No. 4, pp. 691-707. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022243719831258
Depoo, L., Urbancová, H. and Smolová, H. (2022) ‘Factors of Quality Assessment in Higher Education and Its Impact on Business Students’ Development and Interest in University Education’, Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 63-71. https://doi.org/10.7160/eriesj.2022.150201
Dirin, A., Niemunen, M. and Alamäki, A. (2021) ‘Social Media and Social Bonding in Students’ Decision-Making Regarding Their Study Path’, International journal of information and communication technology education, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp 88-104. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJICTE.2021010106
Drewes, T. and Michael, Ch. (2006) ‘How do students choose a university?: an analysis of applications to universities in Ontario, Canada’, Research in Higher Education, Vol. 47, No. 7, pp. 781-800. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-006-9015-6
Dülek, B. and Saydan, R. (2019) ‘The Impact Of Social Media Advertisement Awareness On Brand Awareness, Brand Image, Brand Attitude And Brand Loyalty: A Research On University Students’, International Journal of Contemporary Economics, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 470-494. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3596116
Eldegwy, A., Elsharnouby, T. H., and Kortam, W. (2018) ‘How sociable is your university brand? An empirical investigation of university social augmenters’ brand equity’, International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 32, No. 5, pp. 912-930. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-12-2017-0346
Erjansola, A. M., Lipponen, J., Vehkalahti, K., Aula, H. M., and Pirttilä-Backman, A. M. (2021) ‘From the brand logo to brand associations and the corporate identity: Visual and identity-based logo associations in a university merger’, Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 241-253. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-020-00223-5
Fajčíková A., Fejfarová M. (2019) ‘Evaluation of the Quality of Teaching from the Perspective of University Students’, Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 34-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.7160/eriesj.2019.120201
Gamoga, K. and Ambang, T. (2020) ‘Factors influencing decision making on the choice of higher education institutions by prospective students: The experiences of students at Divine Word University in Papua New Guinea’, Contemporary PNG Studies, Vol. 33, pp. 16-29.
García y García B. E. (2021) ‘To What Factors do University Students Attribute Their Academic Success?’, Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, Vol.14, No. 1, pp. 1-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.7160/eriesj.2021.140101
Ghosh, A. K., Whipple, T. W. and Bryan, G. A. (2001) ‘Student trust and its antecedents in higher education’, The Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 72, No. 3, pp. 322-340. https://doi.org/10.2307/2649334
Gross, H. P., Ingerfurth, S., Willems, J. (2021) ‘Employees as reputation advocates: Dimensions of employee job satisfaction explaining employees’ recommendation intention’, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 134, pp. 405-413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.05.021
Haikel-Elsabeh, M., Zhao, Z., Ivens, B. and Brem, A. (2019) ‘When is brand content shared on Facebook? a field study on online Word-of-Mouth’, International Journal of Market Research, Vol. 61, No. 3, pp. 287-301. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470785318805301
He, J., Liu, H. and Xiong, H. (2016) ‘SocoTraveler: Travel-package recommendations leveraging social influence of different relationship types’, Information and Management, Vol. 53, No. 8, pp. 934-950. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2016.04.003
Hejlová, D. (2015) Public relations, Praha: Grada Publishing.
Hoppe, D. (2018) ‘Linking employer branding and internal branding: establishing perceived employer brand image as an antecedent of favourable employee brand attitudes and behaviours’, Journal of product, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 452-467. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-12-2016-1374
Huang, L.,Wang, M., Chen, Z., Deng, B. and Huang, W. (2020) ‘Brand image and customer loyalty: Transmitting roles of cognitive and affective brand trust’, Social Behavior, Vol. 48, No. 5, pp. 1-12. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.9069
Jalkala, A. and Terho, H. (2014) ‘Customer Reference Marketing: Conceptualization and Link to Performance’, AMA Winter Educators’ Conference Proceedings, Nashville.
Joseph, M., Mullen, E. W. and Spake, D. (2012) ‘University branding: Understanding student’s choice of an educational institution’, Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2012.13
Judson, K. M., Gorchels, L. and Aurand, T. W. (2006) ‘Building a university brand from within: A comparison of coaches’ perspectives of internal branding’, Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Vol. 16. No. 1, pp. 97-114. https://doi.org/10.1300/j050v16n01_05
Khuong, M. and Linh, U. (2020) ‘Influence of work-related stress on employee motivation, job satisfaction and employee loyalty in hospitality industry’, Management Science Letters, Vol. 10, No. 14, pp. 3279-3290. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.msl.2020.6.010
Kinzie, J., Palmer, M., Hayek, J., Hossler, D., Jacob, S. A. and Cummings, H. (2004) ‘Fifty years of college choice: Social, political and institutional influences on the decision-making process’, Lumina Foundation for Education.Vol. 5, No. 3.
Kotler, P. (2007) Moderní marketing, 4th edition, Praha: Grada.
Leonnard (2019) ‘Exploring the Relationship among E-service Quality, E-trust, E-satisfaction and Loyalty at Higher Education Institutions’, Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 103-110. https://doi.org/10.7160/eriesj.2019.120401
Mehta, S., Singh, T., Bhakar, S. and Sinha, B., (2010) ‘Employee loyalty towards organization—a study of academician’, International Journal of Business Management and Economic Research, Vol. 1. No. 1, pp. 98-108.
Misran, N., Aziz, N.A., Arsad, N., Hussain, H., Zaki, W.M.D.W. and Sahuri, S.N.S. (2012) ‘Influencing factors for matriculation students in selecting university and program of study’, Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 60, pp. 567-574.
Murray, Keith B. (1991) ‘A test of services marketing theory: consumer information acquisition activities’, Journal of marketing, Vol. 55, No. 1, pp. 10-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299105500102
Nguyen, B., Yu, X., Melewar, T. and Hemsley-Brown, J. (2016) ‘Brand ambidexterity and commitment in higher education: An exploratory study’, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 69, No. 8, pp. 3105-3112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.01.026
Novotny, J. and Duspiva, P. (2014) ‘Factors Influencing Consumers’ Buying Behavior and Their Importance for Enterprises. With English summary’, E +M Ekonomie a Management, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 152-166.
Park, C. W., Eisingerich, A. B., Pol, G. and Park, J. W. (2013) ‘The role of brand logos in firm performance’, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 66, No. 2, pp. 180-187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2012.07.011
Phua, J., Jin, S. V. and Kim, J. (2017) ‘Uses and gratifications of social networking sites for bridging and bonding social capital: A comparison of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat’, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 72, pp. 115-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.02.041
Sadeghvaziri, F., Gomar, O., Azimi, M., Shoja, A. and Mozafari, A. (2022) ‘Brand Logo Benefit: Is There any Evidence of its Impact in the Higher Education Sector?’, Iranian Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 305-320. https://doi.org/10.22059/ijms.2021.308166.674175
Safari I., Davaribina M., Khoshnevis I. (2020) ‘The Influence of EFL Teachers’ Self-Efficacy, Job Satisfaction and Reflective Thinking on their Professional Development: A Structural Equation Modeling’, Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 27-40. https://doi.org/10.7160/eriesj.2020.130103
Sarkar, A., & Sarkar, J. G. (2016) ‘Devoted to you my love: Brand devotion amongst young consumers in emerging Indian market’, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 180-197. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-06-2015-0095
Sernovitz, A. (2009) Word of mouth marketing, New York: Kaplan Publishing.
Shen, H. and Sengupta, J. (2018) ‘Word of Mouth versus Word of Mouse: Speaking about a Brand Connects You to It More Than Writing Does’, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 595-614. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucy011
Shields, A. B. and Peruta, A. (2019) ‘Social media and the university decision. Do prospective students really care?’, Journal of marketing for higher education, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 67-83. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2018.1557778
Schlesinger, W., Cerveta-Taulet, A. and Wymer, W. (2021) ‘The influence of university brand image, satisfaction, and university identification on alumni WOM intentions’, Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2021.1874588
Siering, M., Deokar, A. V. and Janze, Ch. (2018) ‘Disentangling consumer recommendations: Explaining and predicting airline recommendations based on online reviews’, Decision Support Systems, Vol. 107, pp. 52-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2018.01.002
Sujchaphong, N., Nguyen, B., Melewar, T. C., Sujchaphong, P. and Chen, J. (2020) ‘A framework of brand-centred training and development activities, transformational leadership and employee brand support in higher education’, Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 143-159. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-019-00171-9
THE (2021) The Times Higher Education World University Rankings | World University Rankings 2021 [Online], Available: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2021/world-ranking [17 July 2021].
USNWR (2021) U.S. News & World Report [Online], Available: https://www.usnews.com/ [17 July 2021].
Wood, L. (2004) ‘Dimensions of brand purchasing behaviour: Consumers in the 18-24 age group’, Journal of Consumer Behaviour: An International Research Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 9-24. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.154
Wu, X., Chen, H. X. and Li, X. (2019) ‘The Moderation Effect of Social Factors on Marketing Factors in Consumer Research’, Transnational Corporations Review, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 157-165. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19186444.2019.1603778
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Jana Pavelková, Jana Turčínková, Jakub Šácha
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors declare with this manuscript intended for publication to ERIES Journal that:
- all co-authors agree with the publication of the manuscript even after amendments arising from peer review;
- all co-authors agree with the posting of the full text of this work on the web page of ERIES Journal and to the inclusion of references in databases accessible on the internet;
- no results of other researchers were used in the submitted manuscript without their consent, proper citation, or acknowledgement of their cooperation or material provided;
- the results (or any part of them) used in the manuscript have not been sent for publication to any other journal nor have they already been published (or if so, that the relevant works are cited in this manuscript);
- submission of the manuscript for publication was completed in accordance with the publishing regulations pertaining to place of work;
- experiments performed comply with current laws and written consent of the Scientific Ethics Committee / National Animal Care Authority (as is mentioned in the manuscript submitted);
- grant holders confirm that they have been informed of the submitted manuscript and they agree to its publication.
Authors retain copyright and grant ERIES Journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the published work with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in ERIES Journal. Moreover, authors are able to post the published work in an institutional repository with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in ERIES Journal. In addition, authors are permitted and encouraged to post the published work online (e.g. institutional repositories or on their website) as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
