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A theoretical framework-International Postgraduate Business School Students' identification with a newly-established business school's corporate brand
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This study scrutinizes how places meaningfully burnish corporate brand attractiveness and identification. To date, extant research adopts a mono-lateral, rather than multilateral perspective. Marshalling the corporate brand identification theoretical perspective, the findings make a theoretical advance by explicating how a nascent corporate brand c...
Context in source publication
Citations
... For instance, a study of Indian business schools established that strong brand equity was created with the help of intangible aspects such as innovation, social impact and global presence in addition to functional attributes such as the quality of the degree (Sharma et al., 2013). Among the brand experience of universities in the United Kingdom, place was marketed for its internationalism although the relationship with brand differentiation could not be established (Winter and Thompson-Whiteside, 2017;Balmer et al., 2019). A different set of studies among Jesuit universities in the United States and 77 universities in the United Kingdom argued that value or mission statements represented shared values of the focal brand instilling brand loyalty and opening the possibility of brand differentiation (Elwick, 2020;Ruschman, 2020). ...
Purpose - The objective of the research is to evaluate the experiential branding practices of a higher education institution (HEI) in India against student perceptions.
Design/methodology/approach - Using a mixed-method approach for data collection, a range of relevant attributes of the experiential brand identity of the HEI was constructed. A quantitative technique called conjoint analysis was then used to understand the student-evaluated brand experience from the average relative importance of attributes and average part-worth utilities.
Findings - The study concluded that among the brand attributes of the HEI, course delivery had the highest relative importance among students, whereas price had the maximum elasticity.
Originality - The study is novel and innovative in the Indian context where relatively little attention has been paid to the assessment of experiential brand identity in higher education. The research takes the first step in deconstructing the experiential brand architecture into relevant attributes and assessing their impact on student preferences.
Practical implications - This study demonstrates how a differentiated brand identity of an HEI can be built using student perceptions. HEIs can use this model to strategize brand expansion by forming meaningful external partnerships to fulfill this objective.
... By contrast, short-term tasks are becoming increasingly popular because they are less costly and less disruptive to families and careers (Iskhakova & Bradly, 2021). Student consumers have come to attach considerable value to the meaning and quality of their higher education experiences and expect their service providers to meet these expectations (Balmer et al., 2020). Given such changes in student expectations, HEIs need to improve their products, services, and brand images through international marketing activities and increased student satisfaction (Behnke et al., 2014;Gardiner & Kwek, 2017). ...
This study aimed to synthesize fragmented knowledge about international student mobility (ISM) in higher education to provide an understanding of existing studies and directions for future research. To this end, the authors conducted a systematic literature review using a hybrid approach that integrated bibliometric analysis with the theory, context, and method (TCM) framework (Paul et al., 2017). Applying bibliometric analysis, this study found publication trends, prolific journals, influential articles, and major themes in the field, whereas the TCM framework helped identify widely used theories (motivation theory, immigration theory, acculturation theory, learning theory, and capital theory), research contexts (destination country or region, population, and others), and methods in research and provided future study directions. The identified gaps in the existing literature suggest that future research should develop theoretical foundations and research designs to analyze new processes, patterns, and issues in ISM in higher education within the context of today's changing international environment. In addition to identifying the key research themes and research foundations of ISM in higher education, this review can help add value to the ISM literature from a marketing perspective. This is the first comprehensive literature review of this topic using a hybrid approach.
... Market segmentation (Smith, 1956), differentiation (Porter, 1985), and Other theories Game theory 1 Ashton and Wagman (2015) Value co-creation 1 Fleischman et al. (2015) Note: The number of articles (#) amounts to more than the total reviewed articles because some of the articles draw on multiple theoretical approaches. (Priporas & Kamenidou, 2011), corporate brand relatedness with places (Balmer et al., 2020), and positioning and co-creating the brand by engaging with student virtual brand communities (Gai et al., 2016). Manzoor et al. (2020), refer to the multiple dimensions of HEI image (Alcaide-pulido et al., 2017) to estimate its impact on the citizenship behaviour of the student. ...
Even though numerous studies provide information on marketing education to international students, research that reviews the accrued knowledge holistically remains elusive. Accordingly, the main purpose of this study is to (1) systematically synthesize, compile and understand the existing line of empirical research on the topic of marketing education to international students and (2) outline a comprehensive future research agenda to help further advance this field. This study adopts the theory‐context‐characteristics‐methodology (TCCM) framework proposed by Paul & Rosado‐Serrano (2019) to systematically review 52 articles published in A*, A and B category journals from the ABDC Journal Quality List. This systematic review reveals that the existing studies mostly focus on consumer‐specific theories and detects a need for more macro‐market, and industry‐related theoretical perspectives (theory); it also identifies research gaps related to international student host and home country settings (context), and the application of competition‐related variables for the main relationships in this field (characteristics). Finally, the author proposes several methodological best practices (methodology) to advance findings in this field. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... In the classical sense, branding of places is about communicating carefully selected physical, utilitarian, and emotional attributes that translate into meaning for the target audience (Hankinson, 2010). Balmer et al. (2020) suggest that nascent corporate brands can be enhanced through positive associations with places. According to Kavaratzis and Hatch (2021, p. 10): ...
The corporate brand relates to multiple stakeholders and is represented by the covenant or brand promise to its stakeholders. The process of corporate branding is aimed at building the desired image and reputation. There are three concepts that are at the core of the corporate brand: brand identity, brand values, and brand positioning. The outcomes of corporate branding are the establishment of differentiation among the organisation’s rivals, providing credibility and trust among its stakeholders, and helping to develop a good image and reputation for the organisation. The purpose of the corporate brand is to ensure a sustainable competitive advantage. The characteristics of corporate brands is discussed. There must be alignment of three interdependent elements: vision, culture, and image; brands should be authentic to enable the organisation to put their values at the core of their actions, develop good brand experiences for stakeholders and, where possible, use their brand heritage to build their identity. In the future there will be stakeholder co-creation, increased ethical compliance, and sustainability in decision making. The traditional perspective on ethics and corporate social responsibility is currently being challenged and there is a move towards a more conscientious approach to management.
... Student choice is a well-studied topic and the literature focuses on the major national educational exporters; US, UK and Australia (e.g. Agarwal & Somaini, 2018;Balmer et al., 2019;Bennett, 2004;Kopanidis et al., 2008;Montgomery, 2002;Schleef, 2000;Singh & Srivastava, 2018). The literature identifies the determinants of school choice which include the programmes themselves, the variety of these programmes, course fees, financial aids, employment opportunities after graduation, facilities, teaching quality, academic reputation, size and quality of faculty, location and living costs. ...
Business School students in the UK place a high value on the research in their school as it enhances both the reputation of their institution and the quality of the teaching that they experience. However, research leaders in Business Schools severely underestimate the value that they believe their undergraduate students in particular place on their research. This mismatch creates a gap that of opportunity to enhance both research profiles and student experiences. In an increasingly competitive higher education sector, understanding the potential applicant is critical. University and Business School or Faculty of Business and Management rankings are widely referenced globally. Measures of research excellence are key to such rankings. This study investigates a disparity between what students seek and what UK Business School Research Leaders believe interests them. The research is based on a quantitative survey of over one thousand undergraduate and postgraduate UK Business School students and on semi-structured qualitative interviews with UK Business School Research Leaders. The indications are that such Research Leaders might have been misunderstanding what students are looking for, especially at undergraduate levels. This may, in part, be due to the limited information about student choices that they receive from their institutions and their lack of involvement in centralised efforts to promote their Business Schools’ research reputation. The study confirms that an enhanced research reputation positively influences Business School choice at all student levels, including undergraduates, and that there is also a demand for research to play an even greater role in taught degree programmes.
... b From using a single method of data collection to using triangulation method for data collection (Balmer et al., 2019). ...
In the current era, higher education institutes are making huge investments to attract students and thereby to achieve a favourable perception from the market. The present study aims to review the trend of branding in higher education over the last ten years. This will help researchers to identify the main research gaps in the branding of higher educational institutes. This paper appends historical literature review and commentary. For the fulfilment of the objective, researchers have identified and analysed 61 relevant research articles of the said theme. This study concentrating on the articles publicised in the selected journals, under no circumstances this exploration is exhaustive, its impact will be limited to the scrutiny of the work, and the evolution of branding for higher education concepts, as recorded in those journals. Lastly, it will provide discussions and suggestions for the direction of future research on the branding of higher education institutes.
... Figure 1 provides our conceptual framework. Building on prior higher education literature, service quality, and brand theories (Arrivabene et al., 2019;Balmer et al., 2020;Casidy, 2013Casidy, , 2014Sengupta et al., 2015), the service quality framework highlights how college antecedents (overall service quality and brand reputation of the college) influence college outcomes (student intention to stay and NWOM) via academic factors (student satisfaction and stress). Specifically, we argue that college antecedents will have a positive association with academic satisfaction and a negative association with stress. ...
... In addition, based on an ad-hoc model we uncovered two new, significant relationships. The results not only support previous findings of service and brand factors such as in Arrivabene et al. (2019), Balmer et al. (2020), Casidy (2013Casidy ( , 2014, and Sengupta et al. (2015) but also extend the literature with new insights discovered during the pandemic. ...
The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively impacted university students’ mental well-being and, ultimately, their ability to enroll in classes and complete their degrees. Building on the service quality framework, this research aims to address factors that may help universities increase student satisfaction and retention, and reduce student stress and negative word-of-mouth (NWOM). The results from 393 undergraduate students show that service quality and brand reputation positively impact academic satisfaction but negatively impact academic stress. Satisfaction increases students’ intention-to-stay (retention) while it reduces NWOM. Stress reduces satisfaction and students’ intention-to-stay. Results confirm that the Covid-19 pandemic increased academic stress among college students.
... To simply put, according to the self-categorisation theory, within the individual's self-concept, there are two identity types, which are personal identity and social identity (He and Mukherjee, 2009). Therefore, this theory articulates that when an individual define himself within the personal identity, for example "consumer-company identification", according to Balmer et al. (2020), it brings the social identification along with the personal identity, which can be "corporate-brand identification" (p.629). ...
Having a meaningful connotation with the longevity of the existence, the concept of heritage is being considered as a key element for international organisations to sustain the competitive advantage. The ample research on heritage made an enquiry to the domain of the research essential. Based on ISI Web of Knowledge, this paper evaluates the knowledge structure of corporate and brand heritage by reviewing 78 relevant articles with 941 citations in 50 journals from the business and management domain, between January 2006 and November 2019. By adopting co-citation analysis and multidimensional scaling, we identified five research groups. Co-occurrence network and algorithmic historiography were also utilised to identify the key themes, emerging and evolution of the seminal works. Based on the recent highly cited, a future model was proposed for researchers as well as international marketers that can provide insights on the evolving topics and trend areas within the research domain.
... Brand identification is informed by social identity/selfcategorization theory (Tajfel, 1978;Tajfel & Turner, 1985;Turner, 1987), and this theory provides the foundations for an understanding of brand identification (Balmer et al., 2020a;Balmer & Liao, 2007;De Roeck, Maon, & Lejeune, 2013;Tuškej et al., 2013). Identification represents a psychological and emotional sense of oneness and belonginesswith an organization (Ashforth & Mael, 1989;Cornilissen et al., 2007;Smidts, Pruyn, & Van Riel, 2001). ...
Considers the significance of corporate identity, internal corporate brand/identity images, and corporate brand identification for corporate brand orientation. Three propositions based on the above are formulated. By highlighting the importance of these concepts, scholars are more fully able to comprehend the importance and connectedness between the concepts. The same is true for senior managers who have responsibility for managing and nurturing meaningful corporate brand orientated organizations. They also need to be cognizant of these dimensions and regularly appraise them.
... For example, Elbedweihy et al. (2016) and So et al. (2017) show that when consumers find the brand attractive, they are more likely to define their identity with it. Other studies also suggest that customer perceptions of attractiveness can increase customer identification (Ahearne et al., 2005;Balmer et al., 2020;Marin and De Maya, 2013). Therefore, we further suppose in the tourism field that as follows: ...
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the impact of memorable destination experience and destination attractiveness on tourist-destination identification and destination love. It also investigates the moderating role of gender.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the cluster sampling method, the study selected cities of a developing country with the most popular destinations. A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from a sample of foreign and domestic tourists. To test the research model, a covariance-based structural equation modelling approach was adopted.
Findings
According to the results, destination attractiveness and memorable experience had a positive effect on tourist-destination identification. Similarly, tourist-destination identification positively influenced destination love. In addition, destination love impacts the intention to revisit and word-of-mouth. Finally, the results indicate that gender moderates some of these relationships.
Originality/value
Understanding what items can create strong bonds between destination and tourist is of great importance. By providing a validated conceptual model that traces the relationship between memorable experience, destination attractiveness and tourist-destination identification through cognitive, affective and evaluative dimensions, this study attempts to answer prior calls for examination from the viewpoint of tourism scholars.
