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The study functions as marketing intelligence inputs for the UK Government, the British Council as well as academic marketing planners for constructing their marketing opportunities‐threats audits, it investigates international students’ perception about the UK education and it researches UK performance in the world markets for international education. UK education has been known to be the best in the world. For many years, the UK universities have enjoyed a high reputation and have benefited in accelerating its market penetration worldwide. Unfortunately, this superiority has begun to decline. Other countries are strongly emerging with their quality education. The study shows that UK competitors achieved a remarkable growth of their international students’ enrolment while the UK achieves only a marginal growth with declining market penetration abroad. The findings confirmed the central importance of pricing, product and promotional variables in designing and marketing UK education abroad.

The diffusion process of e‐learning has been, in recent years, at the centre of several studies. These researches focused mainly on the USA case, where there has been an exponential adoption both in the public and private sectors. From this perspective the paper would give a contribution to understand the diffusion process of e‐learning in a specific country and it deals with the following questions: are there relevant consistencies in the rate and the model of adoption of e‐learning solutions in Italian companies? What are the causes of this process? Building on bandwagon theories and institutional literature, the paper analyses the antecedents of the adoption process in Italy, asking whether it is determined by the rational search for economic benefits, or is it driven by the fear of lost legitimacy or strategic advantage under institutional or competitive bandwagon pressures. The paper also looks into the solutions adopted by the Italian firms, studying their e‐learning strategies. To answer the research questions and to test the related propositions, an empirical study has been developed based on a survey, on interviews and document analysis. Since the e‐learning diffusion process in Italy is at an early stage, the research has been undertaken in two sectors, pharmaceutical and banking, where e‐learning has been adopted to a greater extent than in other sectors.

The purpose of this systematic review was to explore the nature of the marketing of higher education (HE) and universities in an international context. The objectives of the review were to: systematically collect, document, scrutinise and critically analyse the current research literature on supply‐side higher education marketing; establish the scope of higher education marketing; identify gaps in the research literature; and make recommendations for further research in this field.

The approach for this study entailed extensive searches of relevant business management and education databases. The intention was to ensure that, as far as possible, all literature in the field was identified – while keeping the focus on literature of greatest pertinence to the research questions.

The paper finds that potential benefits of applying marketing theories and concepts that have been effective in the business world are gradually being recognised by researchers in the field of HE marketing. However, the literature on HE marketing is incoherent, even inchoate, and lacks theoretical models that reflect upon the particular context of HE and the nature of their services.

The research field of HE marketing is still at a relatively pioneer stage with much research still to be carried out both from a problem identification and strategic perspective.

Despite the substantial literature on the marketisation of HE and consumer behaviour, scholarship to provide evidence of the marketing strategies that have been implemented by HE institutions on the supply‐side remains limited, and this is relatively uncharted territory. This paper reviews the literature in the field, focusing on marketing strategies in the rapidly developing HE international market.

The purpose of this paper is to critically explore the implementation of cost accounting systems (CAS) using content analysis. In particular, it aims to examine the impact of Sri Lankan cultural and local characteristics on the adoption of CAS. In particular, it examines the factors that facilitate or hinder the adoption of CAS in Sri Lanka.

Primary data for the research were obtained by interviewing selected respondents from Sri Lanka’s manufacturing and service sectors. They were shortlisted using maximum variation sampling to obtain a representative cross-section of the national population. A total of 16 respondents were interviewed, which resulted in 57 interview paragraphs to be coded. Several theories were used to analyse them, namely, the theory of institutional isomorphism (homogeneity) and the theory of heterogeneity, as well as Clifford Geertz’s cultural theories.

A cross-comparison between the findings and relevant literature indicates the existence of complete institutional isomorphism and partial institutional heterogeneity in Sri Lanka. Heterogeneity exists in organisations such as foreign multinationals, which have adopted unique and sophisticated CAS. In addition, inadequate access to information and the orientation of the local culture has affected the implementation of CAS in Sri Lanka, with a lack of awareness of the importance of CAS, a sluggish approach to costing and cultural values forming prominent barriers to its implementation. These findings are plausible in light of the relationship between a sluggish approach towards costing (a low cost awareness), and local attitudes towards the implementation of more efficient accounting practices such as CAS.

This research is invaluable as a tool for Sri Lankan policymakers and practitioners, enabling the public and private sectors to provide education and training to enhance staff understanding and promote a positive attitude towards costing. With more efficient institutional CAS, the country’s economy will be more competitive internationally. As well as policymakers and practitioners, this research could be used by academicians for advancing theoretical development around the cultural triggers and barriers for adopting more innovative and fresher CAS in Sri Lanka.

The originality of this research can be justified on two counts. Firstly, although a wealth of research exists that examines the influence of culture on behaviour, this research specifically evaluates the impact of cultural factors on attitudes towards costing. These factors could be facilitators or obstructions for implementing CAS. Secondly, this research aims to combine both earlier and recent theories of institutionalism with Clifford Geertz’s cultural theory, to investigate how people and institutions in Sri Lanka adopt CAS. Earlier studies have focused merely on earlier theories of institutional homogeneity.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical model that integrates the different groups of factors which influence the decision‐making process of international students, analysing different dimensions of this process and explaining those factors which determine students' choice.

A hypothetical model is presented which shows the purchase intention as an independent variable dependent on five factors: personal reasons; the effect of country image, influenced by city image; institution image; and the evaluation of the programme of study. The consideration, whether conscious or unconscious on the part of the prospective student, of the different elements making up the factors included in this study will determine the final choice made by that student.

The limitations of this study stem from the nature of the study itself. As a theoretical model, it aims to integrate the factors identified in the existing literature. Thus, future research must try to examine the existing relationships among the aforementioned factors. In particular, it must analyse the weight of each factor on the purchase intention, and the relative importance of each element for the factor it belongs to. Therefore, determining the relative importance of each element and factor would constitute an important source of information for future work in international marketing.

There are few studies which try to tackle the decision‐making process of the prospective international student from an integrated point of view. This paper contributes to bridging that gap.

This paper aims to investigate how professionals such as accountants, auditors, senior civil servants and academics perceive the use of audit sampling strategies adopted by professionals to increase detection rates of frauds and corruption within the public sector in Africa. It also examines the respondents’ perceived values regarding the reasons for committing frauds, types of fraud and corruption, as well as the aspects of audit sampling strategies to tackle frauds.

This research uses non-parametric statistics and logistic regression to analyse the respondents’ opinions regarding the state of frauds and corruption in Africa (particularly in Tunisia and non-Tunisia countries), the common factors behind people committing frauds, including the types of frauds and corruption and the respondents’ opinions on the use of audit sampling strategies (non-random and random) to examine the instances of frauds and corruption.

The findings indicate that most respondents prefer to use non-probabilistic audit sampling rather than more robust sampling strategies such as random sampling and systematic random sampling to detect frauds and corruption. In addition, although there are some minor statistical differences between the countries in terms of the respondents’ perceived values on skimming fraud and on the use of audit random sampling to tackle rampant corruption in Africa, the overall findings indicate that opinions do not significantly differ between the respondents from Tunisia and other countries in terms of the types of fraud, the reasons for committing fraud and the auditing sampling strategies used to investigate the frauds.

This research serves as an analytical exploratory study to instigate further audit sampling research to combat rampant fraud and corruption in the public sector in Africa.

There are few or non-existent studies investigating the application of audit sampling strategies in Africa countries, particularly to examine the application of audit random sampling and audit non-random sampling strategies to detect fraudulent activities and corruption. Correspondingly, this research carries strategic implications for accountants and auditors to successfully detect fraudulent activities and corruption in Africa.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the resistance in management accounting practices (MAPs) in a developing economy in the manufacturing and service sectors in Vietnam.

Data collection was carried out using survey questionnaires in Vietnamese language. The questionnaires were distributed to selected respondents from the manufacturing and service organisations in Vietnam. Textual structuralism was used to analyse different categories of data, i.e. survey questionnaires, photos and qualitative texts obtained from the literature.

The findings indicate that the usage of MAPs is more prevalent in the manufacturing sector than in the service sector. In addition, various traditional and contemporary MAPs are being used concurrently in Vietnam, which challenges the classical twofold dichotomy between mere socialism and mere neoliberalism.

The textual and photographic structuralism is used in this study to analyse primary data (geography and society and time) in a static setting. Hence, it does not analyse the research phenomena in a dynamic equilibrium setting to view the development of the research phenomena over time. Further research could expand data collection to include longitudinal and dynamic settings.

MAPs can be implemented in economic systems ranging from command to capitalist systems. Although most countries in the world follow a mixed economic system, specific MAPs could be designed for a transitional economic system such as that of Vietnam. This affects both theorists and practitioners in Vietnam applying sustainable MAPs to boost a country's competitiveness during transition.

This study expands understanding of the conformity of MAPs in relation to economic systems under the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) – the ruling party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Understanding the differences in the way these MAPs are utilised constitutes an essential area of the accounting discipline to advance MAPs in Vietnamese enterprises and progress theoretical development of sustainable MAPs.

The purpose of this paper is to present a new marketing mix based on MBA students' attitudes and opinions towards the marketing initiatives of business schools in South Africa. The post‐graduate business education market is, and increasingly, getting more aggressive in their efforts to attract students on to their flagship degree, the MBA. The traditional marketing tools historically grouped into 4Ps (product, price, place and promotion), 5Ps (adding people) and 7Ps (adding physical facilities and processes) may be wanting in this market.

The approach taken was a quantitative survey of students registered at state subsidized universities in South Africa.

The factor analysed data showed seven quite distinct underlying factors in the marketing activities of these business schools, some covering the same elements of the traditional marketing mix: people, promotion, and price. There were, however, four different elements: programme, prominence, prospectus, and premiums.

While the survey included only MBA students from a sample drawn in South Africa, the study does highlight the fact that the traditional services marketing mix may not be as useful to the higher education sector as it might have been originally thought.

The development of marketing strategy may be better served by this 7P model rather than the services mix.

This paper presents the underlying factors that form the basis of a new marketing mix specifically for MBA recruitment.

The purpose of this paper is to report the factors that influence Vietnamese students’ choice of university in a little researched context where the effects of globalization and education reform are changing higher education.

A quantitative survey was completed by 1,124 current or recently completed university students in Vietnam. Marketing approaches are drawn upon to inform the exploration and understanding of student choice and decision making.

The factor analysed data showed the nine key factors influencing student decisions, in order of significance, as facilities and services, programme, price, offline information, opinions, online information, ways of communication, programme additions, and advertising. There are significant correlations in the Vietnamese context between the factors of price and facilities, and services and programme, and differences between genders and types of students in choosing a university.

Whilst this paper is a starting point, more research is needed in the Vietnamese context with deeper levels of analysis including the differences between types of universities and fields/disciplines, in addition to wider sampling.

A greater understanding of the Vietnamese context helps to inform marketing practices in a country experiencing increasing competition in higher education.

Findings from studies in other contexts many not be directly transferrable to Vietnamese universities suggesting the need for a contextual understanding of these factors and a suitably nuanced marketing response.

This paper identifies the need for cultural understanding of little researched contexts and calls for further research which does not assume all cultures and contexts will have the same underlying Vietnamese model of university choice.

Globalisation of higher education (HE) is becoming increasingly significant with institutions in Europe, America and Australasia looking for new opportunities to engage with students from Asia and Africa, either by delivering in their own countries or by attracting them to study in the institution’s home country. Business and Management Studies are in increasing demand in emerging economies, and are often used as a higher education institution’s route into engagement in new markets. This paper uses case study methodology to provide four comparative cases; these show how one institution used technology enhanced learning to offer its business curriculum in a variety of contexts to different groups of students. The cases highlight two examples which use a technology enhanced approach, with faculty travelling to the student’s home institution to deliver in block‐mode supported with online material or with students travelling to the UK for weekend blocks, again supplemented online. The other two case study examples are primarily online. The cases indicate that a technology enhanced approach has been successful in terms of the students’ experiences of “British” education in a non‐traditional context. An “online only” approach has proved less successful in engaging students from different cultural backgrounds in a “British” educational experience.