Search results

The purpose of this paper is to integrate service marketing and higher education (HE) literature to develop and test a model that links customer participation behaviour with student overall satisfaction that stems from satisfaction with service augmentation elements. It also examines the influence of brand choice attainment on both satisfaction and participation behaviour.

Drawing on an empirical survey of 238 international students in UK universities, the model was tested using structural equation modelling.

The findings reveal that not all service augmenters are equally important in creating student satisfaction. Campus life and maintenance augmenters are found to be the crucial elements in generating satisfaction for international students. The results also suggest that satisfied students are more likely to participate actively in co-producing the university services compared to dissatisfied students. The effect of brand choice attainment on participation behaviour is mediated by satisfaction.

University administrations might need to prioritize their efforts to put more emphasis on some elements especially crucial for international students and could embellish or deplete the core of education services. The study provides a fresh perspective on segmenting international students based on their brand choice attainment. A superior university experience should be created, particularly for those who did not get into their preferred university, to overcome the disappointment of not studying at the preferred university.

By synthesizing diverse concepts from research on services marketing, branding and HE, this paper contributes theoretically by extending the research on customer participation behaviour into the HE domain. It attempts to address a clear gap between how service literature and HE literature look at “service experience”. The study captures some missing aspects of the “service” in the HE sector (e.g. augmentation aspects). The study also takes the HE literature one step further by identifying the role of brand choice attainment in both satisfaction and students’ participation behaviour.

The purpose of this study is to focus on the feeling associated with being rejected by the preferred service brand, and its effect on consumer assessment of the alternate brand.

The data were collected using a self‐administered questionnaire in the context of higher education services targeted at the international market.

Consumers who do manage to get their preferred service brand tend to be more satisfied with the features of the obtained brand and exhibit higher levels of brand loyalty towards that brand. In comparison, consumers who end up with a service brand that is not their first choice seem to have lower levels of satisfaction with and loyalty towards the obtained brand.

A key limitation of this study is the sampling frame. Future studies should replicate this study in different service and product contexts and with different target population. In addition, the disconfirmation of expectations or desires within the framework of preferred brand attainment should be explored.

Managers should ensure that one's service brand is high in the consideration set. This has implications for service branding and brand positioning as well as fulfilling service brand promise through services elements. It also has implications pertaining to winning over new customers and retaining through superior service delivery – particularly the service augmentation elements, and the selection and training of service delivery personnel.

This study provides answers to a crucial question – “Can the number two brand ever achieve a prominent position or is it doomed to remain in the second place waiting to be picked only when consumers do not get their first choice?”

This paper aims to propose a conceptual framework to bridge the gap between the dimensions of brand equity (brand awareness, brand association and perceived quality) and the purchase intention of transnational higher education.

The paper revisits and critically reviews the concepts of marketing in higher education, brand equity, and self-congruity as well as related past studies.

Several past empirical studies concluded that the dimensions of brand equity have been unable to significantly influence purchase intention. The review and synthesis of the literature have supported the feasibility of self-congruity to mediate the relationship, thus closing the gap. This study has been able to extend the self-congruity concept into external and internal self-congruity to fit the context of this study which is transnational higher education choice.

Focusing on a developing market of Indonesia, it is anticipated that the proposed model will assist the future research in branding of transnational higher education. It was hypothesized that educational brands that are congruent with prospective students' self-image both externally (from the perception by the reference group) and internally (from the perception by themselves) will be more likely to yield positive purchase intention. As a result, this study adds to the current body of knowledge in the field of transnational higher education choice which was found to be lacking.

The purpose of this paper is to integrate branding and higher education literature to conceptualize, develop, and empirically examine a model of university social augmenters’ brand equity.

Drawing on an empirical survey of 401 undergraduate students enrolled in private universities in Egypt, this study model was tested using structural equation modeling.

The findings reveal that university social augmenters’ reputation, coach-to-student interactions, and student-to-student interactions influence students’ satisfaction with social augmenters. The results also suggest that students satisfied with university social augmenters are more likely to exhibit outcomes of brand equity – namely, brand identification, willingness to recommend, and willingness to incur an additional premium cost.

The results offer managerial implications for university administrators in their quest to enrich students’ university experiences and build strong sub-brands within the university setting. University social augmenters are found to have strong brand equity manifestations and may hold the potential to differentiate university brands in an industry dominated by experience and credence.

This research contributes to the extant literature by filling two gaps in university branding literature. First, previous research has never unified separate streams of literature related to augmented services and brand equity. Second, limited conceptual and empirical research on university branding in general and university social augmentation in particular has been conducted in emerging markets, which has resulted in conceptual ambiguity for the key factors constructing students’ university social experiences.

Many newly established Internet loss-making enterprises (NEILEs) are always willing to expand overseas within a very short time from their establishment. This phenomenon is becoming a hot research area. This paper aims to explore why these enterprises are always willing to expand overseas rapidly even if they are facing severe and persistent losses, and to study the different rapid internationalization modes and the international market entry ways for NEILEs.

This paper constructs a theoretical framework with the dual situation of negative attainment discrepancy and advantageous slack resources to explain the rapid internationalization of NEILEs. Furthermore, cross-case comparative analysis method, based on interviews, questionnaires and secondary data collection, is adopted to reveal the rapid internationalization modes and the international market entry ways of such enterprises.

Whether blocking competitors or seeking opportunities or both, NEILEs' goal of rapid internationalization depends on the severity and persistence of negative attainment discrepancy. When the severity and persistence of negative attainment discrepancy are very significant, moderate and mild, NEILEs choose sniper-type, opportunity-type and dual-type internationalization target mode in turn; it is very important for NEILEs to match advantageous slack resources and international market entry ways to achieve specific internationalization goals.

This paper enriches the understanding of NEILEs' transnational entrepreneurial behavior in the era of digital economy. The theoretical contribution of this paper is that the authors build a theoretical framework based on the logical starting point, the logical fulcrum and the logic ending point for understanding the rapid internationalization of NEILEs.

This study demonstrates that NEILEs can also expand into foreign markets according to their own characteristics. Undoubtedly, they need to choose appropriate internationalization target mode and international market entry way in line with the extent and duration of their losses, and their advantageous slack resources.

In this paper, the authors construct the rapid internationalization theory of NEILEs based on the dual situation of negative attainment discrepancy and advantageous slack resources in digital economy era. Moreover, the authors discover the behavioral characteristics and patterns of NEILEs' transnational entrepreneurship.

Customer engagement (CE) literature features divergent definitions and conceptualizations. To clarify its meaning, antecedents and outcomes, this paper aims to propose that psychological customer engagement (PCE) is the mechanism by which customers’ readiness to engage influences behavioral customer engagement (BCE) in the form of in-role and extra-role behaviors, which then affect customers’ goal attainment, satisfaction and retention.

Set in the fitness center industry, this study combines perceptual data (from customers) and behavioral data (from the fitness center) to reveal a hierarchy of effects: customer readiness to PCE to BCE to customer goal attainment, satisfaction and retention.

Customer readiness variables (role clarity, ability, motivation) influence in-role and extra-role BCE directly and indirectly through PCE. Extra-role BCE is associated with goal attainment and satisfaction, and the latter is linked to customer retention. In-role BCE is associated with goal attainment only.

The proposed integrative model bridges the psychological–behavioral divide in CE literature and encourages the adoption of a broader nomological network that accounts for the effects of customers’ characteristics and actions on their goal attainment, satisfaction and retention.

Managers can enhance CE by improving customer role clarity, ability and motivation. Relative to in-role BCE, extra-role BCE appears more critical because it affects both goal attainment and satisfaction directly and retention indirectly.

The novel integrative approach, combining BCE and PCE in a single model, also provides a consumer-oriented view on CE, which establishes a more comprehensive perspective, as summarized in the proposed model of consumer engagement.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the sociodemographic factors that affect Turkish consumers’ decision to purchase organic milk. It is also of interest to derive the demand curve for organic milk based on the consumers’ stated preferences.

The data used in this search are based on a face-to-face consumer survey that asked the respondents about how much they are willing to pay for organic milk and what factors affect their purchasing decision. A variant approach is applied where the determinants selected include both product/market characteristics and household-specific demographic factors. The data are analyzed by means of tabular analysis, summary tables, contingent valuation, stepwise regression, χ² tests and logistic discrete-choice modeling.

The tabular analysis suggests that price, packaging and brand image are the primary milk characteristics that affect consumers’ decision. According to the contingent valuation analysis, consumers are willing to pay substantial premiums for milk products. The stepwise regression, χ² tests and logistic regression results unanimously suggest that educational attainment is the only significant indicator. Households with university education are twice more likely to purchase organic milk.

The data used in this research are based on stated preferences which might be different than actual shopping behavior.

This paper presents a pioneer study on the characteristics of Turkish organic milk consumers and represents a credible, empirical case study to complement existing literature. It also lays the framework for follow-up research work that can be conducted in future.

Counterfeiting is a serious problem besetting an increasing number of industries. It affects not only products whose brand name is synonymous with its quality or flavour, but also products which require a high level of research and development, and marketing. Counterfeit merchandise cuts into profits and harms the brand owner′s reputation. To be effective in eradicating counterfeiting, one also has to understand the consumer′s propensity to purchase counterfeit products. Challenges the prevalent assumption that price is the main motive for purchasing counterfeit products. Offers conceptualizations of eight possible non‐price determinants of consumers′ behavioural intention towards the purchase of counterfeit products. Uses established scale development procedures to create multi‐item scales for these non‐price constructs. Explores the explanatory role of these constructs by relating them to purchase intention responses for four common counterfeit consumer products, through multiple regression analyses. A convenience survey of consumers in a South‐East Asian city with a pattern of use of counterfeit goods provides data for this study. Results suggest that non‐price determinants, particularly those relating to perceived product attributes and attitude towards counterfeiting, affect consumers′ intention to purchase counterfeit products. The type and magnitude of influence of these, however, differ across products as well as individuals. Discusses implications for branded goods marketers and policy makers.

Argues that the general area of commercial sponsorship activity, while attracting increasing interest from marketing practitioners as an important strategic option in marketing communications, has not been the subject of sufficiently rigorous and comprehensive investigation by theoreticians. States the purpose is to establish and consolidate the available body of knowledge combining an overview of the standard conceptual approaches to marketing communication with an examination of the recent academic research in sponsorship, while maintaining a focus on current marketplace practice. Argues for a coherent and structured approach to the management of sponsorship expenditure through the application of a ‘management by objectives’ approach. Parameters are established in terms of a working definition of sponsorship, a review of its commercial development and an overview of current activity. Develops a commercially ration framework within which sponsorship activity may be undertaken. Views objective‐setting as the cornerstone of sponsorship management and outlines a classification of sponsorship objectives that subsumes current practice clarifies the range of potential benefits. Examines the criteria that govern rational sponsorship selection and proposes an evaluation strategy based on stated criteria. Methods of evaluating effects of marketing communications (sponsorship particularly) are examined and new evaluation techniques are advanced to facilitate the implementation of this rigorous scientific approach.

The purpose of this paper is to explore farmers’ intentions to engage in food brand development schemes and identify the factors that impact this.

By assuming the utility maximization behavior of farmers, based on data collected from 539 fruit and vegetable producers, this study estimates an intention to participate and a willingness to pay model.

Three groups of factors determine the utility the farmers derive and subsequently their engagement in brand development. Farm business characteristics include farmers’ age, the attainment of quality certification and cultivated area, while psychological factors include farmers’ attitudes toward local reflections of the brand, perceptions regarding the need for farm business external support and consumers’ interest, as well as farmers’ commitment to quality requirements. Farmers’ strategies related to the share of products sold by cooperatives and to individually use the brand also determine their engagement in a brand development scheme.

Future research should distinguish producers according to the marketing channel they choose and their industry, and explore the intentions of intermediate marketers.

Marketing cooperatives should undertake initiatives to develop local brands effectively, taking into consideration the factors that impact farmers’ engagement, while food marketing firms should properly adapt their purchasing and promotion strategies. Public authorities should formulate a policy mix that enhances farmers’ knowledge related to marketing issues and encourages farmers to strengthen their positions in the marketplace.

The research reveals a strategic proactive behavior of farmers favoring the development of local brands, and provides insights into the factors that impact farmers’ adoption decisions.