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The purpose of this paper is to encourage the development of a research stream on the market orientation concept in higher education. Specifically, the author explains why this concept has emerged as a potentially relevant strategy to manage higher educational institutions. The paper raises the main problems surrounding the use of market orientation in higher education, and thereby, suggests an extensive research agenda which is expected to improve the importation of marketing concepts in higher education.

This paper is based on an extensive critical literature review on market orientation, and a document analysis to grasp the major changes that have affected higher education institutions' context since the middle of the 1980s. A bulk of research agenda is proposed and summarised in a table. The different topics are rooted in the link the author has attempted to put between marketing theory and higher educational context.

Research on market orientation in higher education still has many rooms to explore. These are: competition, quality issues, the impact of budget cuts on marketing implementation and market orientation operationalisation, etc.

While the market orientation strategy has been widely studied in commercial sector, its use in public and non‐profit sector such as higher education is still unsatisfactory. The paper: points on the limits of conceptual transpositions; discusses why market orientation is important to face the new context of higher education; and raises a number of research directions that have tremendous promises in the endeavour to build richer theories of marketing management, and to address significant problems of marketing practice in higher education.

The purpose of this paper is to discover how higher education institutions may segment the market in a competitive higher education hub and to assess the usefulness of strategic group analysis as an analytical technique for market and competitor analysis. As a case example of a competitive higher education market, this research investigates how higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) position themselves and compete with one another.

The research relied mainly on secondary data, which were obtained from the websites of institutions and regulatory bodies. Then, hierarchical cluster analysis was used to identify strategic groups and institutional competitive strategies in the UAE higher education market. A panel of experts helped interpret and explain the cluster results.

Eight distinct institutional clusters were identified, which include public- and privately-owned institutions, as well as elite and specialist institutions. Institution and programme accreditation were found to be particularly important in the UAE market. The institutions in each group appear to operate in a particular market segment, targeting students who have similar needs and wants, and who often share similar demographic features.

It is concluded that strategic group analysis may help institutions to evaluate potential markets, select target segments and develop competitive strategies. In the UAE market context, the results demonstrate how institutions may position themselves to create strong and distinctive identities. The results of the research may be of interest to higher education institutions that operate in competitive markets, and particularly those that want to evaluate foreign markets.

This is believed to be the first study to use a strategic group approach for analysing competitors in a higher education hub.

Examines the current situation facing Australian higher education institutions engaged in the export of their services. Considers current trends in the world market for international education services, as well as current and future developments in the Australian higher education system. Recent research evidence suggests that the international market for education is reaching maturity. Contends that Australia’s international education sector, especially in the area of higher education, requires greater differentiation and more careful marketing in order to deal with this trend. Outlines some suggestions as to appropriate future strategies for the Australian international education sector.

Suggests that institutions of higher education in the USA encounter problems that are unique to the market environment. These problems include competition for resources, escalating costs, and resource constraints. In response to these problems, higher education systems within this kind of environment tend to borrow strategies from organizations operating under the most competitive environment ‐ the business sector. Discusses specific strategies adopted by institutions of higher education in North America. Examines how these strategies have affected the culture of higher education. Discusses the shift occurring between the consumerism‐ professorialism continuum. Calls for the need to understand the dual nature of higher education so that strategies can be selectively adapted.

A trend towards a more competitive educational system which is obvious in several countries is expected to increase the rates at which schools, colleges, and universities respond to their environments and to enhance their creativity and innovativeness. To achieve these objectives, various strategies, such as open‐boundary admission policies, have been adopted. Consequently, educational institutions are beginning to adopt marketing strategies to attract students, staff, and funds. This adoption of marketing has several implications. These include harmonising a marketing philosophy with the institutional mission, creating appropriate organisational structures, and implementing marketing strategies.

The main purpose of this study is threefold: to analyze the current conditions of higher education services offered in the three target markets; to conduct market segmentation analysis of these markets; and to recommend the most appropriate market entry strategies for Hong Kong's education service providers.

The data for this project were obtained primarily by questionnaire survey and interviews. The research team collected 1,370 questionnaires and conducted a total of 121 individual and focus group interviews in the four studied cities – Mumbai, New Delhi, Jakarta, and Kuala Lumpur.

The study found that there was a high unmet demand for higher education overseas and that the visibility of Hong Kong's higher education was relatively weak in these Asian markets. In order to capture the continued rise of students in Asia, higher education institutions and the Hong Kong government need to work together to analyze the potential markets critically and employ marketing strategies sensibly. Several key recommendations have been provided based on the findings.

The study was undertaken in a few key cities in these three target markets. However, findings from the study may generate insights into other cities with similar characteristics in these countries and the Asian regions.

The paper suggests that decision makers at the institutional level and government level seeking to enter these markets must pay attention to the importance of market segmentation and the 4P variables in formulating their marketing strategies.

Few studies have examined the current condition of higher education services in these three emerging Asian markets. The study provides some useful marketing information to education decision makers in Hong Kong and elsewhere who may be interested in formulating marketing strategies in these markets.

The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains features to help the reader to retrieve relevant literature from MCB University Press' considerable output. Each entry within has been indexed according to author(s) and the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus. The latter thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid retrieval. Each article or book is assigned its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. This Volume indexes 29 journals indicating the depth, coverage and expansion of MCB's portfolio.

It is salient to be acquainted with the key elements that determine educational tourists’ decision in selecting an overseas destination while considering the rise of international competition amidst nations concerning international students. There has been a growth in the number of nations committed to attracting educational tourists. This issue is evident in countries involved in higher education (HE), such as Northern Cyprus, identified as an edu-tourism destination. Northern Cyprus can attract a whopping number of tourists, and the higher population is most likely to be made up of international students regardless of its interdiction on direct flights and political pressure. This chapter centres on analysing educational tourists’ motivators in selecting a tourism education destination abroad and on revealing effective recruitment and promotion plans towards attracting them. The chapter includes the descriptions and discussions of educational tourism, the HE industry over the years, globalisation and internationalisation of educational tourism, factors influencing educational tourists’ decision-making process and key elements influencing educational tourists’ decisions in HE institutions. At the end of the chapter, a case study is presented that reports the findings of interviews with educational tourists, overseas recruitment agents and Eastern Mediterranean University staff responsible for promoting the institution. The results identified eight factors affecting educational tourists’ decisions on study destination. Those factors comprise cost, ease of access, location, social factors, quality of education, instruction language, cultural environment and communication quality. The sub-factors of the main eight factors are scholarships, destination’s scenery, safety, friends’ and relatives’ influence and cultural differences. This chapter brings a significant knowledge about the motives that affect educational tourists in selecting at a particular HE destination. Based on the study’s findings, educational institutions may consider various recommendations to redesign their strategies towards attracting educational tourists more effectively. Generally, this study promotes an apprehension about the diverse elements that affect educational tourists’ selection of a destination study. An in-depth understanding of these factors will help education institutions’ decision-makers better develop plans of action to provide desired services to educational tourists, attract and keep them in return.

Having established that both services and product marketing strategies can be applied simultaneously, a study of the perceptions of employers and students is reported on. Thus the degree to which both sets of customers′ needs may be satisfied simultaneously is considered. A sample of business studies students, lecturers and employers took part in the research, which indicated perceptual incongruence in terms of student and employer perceived needs for higher education. Although the research was of an exploratory nature, it indicates that institutions are likely to have a problem in applying the marketing concept to their corporate strategies.

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.