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The purpose of this paper is to develop and test an integrated-process model/an index model by incorporating the antecedents and consequences of service quality in a higher education context.

This research employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The data from three focus groups, conducted at an Australian University, generated key themes and their interrelationships. The theoretical model was then tested using the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique on a sample of 528 University students.

The findings show that information (or marketing communications) and past experience are the antecedents of perceived service quality (PSQ). PSQ is a second order construct and has three dimensions: academic, administrative and facilities. The consequences of PSQ include trust, satisfaction, university-brand (UniBrand) performance and behavioural intentions. Overall, the results suggest a good validity of the model, and the nine path coefficients are found statistically significant.

The model explains how service quality is formed, and how PSQ affects UniBrand and positive behavioural intentions overtime. This paper develops and validates three new constructs including information, past experience and UniBrand performance. In addition, it improves and validates other constructs including service quality, satisfaction, trust and behavioural intention. The paper also advances service quality literature and validates five hypothesised relationships between constructs that are relatively new in the service quality literature. Finally, this study validates a comprehensive three-tiered “integrated-process” model/an index model that includes antecedents, dimensions and consequences of service quality taking a University as a case. Universities aiming for a sustainable presence in a competitive global market and intending to enhance brand performance and attract and retain students are encouraged to consider this model and its implications.

The purpose of the paper is to report on the perception of students in regard to critical antecedents, dimensions and consequences of service quality with an aim to develop a theoretical model in the context of a university in Australia.

This research used focus group discussions with 19 students who had been studying in undergraduate and postgraduate level programs at an Australian university.

The findings show that the critical antecedents to perceived service quality are information and past experience. There are three aspects of perceived service quality, namely, academic, administrative and facilities. Student satisfaction and student trust are found to have direct and positive relationships with perceived service quality as consequences; and brand performance and behavioural intention are found to have indirect relationships with perceived service quality mediated through satisfaction and trust.

This paper found three separate themes and their relationships with service quality in the context of a university. These themes are: information, past experience and brand performance. Perceived service quality was found playing an important role in this theoretical model. The model provides a good explanation of university brand performance and students' behavioural intentions.

This study aims to use a holistic approach to empirically examine the direct and indirect relationships of both core and supporting consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) dimensions from students’ perspectives and the underlying impact they have on building a robust university brand equity. It also tests whether student perceptions of the importance of the brand equity constructs significantly differ based on demographics.

The study adopts the core and supporting university brand equity dimensions that have been tested for reliability and validity in prior research. Data were collected at a major university in the USA. The study used judgment sampling to carefully select a targeted sample of various colleges and class levels. A total of 439 useable surveys were collected.

The results of partial least squares–structural equation modeling reveal significant relationships between both core and supporting brand equity dimensions. The core brand equity dimensions include brand awareness, perceived quality, brand association, brand trust, learning environment, emotional environment, university reputation and brand loyalty. The supporting brand equity dimensions include library services, dining services, residence hall and physical facilities. Significant direct and/or indirect relationships were found between the core and supporting CBBE dimensions. The demographic variables of gender, semester standing and living arrangement also influence the importance of some of the core and supporting dimensions.

The results suggest that females, freshman and students living on-campus require specific attention in higher education. For a better representation and understanding of the university student population, we recommend that future studies use probability sampling and multiple universities for cross-validation.

Using the brand ecosystem framework, this is the first comprehensive study testing the relationships between both core and supporting CBBE dimensions in higher education. The study offers valuable insights to university stakeholders for building a strong university brand. It also confirms that the measures of the CBBE brand equity dimensions are valid and are applicable to other higher education institutions.

Despite the growing competition between higher education institutions and the empirical evidence that the brand is a relevant determinant of consumer preference, research studies on negative consumer–brand relationships (CBRs) are still scarce. Thus, this research intends to fill this gap, determining the antecedents of brand hate in educational institutions and identifying gender differences regarding the determinants of brand hate.

A survey was carried out with 450 current students from higher education institutions. The proposed model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS3.

According to the results, previous negative experiences are the most significant driver of brand hate, with higher emphasis on male students. In this sense, investment in customer experience management (CXM) consists of a relevant strategy for higher education institutions. It was also observed that female students develop hate for ideological incongruity (ethical/moral behavior) and symbolic incongruence (lack of brand identity), revealing unprecedented facets of the phenomenon.

This research extends the studies’ negative CBRs to educational institutions. It explores gender differences related to brand hate; a topic not explored before, but that enables a targeted approach of brand strategies. Finally, it provides managerial implications allowing the strategy to reduce negative CBRs and their consequences in educational institutions.

In this article, we want to report on evolutions in distribution and distribution research in Belgium. The purpose of the first part is to present some factual data on distribution in Belgium and to report on evolutions since the Second World War.

Despite the growing consensus that consumers extensively use online reviews and that negative reviews can significantly damage brand equity, it remains uncertain whether negative online reviews that focus on different aspects of a service have a similar or differential effect on brand equity. This study aims to fill this gap and explores the mediating role of emotional contagion and what kind of response helps better deter their negative effect.

This research is conducted through a one-panel study and three experimental studies. SAS enterprise miner is used for text mining analysis and Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Process macro models are used to analyze the experimental data.

Negative reviews related to the tangibility, responsiveness and empathy dimensions have a more detrimental effect on brand equity than negative reviews related to the assurance and reliability dimensions. The results also provide evidence that emotional contagion is more prevalent when consumers read reviews that are specific to the empathy and responsiveness dimensions. Finally, accommodative responses from the service provider are more effective in deterring the effect of a negative online review on brand equity.

The generalizability of this study is limited to the restaurant and hotel industry.

The findings will also help the brand manager in understanding the comparative effect of service quality-specific negative reviews on brand equity and also the type of responses that brand managers should give to negative reviews.

Despite online reviews receiving increased attention in academic research, Service quality (SERVQUAL) dimension-specific reviews have not been studied until now. This study contributes to the service quality-related literature by providing evidence that not all negative online reviews related to different Service quality (SERVQUAL) dimensions equally affect brand equity.