The relationship between Institution Branding, Teaching Quality and Student Satisfaction in Higher Education in Hong Kong

  • Anthony Wong School of Business and Hospitality Management Caritas Institute of Higher Education, Hong Kong.
Keywords: institution branding, Higher education, Teaching quality, Student satisfaction

Abstract

The rapid expansion of Hong Kong’s higher education sector both in the government-funded and self-funded higher education in Hong Kong generated a high competition in this industry. In order to study how institutions increase their competitiveness, this study investigated the relationship between the institution branding, teaching quality and student satisfaction. A quantitative research was conducted to empirically test three hypotheses by employing a questionnaire survey.  As the primary customers of higher education, full-time students enrolled in post-secondary programs offered by government-funded and self-funded higher education institutions in Hong Kong were randomly selected as the targeted participants.  Two thousand students were sent questionnaires and 1,170 valid responses were received, representing a response rate of 58.5%. Results of the analysis show that the teaching quality has a positive and significant influence on institution branding, institution branding has a positive and significant influence on student satisfaction whilst the mediating effect of institution branding is only considered as a partial mediation between teaching quality and student satisfaction. The study contributes to the higher education debate and provides unique student-perceived insights into institution branding, student satisfaction and the quality of teaching in Hong Kong’s higher education sector. 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Barrie, S., Ginns, P. & Symons, R. (2008), Student Surveys on Teaching and Learning. Final Report, Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. Chippendale.

Becker, C., Bradley, G.T. & Zantow, K. (2012), ‘The underlying dimensions of tipping behavior: An exploration, confirmation, and predictive model’. International Journal of Hospitality Management, vol. 31, no.1, pp. 247-256.

Benjamin, L.T. (2008), ‘Lecturing’, in S.F. Davis and W. Buskist (eds), The Teaching of Psychology, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New Jersey, pp.57 -68.

Bennett, R. & Rundle-Thiele, S. (2004), ‘Customer satisfaction should not be the only goal’, Journal of Service Marketing, vol. 18, no. 7, pp. 514-523.

Blankson, C. and Kalafatis, S.P. (1999), “Issues and challenges in positioning of service brands: a review”, Journal of Product & Brand Management, 8, 2, pp.106 – 118.

Brady, M. K., Bourdeau, B. L. and Heskel, J. (2005), “The importance of brand cues in intangible service industries: an application to investment services”, Journal of Services Marketing, 19, 6, pp. 401 – 410.

Bruwer, J. & Johnson, R. (2010), ‘Place-based marketing and regional branding strategy perspectives in the California wine industry’. Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 27 no. 1, pp. 5-16.

Coakes, S.J., Steed, L. & Price, J. (2008), SPSS Version 15.0 for Windows: Analysis without Anguish, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Australia.

Deephouse, D.L. (2000), ‘Media Reputation as a Strategic Resource: An Integration of Mass Communication and Resource-Based Theories’, Journal of Management, vol. 26 No. 6, pp. 1091-1112.

Douglas, J., McClelland, R. & Davies, J. (2008), ‘The development of a conceptual model of student satisfaction with their experience in higher education’, Quality Assurance in Education, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 19-35.

Elliott, K.M. and Shin, D. (2002), ‘Student satisfaction: an alternative approach to assessing this important concept’. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 197-209.

Fombrun, C.J. (1998), ‘Indices of corporate reputation: an analysis of media rankings and social monitors’, Corporate Reputation Review, vol.1, no, 4, pp. 327–340.

Galbreath, J. (2010), ‘How does corporate social responsibility benefit firms? Evidence from Australia’, European Business Review, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 411-431.

Gamage, D.T. Suwanabroma, J, Ueyama, T, Hada, S. & Sekikawa, E. (2008), ‘The Impact of Quality assurance measures on student services at Japanese and Thai private universities’, Quality assurance in Education, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 181-198.

Garoupa, N. & Ginsburg, T. (2010), ‘Reputation, Information and the Organization of the Judiciary’, Journal of Comparative Law, vol. 4, no. 2, pp.226-254.

Gimm, G.W. (2010), ‘The Impact of Malpractice Liability Claims on Obstetrical Practice Patterns’, Health Services Research, vol. 45, no. 1, pp.195–211.

Gronroos, C. (1990), “Relationship approach to marketing in service contexts: The marketing and organizational behaviour interface”, Journal of Business Research, 20, pp. 3 – 11.

Guolla, M. (1999), ‘Assessing the Teaching Quality to Student Satisfaction Relationship: Applied Customer Satisfaction Research in the Classroom’, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 87-97.

Hair, J.F., Black, B., Babin, B., Anderson, R.E. & Tatham, R.L. (2005), Multivariate Data Analysis, Prentice Hall, USA.

Haley, H. & Sidanius, J. (2006), ‘The Positive and Negative Framing of Affirmative Action: A Group Dominance Perspective’. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 656-668.

Harvey, L. and Newton, J. (2004), ‘Transforming Quality Evaluation’. Quality in Higher Education, vol. 10, no. 2, pp.149-165.

Hatch, M.L. & Schultz, M. (1997), ‘Relations between organizational culture, identity and image’. European Journal of Marketing, vol. 31, no. 5/6, pp. 356-365.

Hemsley-Brown, J. and Oplatka, I. (2010), Market orientation in universities: A comparative study of two national higher education systems. International Journal of Educational Management, Vol.24 No.3, pp.204 – 220.

Hemsley-Brown, J. and Oplatka, I. (2006), Universities in a competitive global marketplace: A systematic review of the literature on higher education marketing. International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol.19 No.4, London and New York: Springer, pp.316-338.

Henard, F. & Leprince-Ringuet, S. (2008), ‘The path to quality teaching in higher education. OECD,

[Accessed 20 May 2012], <http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/49/27/44150246.pdf>.

Herbig, P., Milewicz, J. and Golden, J. (1994), ‘A model of reputation building and destruction’. Journal of Business Research, vol. 31, no.1, pp. 23-31.

Hess Jr, R. L. (2008), ‘The impact of firm reputation and failure severity on customers' responses to service failures’. Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 22, no. 5, pp. 385-398.

Houser, D. & Wooders, J. (2006), ‘Reputation in Auctions: Theory, and Evidence from eBay’. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, vol.15, no.2, pp. 353-369.

Johnson, M.D. & Fornell, C. (1991), ‘A framework for comparing customer satisfaction across individuals and product categories’, Journal of Economic Psychology, vol.12 no.2, pp. 267-286.

Judd, C. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1981). Process analysis: Estimating mediation in treatment evaluations. Evaluation Review, 5, 602-619.

Jules, V. & Kutnick, P. (1997), ‘Student perceptions of a good teacher: the gender perspective’. British Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 67, no. 4, pp. 497-511.

Kane, D., Williams, J. & Cappuccini-Ansfield, G. (2008), ‘Student satisfaction surveys: the value in taking an historical perspective’. Quality in Higher Education, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 135-55.

Kapil, K. & Kapil, S. (2010), ‘Antecedents of brand loyalty: an empirical study in mobile telecom sector’. International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, vol.3, no.1, pp. 1-22.

Karatepea, O.M. (2011), ‘Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty: The Moderating Role of Gender’. Journal of Business Economics and Management, vol.12, no.2, pp. 278-300.

Kember, D., Leung, D.Y.P. & Kwan, K.P. (2002), ‘Does the use of student feedback questionnaires improve the overall quality of teaching?’ Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 411-25.

Kember, D. and Leung, D.Y.P. (2008), ‘Establishing the validity and reliability of course evaluation questionnaires’, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 341–353.

Kim, C.K. (1995), ‘Brand popularity and country image in global competition: managerial implications’. Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 4, no.5, pp. 21-33.

Kreuze, J. & Newell, G. (2002), ‘Student ratings of accounting instructors - a search for important determinants’, Journal of Accounting Education, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 87–98.

Larson, J., Björvell, C., Billing, E. and Wredling, R. (2004), ‘Regina Testing of an audit instrument for the nursing discharge note in the patient record, Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 2004, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 318-324.

Law, D.C.S. (2010), ‘Quality assurance in post-secondary education: the student experience’. Quality Assurance in Education, vol.18, no.4, pp. 250-270.

Loureiro, S. & Kastenholz, E. (2011), ‘Corporate reputation, satisfaction, delight, and loyalty towards rural lodging units in Portugal’. International Journal of Hospitality Management, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 575-583.

Lovelock, C.H. (1983), “Classifying Services to Gain Strategic marketing Insights”, Journal of Marketing, 47, 3, pp. 9 – 20.

Mazzei, A., Russo, V. & Crescentini, A. (2009), ‘Patient satisfaction and communication as competitive levers in dentistry’, The TQM Journal, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 365 – 381.

McWilliams, A. (2011), ‘Creating and Capturing Value: Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility, Resource-Based Theory, and Sustainable Competitive Advantage’, Journal of Management, vol. 37, no. 5, pp. 1480-1495.

Nasser, R.N., Khoury, B. & Abouchedid, K. (2008), ‘University students' knowledge of services and programs in relation to satisfaction: A case study of a private university in Lebanon’, Quality Assurance in Education, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 80-97.

Natale, S.M. & Doran, C. (2012), ‘Marketization of Education: An Ethical Dilemma’. Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 105, no. 2, pp. 187-196.

Nguyen, N. and LeBlanc, G. (2001), ‘Image and reputation of higher education institutions in students’ retention decisions’, International Journal of Educational Management, Vol.15 No.6, pp.303-311.

Nikbin, D., Ismail, I., Marimuthu, M. & Abu-Jarad, I.Y. (2011), ‘The impact of firm reputation on customers’ responses to service failure: the role of failure attributions.’, Business Strategy Series, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 19-29.

Obermiller, C. & Atwood, A. (2011), ‘In defence of the student as customer metaphor.’, International Journal of Management Education, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 13-16.

Oliver, R.L. (1980), ‘A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction decisions’. Journal of Marketing Research, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 460-469.

Oliver, R.L. (1997), Satisfaction: A Behavioural Perspective on the Consumer, McGraw Hill, New York/Irwin.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2001), The Well-being of Nations: The Role of Human and Social Capital, OECD, Paris.

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. & Berry, L.L (1985), ‘A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Future Research’, Journal of Marketing, vol. 49, no. 4, pp. 41-50.

Petruzzellis, L. and Romanazzi, S. (2010), ‘Educational value: how students choose university: Evidence from an Italian university’, International Journal of Educational Management, vol.24, no. 2, pp.139 -158.

Puffer, S.M. & McCarthy, D.J (2011), ‘Two Decades of Russian Business and Management Research - An Institutional Theory Perspective’, The Academy of Management Perspectives, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 21-36.

Richardson, J.T.E (2005), ‘Instruments for obtaining student feedback: a review of the literature’, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 387-415.

Riley, F.D. & de Chernatony, L. (2000), “The service brand as relationship builder”, British Journal of Management, 11, pp.137 – 150.

Rust, R.T., Zahorik, A.J. & Keiningham, T.L. (1995), ‘Return on Quality (ROQ): Making Service Quality Financially Accountable’. Journal of Marketing, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 58-70.

Schiffman, L.G., Kanuk, L. & Hansen, H. (2008), Consumer Behavior: a European outlook, Prentice Hall, Essex.

Selnes, F. (1993), ‘An Examination of the Effect of Product Performance on Brand Reputation, Satisfaction and Loyalty’, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 27, no. 9, pp. 19 -35.

Shamuganathan, G. and Tong, C. (2010), “The mediating influence of brand associations in determining purchase intention in a private higher education (PHEI) in Malaysia”, Journal of the World Universities Forum, 3, 1, pp. 157-174.

Shuen, A.P.C. (2001), ‘University Financial Management under a Contraction of Government Funding: the Case of Hong Kong’, Journal of the Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 61-74.

Skallerud, K. (2011), “School reputation and its relation to parents’ satisfaction and loyalty”, International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 25 No. 7, 2011, pp. 671-686.

Sridhar, K. (2012), ‘The Relationship between the Adoption of Triple Bottom Line and Enhanced Corporate Reputation and Legitimacy’, Corporate Reputation Review, vol. 15, pp. 69–87.

Standifird, S.S. (2001), ‘Reputation and E-Commerce: eBay Auctions and the Asymmetrical Impact of Positive and Negative Ratings’. Journal of Management, vol. 27, pp. 279-295.

Stead, E. & Smallman, C. (1999), ‘Understanding Business Failure: Learning and Un-Learning From Industrial Crises’. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, vol.7, no.1, pp. 1-18.

Stopford, M. (2011), Reputation Management at Coca-Cola and Beyond. In Reputation Management, ed. S. Helm, K. Liehr-Gobbers and C. Storck, pp.201-214. Berlin: Springer.

Suomi, K. and Jarvinen, R. (2013), Tracing reputation risks in retailing and higher-education services, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 20, pp. 207–217.

Sureshchandar G.S., Rajendran C., Anantharaman R.N. (2002), ‘The relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction - a factor specific approach’, Journal of Service Marketing, vol 16, no. 4, pp. 363-379(17).

Taylor, M. (2003), Teaching capabilities and professional development and qualifications framework project: stage one. unpublished report, RMIT University, Melbourne.

University Grants Committee (2010), Aspirations for the Higher Education System in Hong Kong: Report of the University Grants Committee. <http://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/doc/ugc/publication/report/her2010/her2010-rpt.pdf>.

Vauterin, J.J., Linnanen, L. & Marttila, E. (2011), ‘Issues of delivering quality customer service in a higher education environment’, International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, vol.3, no. 2, pp. 181 – 198.

Walker, K. (2010), ‘A Systematic Review of the Corporate Reputation Literature: Definition, Measurement, and Theory’. Corporate Reputation Review, vol.12, no.4, pp. 357-387.

Walsh, G., Dinnie, K. & Wiedmann, K.P. (2006), ‘How do corporate reputation and customer satisfaction impact customer defection? A study of private energy customers in Germany’, Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 20, no. 6, pp .412-420.

Walsh, G., Mitchell, V.W., Jackson, P.R. & Beatty, S.E. (2009), ‘Examining the Antecedents and Consequences of Corporate Reputation: A Customer Perspective’. British Journal of Management, vol. 20, no.2, pp. 187-203.

Wei, Y.K. (2002), ‘Corporate image as collect ethos: A poststructuralist approach’. Corporate Communications, vol.7, no.4, pp. 269-278.

Yang, Y., Stafford, T.F. & Gillenson, M. (2011), ‘Satisfaction with employee relationship management systems: the impact of usefulness on systems quality perceptions’, European Journal of Information Systems, vol.20, no.2, pp. 221-236.

Yorke, M. (1994), Enhancement-led Higher Education? Quality Assurance in Education, vol.2, no.3, pp. 6-12.

Zeithaml, V.A., Parasuraman, A. and Berry, L.L. (1985), Problems and strategies in services marketing, Journal of Marketing, 49, 2, pp. 33 – 46.

Published
2017-01-03
How to Cite
Wong, A. (2017). The relationship between Institution Branding, Teaching Quality and Student Satisfaction in Higher Education in Hong Kong. Journal of Marketing and HR, 4, 169-188. Retrieved from http://scitecresearch.com/journals/index.php/jmhr/article/view/910
Section
Articles