The university imagea model of overall image and stakeholder perspectives

  1. Amaia Lafuente-Ruiz-de-Sabando 1
  2. Javier Forcada 1
  3. Pilar Zorril 1
  1. 1 Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
    info

    Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

    Lejona, España

    ROR https://ror.org/000xsnr85

Revista:
Management Letters / Cuadernos de Gestión

ISSN: 1131-6837

Año de publicación: 2019

Volumen: 19

Número: 1

Páginas: 63-86

Tipo: Artículo

DOI: 10.5295/CDG.160720AL DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAcceso abierto editor

Otras publicaciones en: Management Letters / Cuadernos de Gestión

Resumen

In order to further knowledge regarding the factors that have most influence on the university image, a measurement model was established in this research from the perspective of society and validated using covariance structure analysis. In addition, to ascertain whether such factors and/or their degree of influence differ among stakeholders, an evaluation of measurement invariance was conducted to find out what implications there are for image formation when the perspectives of the different stakeholders are considered. Five samples of stakeholders were used (society, prospective students, current students, graduates, and companies), totaling 1760 respondents. The results showed that affective image, perception of teaching resources, and perception of graduate training significantly influence the formation of overall university image from the perspective of society and that the image structure identified from this perspective is shared by companies, although some differences are observed. However, the model needs adapting to consider the perspectives of prospective students, current students, and graduates. The results also suggested that affective issues have a major importance in image formation from the perspective of all the stakeholders considered and that it is in the cognitive aspects where differences between them become more patent. These findings constitute a valuable contribution for marketing literature as so few works have addressed the study of the university image adopting the standpoint of society or the comparison of different stakeholders. Further, they provide guidance to university managers when determining which aspects are recommendable to act upon for the projection of a favorable image to various audiences.

Información de financiación

We thank the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU for the financing received for developing Project NUPV 13/14, within which this study is framed.

Financiadores

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