Brand ambidexterity and commitment in higher education: an exploratory study

The study investigates a university’s brand ambidexterity-strategy and its effects on brand image, reputation, and commitment in higher education. A research model integrates the determinants of university-specific brand performance, and proposes that commitment towards a particular university is influenced by: (a) brand ambidexterity, that is, exploratory and exploitative orientations; and (b) student level responses, these being the students’ perceptions with brand image and reputation leading to increased commitment with the university. Findings suggest that when students choose to commit for the study of a postgraduate degree, a variety of factors influence their decision, of which the brand performance and brand image constructs play major roles; interestingly, brand reputation is less important. The framework helps university managers in designing appropriate strategies to influence students’ commitment towards the university to, for example, continue their post-graduate studies. Implications exist for broader brand management and customer management approaches that include up and cross-selling schemes.

© 2016 Elsevier Inc. This author's accepted manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/