Demystifying factors fueling university brand evangelism in the higher education sector in Tanzania: a social identity perspective

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Date
2022
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Abstract
Extant literature examines the role of alumni in supporting higher education institutions (HEIs) through donation behavior. However, scant empirical studies examine the influence of alumni in the context of extra-role brand building behaviour in HEIs. This study examines university identification and university social community identification in influencing university brand evangelism when mediated with a sense of belonging. The study collected data from 606 alumni of 15 HEIs in Tanzania and analyzed it using structural equation modelling. The findings reveal that most alumni engage in university brand evangelism when they are highly identified with their university and its entire social community. Furthermore, the findings confirm that a higher level of identification is inadequate to predict and explain university brand evangelism, unless a sense of belonging is included as a mediator. Therefore, HEIs’ management should build social and personal identification to stimulate a sense of belonging, which fuels alumni intent to engage in university brand evangelism.
Description
Full - text Article. Also available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2110187
Keywords
: Alumni, University identification, University social community identification, University brand evangelism, Sense of belonging, Higher education institutions, Social identity perspective
Citation
David Amani (2022). Demystifying factors fueling university brand evangelism in the higher education sector in Tanzania: a social identity perspective, Cogent Education, 9:1, 2110187, DOI: 10.1080/2331186X.2022.2110187
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