MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY
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BUI HUY KHOI
The roles of student trust, identity
and commitment in the relationship between university
reputation and behavioral intention
DOCTORAL DISSERTATION SUMMARY
Specialization: Business Administration
Ho Chi Minh City, 2021
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CHAPTER 1 – RESEARCH OVERVIEW
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1.1. Research Objectives: This research’s purpose determines the factors
affecting university reputation and the roles of student trust, student
identity, and student commitment in the relationship between university
reputation and behavioral intention to understand student choices of
master’s programs. Second, these factors will be measured by some
analysis quantitative tools. Finally, this dissertation will also give some
implications to develop the relationship between university reputation and
behavioral intention in Vietnamese higher education.
1.2. Research questions:
Research Question 1: Which factors impact University Reputation in
higher education?
Research Question 2: How are the roles of student trust, identity, and
commitment in the relationship between university reputation and
behavioral intention tested?
1.3. Research object: This study limits research on the university
reputation and its related factors to the perceptions of university graduates
in Vietnam. The components considered in the model include social
contributions, leadership, environments, student guidance, funding,
research and development, student trust, student identity, student
commitment, university reputation and behavioral intention of learners.
1.4. Methodology:
This study uses mixed methods that are carried out by not only the
qualitative method but also a quantitative method based on a PLS-SEM.
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1.5. Contributions of dissertation: This research intends to gain 02
contributions in theoretical and practical aspects.
1.5.1. Theory contributions: Although corporate reputation is a
topic that has attracted the attention of researchers worldwide, there is still
much controversy in its study, and reputation research is still in the process
of synthesizing a dominating theory. However, studies have mainly been
conducted in developed countries; this research is still new in the context
of developing nations (Fombrun et al., 2015). Research results in Vietnam,
which has a unique culture and economic/educational development levels
lower than those of developed countries, might vary significantly from
previous research. This dissertation also presents the literature concerning
the university reputation and behavioral intention in higher education,
thereby connecting the two disciplines of data processing and educational
marketing. This connection is appropriate, given the developing interest in
(and increased efforts toward) university reputation and behavioral
intention research.
1.5.2. Practical contributions: From the perspective of many
marketers and practitioners, this dissertation provides a complete list of
crucial determinants of university reputation and behavioral intention in
higher education, within the context of student decision-making. Through a
more in-depth understanding, marketing practitioners can develop and
increase their communication strategies. Such refinements could include
the development of more targeted and engaging messages to encourage the
sharing of referrals by students. In the context of higher education, this
research provides recommendations for universities on how best to gain an
advantage in a competitive landscape. It also helps university managers to
identify important attributes that support the growth of their university's
reputation and the development of future strategies to suit the increasingly
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competitive economy. Furthermore, this research can give students a better
understanding of educational competition and raise awareness of the
connection between university reputation and student behavior intention.
This study’s model can guide practitioners in planning and implementing
university operations. The purpose of this dissertation is to identify and
evaluate university reputation and behavioral intention in higher education;
with this information, university managers and marketing practitioners can
better manage and plan for their institutions’ university reputation and
behavioral-intention marketing strategy.
1.6. Structure of dissertation: Aside subordinate sections as required, the
dissertation includes 5 chapters, such as:
Chapter 1 - Research Overview: includes 10 sections from 1.1 to 1.10.
Chapter 2 – Literature Review: contains 09 sections from 2.1 to 2.9.
Chapter 3 – Methodology: consists of 06 sections from 3.1 to 3.6.
Chapter 4 – Results: includes 8 sections, from 4.1 to 4.9.
Chapter 5 – Conclusion, discussion, and managerial implications contain
08 sections from 5.1 to 5.7.
CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Introduction:This chapter performs a review of the literature on the
relationship between university reputation and behavioral intention in
Vietnamese higher education: specifically, the mediating roles of student
trust, student identity, and student commitment in higher education
students’ choices. First, we propose six hypotheses (H1, H2, H3, H4, H5,
and H6) derived from the examined connection between university
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reputation and its determinants, which are social contributions,
leadership, environments, student guidance, funding, and research and
development. Second, we test the effect of student trust, student identity,
and student commitment on university reputation and behavioral
intention, leading to H7, H8, H9, H10, H11, and H12.
2.2. University reputation: University reputation refers to having a good
reputation within the community, employers having positive things to say
about the university, the university being well respected, positive things
being said about the university, and the university's reputation positively
influencing the value of the degrees it confers (Plewa et al., 2016).
According to Del-Castillo-Feito et al. (2020), university reputation was
impacted by performance, innovation, citizenship, services, governance,
and workplace climate. In summary: university reputation has been
understood as having prestige within the community, being a well-
respected university, and positively influencing the value of a student’s
degrees.
2.2.1. Student guidance
Plewa et al. (2016) indicated that those who provide student guidance
possess the following qualities: they understand student needs, are
available for consultation when needed, make interacting with students
easy, provide support to help students succeed academically, care about
students’ experiences, are good at communicating about issues that
concern students, and have useful knowledge of educational systems and
procedures.
2.2.2. Social contributions
The components of social contributions are whether the university
strongly supports the community, has a positive social influence, and