Introduction
This dissertation shows the roles of student trust, identity and commitment in therelationshipbetweenuniversityreputationandbehavioralintentioninVietnamesehighereduc ation.Ipresentstandardinformationaboutthestudiedproblemanddissertation background,and I identify the dissertation’s aims and research questions.Thischapteralsobrieflydescribesthedissertationstructure.
Researchbackground
QS University Rankings for Asian 2021 based on 11 different criteria to evaluateoneuniversity,includingacademicreputation(30%),employerreputation(20%),le cturer/ student ratio (10 %), percentage of lecturers with doctoral degrees (5%), ratioof published papers per lecturer (5%), citations per paper (10%), international researchnetwork (10%), international lecturer ratio (2.5%), international student rate (2.5%),domestic exchange students (2.5%), and foreign exchange students (2.5%) (DuongTam, 2020) Vietnam has 11 universities participating in the QS University Rankingsfor Asian 2021(QS, 2020) So, reputation is the most important key for ranking auniversity and that isa reason which Vietnamese universities arec r e a t i n g , b u i l d i n g , anddevelopingit.
Nowadays, the university operates in a highly competitive market (Del-Castillo- Feito et al., 2020; Lafuente-Ruiz-de-Sabando et al., 2018) where attracting resourceshasbecomeacomplicatedtask.Thecurrenttrendsofglobalizationandinternational ization have led higher education institutions (HEIs) to receive increasinginterest from policymakers and educational leaders(Tran andVillano,2017).This isbecause a nation’s human resources significantly affect its socioeconomic development(AgasistiandP o h l , 2 0 1 2 ;T r a n andV i l l a n o , 2 0 1 7 ).Theglobalizatio nofbusiness has been embraced by the higher education sector, in which education is seen as aservicet h a t i s m a r k e t a b l e w o r l d w i d e U n i v e r s i t i e s a n d o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s o f h i g h e r education must compete to attract highly talented students, prestigious professors, andeffectiveemployees(Del-Castillo-Feitoetal.,2020;Hemsley-Brownetal,2016;Nuraryo et al.,2018; Plewa et al., 2016; Wilson, 2016) Some individuals credit theglobalization of universities to the many changes and difficulties that the educationalsector is now facing Despite differences in opinion, school leaders and various othercommentatorsagreethatcompetitionbetweenhighereducationinstitutionshasintensif ied over the last few years(Chen and Esangbedo, 2018;Plewa et al., 2016).Education plays an enormous role in a country’s development, and its progress in agivencountrypartlysymbolizesthatcountry’sgrowthingeneral(Chena n d Esangbedo,20 18).
Higher education institutions play an important role in society: they are essentialpartnersoftheknowledge-creationandknowledge- exchangenetworks,andtheycatalyze innovation, supply tangible benefits of research, and provide consulting andadvisoryservices.Universitiesaremeanttofosterprogress,buildsocialc a p i t a l , prep are students for outside realities, provide access to knowledge, and extend thebounds of justice, thereby contributing to the creation and maintenance of a democraticand sustainable society However, the increasingly competitive and dynamic nature ofeducationalenvironmentsraisesmanychallenges,suchasdecliningenrollment.
Vietnam, a transitional economy in the Asia–Pacific region, has a population ofover 96 million people (Nguyen and McDonald, 2019) In background terms, it isnoteworthy that since the mid-1980s, Vietnam has been pursuing a path of market- oriented economic reform This course of change has helped the economy to free itselffromabsolutepovertyandachievesubstantialandsustainableeconomicgrow th.
RGDP of Vietnam was 2,563 U.S dollars (USD) in 2018 In contrast to most otherASEAN member states, their youth literacy rates are relatively high (Salmi,
2019) TheVietnamese general education system is divided into three levels: primary education(grades 1–5), lower secondary education (grades 6–9), and upper secondary education(grades 10–12). Higher education in Vietnam consists of universities and academies,which are classified into three categories:public-,private-,andf o r e i g n - r e l a t e d I n 2018, Vietnam had 454 HEIs, including 95 private universities and schools, and therewere2.2millionstudentsinhigher education(MOET,2019).
Vietnam's higher education environment has changed dramatically after twodecades of rapid growth The number of students, institutions, and faculty members hasrisen dramatically, and a further aspect of the system's evolution has been the advent ofa privateeducationsector. Such improvements havesignificantly led to economicgrowth and social progress. However, improvements have occurred more slowly in thegovernance systems and leadership modes of the framework — a fact that presentscertainpressingissuesforthefutureofthesystem(Salmi,2019).Asinotherdevelopin g nations, economic reforms in Vietnam (which began in 1986) are stronglylinked to the higher education sector After 33 years of economic reform policy, themaster’s training program in Vietnam has increased remarkably quickly Having begunin 1976 (Hoang Thi Phuong Thao, 2014), the program now encompasses 105,000students across 180 domestic universities and 212 programs with various joint-trainingforms (bachelor’s and master’s degrees) and includes partnerships with many reputableglobaluniversitiesand educationalinstitutions(Chenetal.,2017).
Student decisions to continue their education at a particular university in thedesired field of study play an important role in their future success When selecting auniversity, many factors and possible consequences are part of the decision- makingprocess.I f t h e r e a l i t y o f t h e u n i v e r s i t y d o e s n o t m a t c h s t u d e n t e x p e c t a t i o n s , t h e i r success becomes uncertain Increasingly intense competition between institutions hasmadeeveryuniversityawareoftheneedtofullyexploititsassets,maximizeperformance,a n d d e v e l o p a c o m p e t i t i v e a d v a n t a g e O n e w a y t o a c h i e v e t h i s h a s b e e n to develop a reputable name and build trust in the eyes of students (Harahap et al.,2018).Whenauniversityhasanexcellentreputation,studentswillselectt h a t university whenenrolling inhighereducation.
In the competition between universities, reputation can be considered one of themost vital issues because it is viewed as an upper hand that competitors can mimic onlywith significant effort (Chun et al., 2005; Hall, 1992) It is believed that an enterprise’sintangible attributes, such as reputation, are longer-term and more sustainable than thequalities of products or services, and are thus more helpful in giving businesses acompetitive advantage. Reputation is one of the essential factors affecting customers'attitudesandbehaviorsbecausewhatpeopleknowandbelieveregardinganorgani zationstronglyaffectstheirreactionstothatorganization.Becauseofreputation’simportance asavaluableintangibleasset,businessesmustmanageitcarefully, understanding both its strategic importance and the potential factors thatcouldenhance it(BerensandVanRiel,2004).
Thecontemporarydevelopmentsintheuniversitysystemhavemadea university’sreputatio nevenmoreconsequential.Whencertaincharacteristicsofuniversitieswerecamouflagedor otherwisedifficulttorecognize(Aula,2 0 1 5 ; Engwall, 2007), prospective students, future specialists, backers, and other partnersessentiallybasedtheirdiscernmentsaboutuniversitiesonnotoriety.Additionally,re putation indicated enthusiasm for a greater number of colleges than beforehand Asthe matter of higher education has become increasingly open, state-funded universitiesthat had recently worked inside closed national frameworks began vying for assets.Incurrenthighereducation,reputationhastranslatedtocrucialenthusiasmfort he university (Aula, 2015) Hence, the question arises of how to best develop a solidreputationinhighereducation.
Much research has been conducted on the influence of a university’s reputation.This research showed that a college’s repute is the first mark of a school’s uniqueness(Hemsley-Brown et al, 2016) With the verification of this “brand” theory, reputationgrowsevenmorecentraltopromotingauniversity’sidentityandincreasingitsattra ctivenessingloballycompetitiveconditions.
Although the university’s reputation is becoming a necessary part of globalizedhigher education, helping it attract students, staff, and research investments (Chen andEsangbedo, 2018), the breadth of university reputation’s effect is a contested matter,largely due to a lack of consensus regarding the relationship between reputation andbehavior.
Researchaboutorganizations’reputationstakestwodirections.Thefirstisconcerned with factors affecting the reputation itself, and the second is concerned withtheeffectsofreputation onotherrelationships.
Examples of research in the first direction include the work of Del-Castillo-Feito etal (2020), who showed that the university operates in a highly competitive market inwhich the attraction of capital has become a dynamic activity Intangible assets such asreputation have been considered vital components of organizations' sustainability andsuccess.Del-Castillo-Feitoetal. (2020)highlightedtheirrelevancewithint h e literature,butthechangesandrelationsamong thesefactorsremaineduncertain.Therefore,theresearchersmeasuredtherelationshipssurro undingu n i v e r s i t y reputation Student perceptions would be made considering the results because manyauthors had previously highlighted the complexity, due to their diverse characteristics,ofhandlingtheassociationbetweenthesecrowdsandattainingusefulvaluati ons.Their resultsconfirmedtheirproposedhypothesesontherelationshipswithuniversityreputation; nevertheless, the stakeholder group's moderating impact was not verified.ThediscoveriesofDel-Castillo-Feitoetal.
(2020)showedadditionalempiricalevidence has been given for the relationship between the variables considered, as wellas for the importance of taking more than one stakeholder group into account forreview.Theyindicatedthatuniversityreputationwasimpactedbythef o l l o w i n g fact ors:performance,innovation,citizenship,services,governance,andworkplaceclimate. This knowledge may be applied by administrators to boost the reputation oftheiruniversity.
A study conducted by Esangbedo and Bai (2019), additional research in the samedirection, tested reputation as abenchmark foru n i v e r s i t i e s ’ c o n t i n u o u s i m p r o v e m e n t In multicriteria decision making, the calculation of each criterion’s weight is essentialfortheaccurateevaluationofresearchoutcomes.EsangbedoandBaid e f i n e d uni versity reputation, assigning it six components: social contributions, environments,leadership,funding,R&D,andstudent guidance.
A third example is a research by Plewa et al (2016), which highlighted the criticalrole of a reputation for HEIs The article offered insight into how brand prestige playedakeyroleindeterminingstudent– universityidentity.Themoreattractivelytheuniversity’s identity was by students, the more strongly they would identify with theuniversity, leading to goals, identities, and values shared between the university and thestudents.Theauthorsrecommendedthatuniversitiesshouldengageinbrandingactivities that develop a strong student–university identity to enhance the students'university- supportivebehaviors(Plewaetal.,2016).
Inthefinalstudy,moreinformationonuniversityreputationhadbecomeavailable.Che nandEsangbedo(2018)demonstratedthatsixfactorsaffecteduniversities:c o n t r i b u t i o n s, e n v i r o n m e n t s , l e a d e r s h i p , f u n d i n g , R & D , a n d s t u d e n t guidance.TheauthorsevaluatedthereputationofChineseuniversitiesthroughahierarchical model.
Theresearchgapidentification
This study begins with the desire to better understand the construction of universityreputation The framework of university reputation and student behavioral intention isformedbytherelationshipbetweenstudenttrust,studentidentity,andstudentcommitment. Vietnam's higher education sector plays an essentialr o l e i n e d u c a t i o n ; this sector has been encountering various problems, and university reputation is a keypillarineducationalmanagementtheory.
As in the above researchreview, there are many typesofr e p u t a t i o n a n d b e h a v i o r in higher education; Esangbedo and Bai (2019),Chen and Esangbedo
(2018), andPlewa et al (2016) indicated some factors affecting university reputation in highereducation Rather (2018), Nuraryo et al (2018), and Harahap et al (2018) applied themodel of Keh and Xie (2009) from hotels to education; however, the authors did notprovethatreputationandbehavioralintentionarerelatedtotrust,identity,andcommitmen t.Researchislackingonreputationandstudentbehavioralintention’s relationship to student trust, student identity, and student commitment in a specificallyVietnamesehighereducationcontext.
The quantity of literature on university reputation is nonetheless gradually rising. Itconnects brand reputation and behavioral intention, and the writing can be isolated intotwo floods of exploration They contrast in their ontological and epistemological stormcellars and, consequently, in the way university reputation and its development becomeknown.
In summary, there are two directions of research on university reputation:(1)researchconcernedwithfactorsaffectinguniversityreputationand(2)researchconcerned with the roles of student trust, student identity, and student commitment inmediating university reputation and student behavioral intention Solutions that helpdevelop university reputation play a vital role in its future strategic development as thelevel of competition in Vietnam education is only expected to increase At the sametime,awarenessofstudents’perceptions,attitudes,andbehaviorscanaffectthecompeti tiveness and sustainability of universities Beginning from that urgent need,Ichose the following topic for a dissertation: The roles of student trust, identity,andcommitmentintherelationshipbetweenuniversityreputationandbehavioralintention.
Researchobjectandscope
Researchobject
According to the aims presented above, the research object of this dissertation isthe perception of students about university reputation and the relationships around it Inparticular, the factors that create university reputation are considered the premise suchas social contributions, leadership, environments, student guidance, funding, research,and development The roles of student trust, student identity, student commitment, andstudentbe ha vi or al intentionare r e g a r d e d as a result o f u n i v e r s i t y reputati on.S t u d e n t trust, student identity, and student commitment are considered to mediate the impact ofthe reputation on students' behavioral intention Summarily, there are eleven objects inthisresearch.
Researchscope
The research concepts are comprehensive, involving many different fields andstakeholders This study limits research on the reputation and its related factors to theperceptions of university graduates in Vietnam The components considered in themodelincludesocialcontributions,leadership,environments,studentguidance,funding, researchanddevelopment,studenttrust,studentidentity,s t u d e n t commitment,anduniv ersityreputation,andbehavioralintention.
The research was conducted in the education sector of Vietnam A survey ofuniversity graduates was conducted to test the research issues in many representativeprovinces and cities in the South of Vietnam These are the nnational universities,national key universities, private universities, emerging universities that may partiallyrepresenthighereducation in Vietnam.
Theresearchwascarriedfrom2015–2020,theperiodduringwhichtheinternational economic integration roadmap requires Vietnam to increase the level ofcompetitioninhighereducation.
Researchaim
This research’s purpose determines the factors affecting university reputation andtherolesofstudenttrust,studentidentity,andstudentcommitmentintherelatio nship between university reputation and behavioral intention to understand student choices ofmaster’sprograms.Second,thesefactorswillbemeasuredbysomeanalysisquantitative tools Finally, this dissertation will also give some implications to developthe relationship between university reputation and behavioral intention in Vietnamesehighereducation.
Reputationisconsideredanintangibleassetthathelpsbusinessesmaximizeprofits, increase market share, attract new customers, maintain existing customers, andinvalidate the actions of competitors Above all, it ensures the success and survival offirmsinthemarket(FombrunandShanley,1990;Sarstedtetal.,2013),sounderstanding the potential factors that can enhance reputation, as well as the outcomeof the reputation, is of strategic importance (Berens and Van Riel, 2004) However, dueto the intangible nature of reputation, its complex effects, and the ambiguity regardingits causal factors, it is essential to examine the real impact of individual components(Agarwal et al., 2015) Additionally, authors have also suggested that reputation and itsrelationships should be studied in different cultures, especially Asian ones (Fombrun etal.,2015).Thisresearchfurtherdevelopstherelationshipsaroundreputationandresearch in various disciplines (Fombrun et al., 2015; Walsh, 2007) The proposals byBerens and Van Riel (2004), Agarwal et al (2015), and Fombrun et al (2015) areconsideredthebeginningofthisstudy.
With the above background in mind, the first aim of this dissertation is to increasethe understanding of university reputation and its construction Reputation has becomemore andmoreessential for higher education institutions suchas universities andbusinesscolleges;suchschoolsareincreasinglyvyingfornotoriety(Aula,2015;Wedlin,
2 0 0 8 ) I n c o n t e m p o r a r y h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n , c o l l e g e r e p u t a t i o n s a r e e x p e r t l y designed,created, and e n s u r e d T hes eco nd p u r p o s e o f t h i s d is s e r t a t i o n is to id en ti fy thef a c t o r s t h a t c r e a t e universityr e p u t a t i o n andb u i l d a modelofther e l a t i o n s h i p between university reputation and behavioral intention in Vietnamese higher education,incorporating the roles of student trust, student identity, and student commitment tounderstand student choices of master’s programs in Vietnam However, understandingstudent behavioral intention in selecting a university and the process of constructing auniversityreputation isacomplicatedmatter.
Theresearchquestions
The above section introduced two issues of the dissertation: first, examining thedeterminantsofuniversityreputation;second,analyzingtherelationshipbetweenunivers ity reputation and behavioral intention in higher education in Vietnam. Thisdissertationfollowsthechapterformat.Hence,theoverallconstructionofthisdissertatio n contains a mix of regular dissertation chapters The following sectionspresentthetwoquestionsof researchdiscussedinthe fivechaptersofthisdissertation.
ResearchQuestion2: Howaretherolesofstudenttrust,identity,andcommitment in the relationship between university reputation and behavioralintentiontested?
Methodology
In the context of this dissertation, where many research hypotheses need to beinvestigated, the appropriatem e t h o d o l o g y w o u l d b e q u a n t i t a t i v e a n a l y s i s H o w e v e r , the concepts in this model are new in Vietnam, so they must be evaluated and built tosuitthespecificconditions inVietnam.Inthis case,theappropriatem e t h o d o l o g y would be qualitative research Consequently, considering both of the above points, amixed methodology is the most suitable research strategy for this study, in whichqualitativeresearchadjustsareputationscale,andquantitativeresearchteststhe hypotheses Hence, this dissertation first reviews the related literature to identify thefactors that create a scale of university reputation and builds a research model withtwelvehypothesesaboutarelationshipbetweentheuniversityreputationa n d behavior al intention in Vietnamese higher education, incorporating the roles of studenttrust,studentidentity,andstudentcommitmenttounderstandstudentchoicesofmaste r’sprogramsinVietnam.
Typically,themethodologysectiongathersanddissectsresearchinformationinaconcisedis course.Inthisdissertation,asurveywasutilizedtoassembleinformation.Thequestionnaire was written in English based on the literature review and subsequentlyconverted to Vietnamese, the language is spoken by all respondents The methodologywas actualized through two rounds: qualitative research and quantitative analysis Asample of 61 individuals powered qualitative research The discussion was divided intointerviewsandseminars.
This research employs a quantitative methodology primarily by relying on theempiricalsurveydataofasampleof1,538Vietnamesegraduates.Duetothecomplexityo f t h e r e s e a r c h m o d e l s , w h i c h h a v e m e d i a t o r s a n d w e r e d e s i g n e d w i t h smallsamplesizes,dataanalysisisconductedbyapplyingpartialleastsquaresstructural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with the support of SPSS 20 andAdancosoftwarepackages.
Dissertationcontributions
Theorycontributions
Althoughcorporatereputationisatopicthathasattractedtheattentionofresearchersw orldwide, there is stillmuchcontroversy in its study,andreputationresearch is still in the process of synthesizing a dominating theory However, studieshave mainly been conducted in developed countries; this research is still new in thecontext of developing nations (Fombrun et al., 2015) Research results in Vietnam,which has a unique culture and economic/educational development levels lower thanthose of developed countries, might vary significantly from previous research. Thisdissertationalsopresentstheliteratureconcerningtheuniversityreputationandbehavior al intention in higher education, thereby connecting the two disciplines of dataprocessingandeducationalmarketing.Thisconnectionisappropriate,giventhedevelopingi nterestin(andincreasedeffortstoward)universityreputationandbehavioralintentionresear ch.Itisexpectedtomakethefollowingfivenewcontributions:
First, it identifies six determinants of university reputation processing. Theseprovide a more comprehensive and implemented basis for understanding the reputationofu n i v e r s i t i e s a n d t h e c o l l e c t i o n o f b e h a v i o r a l i n t e n t i o n S i t u a t i o n a l d e t e r m i n a n t s , enduringparticipation,andchannelcharacteristic sthatsuitsocialnetworkingenvironmentsareadditionaldeterminantsidentifiedbythisdissertation
Second, university reputation and behavioral intention processing frames arerevealed to confirm the mutual relationships of factors Resolutions from this framesuggestavenues offuturestudy.
Third,thisdissertation,duringitsexaminationoftherelationshipbetweenuniversityr eputationandbehavioral i n t e n t i o n , considerstheliterature onth e rolesof student trust, student identity, and student commitment, which had not previously beenassessed.
Fourth, this study examines the influence of involvement in light of universityreputation and behavioral intention,including its indirect effects.Cooperation is acommonaspectofmarketing,butthestudyhasrarelycategorizedloyaltyorinvolvementinth e situation,whichcanaffecttheprocessingofinformationseparately.
Fifth, this research explores university reputation and the behavioral intention ofprospective learners in the context of higher education It expands the literature ondeterminants of university reputation and behavioral intention of prospective students,whichisofbenefitto higher educationmarketing.
Practiceimplications
Fromtheperspectiveofmanymarketersandpractitioners,thisdissertationprovides a complete list of crucial determinants of university reputation and behavioralintention in higher education, within the context of student decision-making Through amore in- depth understanding, marketing practitioners can develop and increase theircommunication strategies Such refinements could include the development of moretargeted and engagingm e s s a g e s t o e n c o u r a g e t h e s h a r i n g o f r e f e r r a l s b y s t u d e n t s
I n thecontextofhighereducation,thisresearchprovidesrecommendationsf o r universities on how best to gain an advantage in a competitive landscape It also helpsuniversity managers to identify important attributes that support the growth of theiruniversity's reputation and the development of future strategies to suit the increasinglycompetitiveeconomy.Furthermore,thisresearchcangivestudentsabetterunde rstandingofeducationalcompetitionandraiseawarenessoftheconnectionbetween university reputation and student behavior intention This study’s model canguide practitioners in planning and implementing university operations The purpose ofthisdissertationistoidentifyandevaluate universityreputationandbehaviora l intentioninhighereducation;withthisinformation,universitymanagersa n d marketing practitioners can better manage and plan for their institutions’ universityreputationandbehavioral-intentionmarketingstrategy.
Dissertationstructure
This dissertation implements a five-chapter dissertation structure based on theapproachapproved bythe UniversityofEconomicsHo ChiMinhCity.
The dissertation starts with Chapter 1, an introduction that presents a shortbackground of the roles of student trust, student identity, and student commitment inthe relationship between university reputationa n d b e h a v i o r a l i n t e n t i o n i n t h e c o n t e x t of Vietnamese higher education It also presented details relevant to the dissertation:researchbackground,researchgoals,researchquestions,theresearchmodel,m ethodology,thedissertation’s contributions,and theresearchstructure.
Chapter 2 Literature review details the literature on the roles of student trust,studentidentity,andstudentcommitmentintherelationshipbetweenuniversityreputat iona n d b e h a v i o r a l i n t e n t i o n i n theV i e t n a m e s e h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n a l c o n t e x t Based on the reviewed literature, we develop a model with twelve hypotheses andexplore the connection between university reputation and behavioral intention Theroles of student trust, student identity, and student commitment are also tested in theirimpactsonuniversityreputationandbehavioralintention.
Chapter3Methodologylaysoutinseveralsectionsthemethodologythatsupports this dissertation First, a measurement scale with entries for each determinantisprovided.Next,weexplainthesampleanddatacollectionindetail.T h e f i n a l sectionillustratestheprocessesandmethodsemployedfordataanalysis.
Chapter4Resultswillreporttheresultsofthedataanalysisprocessandapprovestheval ueofthehypothesesmentionedinChapter2,aswellastherelationshipsbetweenfactors.Itfoc usesonanalyticalresultsandin-depthdiscussion.
Chapter 5 Conclusion, implications, and limitations interpret the results derivedfrom this analysis This chapter explains the essential findings and discusses how theycomparet o p r e v i o u s s t u d i e s b y o t h e r s t u d i e s T h e c o n t r i b u t i o n s a n d i m p l i c a t i o n s o f this dissertation are discussed This chapter also discusses the limitations of the thesisand makes suggestions for future research Finally, it presents a dissertation summary,which identifies problems and objectives of previous studies and provides the mainresultsofthisstudy,itscontributions,anditsimplicationsfortheoryandpractice.
Conclusion
Thischapterdisplaysthedissertation’sbackgroundinordertopresentthecritical research problem, the research goals, and the research questions By reviewingthe existing literature, this research proposes to investigate the connection betweenuniversityreputationandbehavioralintentioninhighereducationinVietnam:specif ically,themediatingrolesofstudenttrust,studentidentity,andstudentcommitmentinstudent choicesofVietnamesemaster’sprograms.
Introduction
This chapter performs a review of the literature on the relationship betweenuniversityreputationandbehavioralintentioninVietnamesehighereducation:spec ifically,themediatingrolesofstudenttrust,studentidentity,andstudentcommitment in higher education students’ choices First, I propose six hypotheses (H1,H2, H3, H4, H5, and
H6) derived from the examined connection between universityreputationanditsdeterminants,whicharesocialcontributions,leadership,environme nts, student guidance, funding, and research and development Second, I testthe effect of student trust, student identity, and student commitmenton universityreputationandbehavioralintention,leadingtoH7,H8,H9,H10,H11,andH12.
Reputation
Studentguidance
Whenleavinguniversities,fewstudentshavefullknowledgeofu n i v e r s i t i e s Ad vice obtained from guidance counselors as well as individual university reviewsbasedo n c u r r e n t k n o w l e d g e a n d a c c e s s i b l e i n f o r m a t i o n c a n b e vieweda s s t u d e n t guidance (Chen and Esangbedo, 2018) The academic standard of a university willpredictitsproposals,ameasureofthereputationoftheuniversity(ChenandEsangbedo,2018; Pedro et al., 2016) The confidenceestablishedb y l e a r n e r s w i t h i n the college can potentially influence their friends’ choices when it comes to universityenrollment; this can take the form of the university’s perceived service quality (ChenandEsangbedo, 2018;Shamma, 2 0 1 2 ; TwaissiandAl-Kilani, 2 0 1 5 ) Bybeing availableforconsultationandofferingtheguidancethathelpsstudentsexcelacademically, student guardians understand student needs and make contact easier.Such guardians care about the perceptions of their wards as a student, and they canexpressconcerns that affect them.
In one study, students had little understanding of university when leaving highschool They received advice from guidance counselors, individuals who decipheredandassessedacollege(thisadvicewasdependentontheirexperience),andtheavai lable data about the college in question (Chen and Esangbedo, 2018). Academicqualitypredictedcollegerecommendations,whichisaformoftheu n i v e r s i t y reputation (Chen and Esangbedo, 2018; Pedro et al., 2016) Others were affected bystudents, who may have been their companions, showing their trust in the school.Perceived administration quality influences student's behavior of encouraging others totake on their college, and it likewise concerns their likelihood of considering othercolleges(ChenandEsangbedo,2018;Shamma,2012;TwaissiandAl-Kilani,2015).
Insummary,Plewaetal.(2016)indicatedthatthosewhoprovides t u d e n t guidance possess the following qualities: they understand student needs, are availablefor consultation when needed, make interacting with students easy, provide support tohelps t u d e n t s s u c c e e d a c a d e m i c a l l y , c a r e a b o u t s t u d e n t s ’ e x p e r i e n c e s , a r e g o o d a t communicatingaboutissuest hatconcernstudents,andhaveusefulknowledgeofeducationalsystemsandprocedures.
Socialcontributions
Social contributions can be viewed as “the complex feedback of a university,responding to the demands of the environment, where all the actions of the universityhaveani mp act in th e c o m m u n i t y ” ( C he n andE s a n g b e d o , 20 18 ) Th e yaret h e va lu e thatauniversity providestosociety (EsangbedoandBai,2019) S oci al contributions canconsistofaninstitutionalperspectiveofmoralcommitmentandduty,whichincludesthedegr eetowhichauniversitymightaffectthegeneralpublicasanorganization (for-profit, not-for- profit, or charitable) meeting expectations over time(Chen and Esangbedo, 2018; Verčič et al., 2016), the rate at which students from thisorganization find a new line of work, and the frequency with which employees havesomething positive to state about the university Alumni associations are the results ofthe robustness of the connection emerging from positive student experiences, and theseassociations are in a more authoritative position to profess that university reputationaffects degrees (Chen and Esangbedo, 2018; Plewa et al., 2016). Additionally, themusings ofuniversity alumnionthedegreeoflearningandutility ofthelearnedknowledge are an essential measure for passing judgment on the quality and servicesrendered by the university to its students (Calitz et al., 2016; Chen and Esangbedo,2018).
EsangbedoandBai(2019)indicatedthatsocialcontributionsincludeauniversity’s duty and ethical contributions to society, the university’s human resourcecontribution to industries (in the form of graduates), and the evidence of the educationthatgraduates receivedasstudents.
Finally,factorsthatinfluenceaneducationalinstitution’sapparentsocialcontributions include MBA student behavior, MBA student importance, MBA studenthelpfulness,andMBAstudent educationalinstitution.
In general, the components of social contributions are whether the universitystrongly supports the community, has a positive social influence and helps graduatessecurehigh-qualityjobs.
Environments
AccordingtoFombrunetal.(2000),agoodworkplaceenvironmentiswellmanaged, an excellent business to work in, and an enterprise with good employees. Inhighereducation,environmentsaretheacademicrequirementsthatdirectlyo r indirectly impact the quality of students and instructors (Esangbedo and Bai, 2019) Asafe, clean, and pleasant environment in which to learn is a primary expectation ofstudents (Badri and Mohaidat, 2014; Chen and Esangbedo, 2018) Safety, one elementof a good environment, measures a university’s ability to protect learners from danger(Badri and Mohaidat, 2014; Chen and Esangbedo, 2018) The location where studyingoccurs is an essential aspect of the student’s activities; protecting it is the social duty ofthe school A reputable school should surpass its local nature and gather students fromaround the world to play out a supporting role in its image, and it should help studentsto achieve their goals (Chen and Esangbedo, 2018; Sarwari and Wahab, 2016). Thearrangementofelectronic-learningprogramsovertheInternetsuggeststhata university is universally eminent (Chen and Esangbedo, 2018; Verčič et al., 2016).Del-Castillo- Feitoetal.
The research of Esangbedo and Bai (2019) added several factors for academicenvironments:beingaspaceinwhichlearnerscanminglewithothercultures,univer sity ability to protect students from risk, and acting as a social space dedicated tolearning.
In general, thecomponents of a good environment are (1)a safe, clean,andpleasant environment for students to learn in, (2) diverse cultural backgrounds, and(3)internationalrenown.
Leadership
There have been many definitions of leadership in organizational reputation, butaccording to Fombrun et al (2000), leadership is to have excellent management, topossess a clear vision for the future, and to recognize and exploit market opportunities.Leadership is important to reputation: it conveys a company’s success and performancetothefinancialcommunity.Dimensionsofleadershipareintendedtoa s s e s s p erceptions of leaders as excellent, visionary managers and strong endorsers of theircompanies(Fombrunetal.,2015).AccordingtoFombrunetal.
(2015),dimensionsofa well-led company include: has a positive influence on society,has a strong andappealing leader, has a clear vision for the future, is a well-organized company, and hasexcellent managers.
For a reputable university, a strong vision of future growth is mandatory because itdisplays integrity and organization (Chen and Esangbedo, 2018; Esangbedo and Bai,2019; Verčič et al., 2016; Vidaver-Cohen, 2007) This vision is perceived in the valueof(1)trainingresources(Ahmedetal.,2010;ChenandEsangbedo,2018),
(2)coursework (in the form of various valuations over the year of school), and (3) theacademic staff that presents these materials Additionally, learner prospects must beconsidered as part of this evaluation because university practices may be portrayed asuniversity programs for attracting prospective students, from admission procedures tothegraduationprocess(ChenandEsangbedo,2018).Summarily,thequalityofleadership expresses having excellent leaders, prestigious professors, a clear vision fordevelopment, the latest technology, and the ability to recognize and exploit marketopportunities (Chen and Esangbedo, 2018; Fombrun et al 2000; Esangbedo and Bai,2019).
Funding
Funding has a role in several areas Reputable universities should be more capableof obtaining government grants, funding contributions from parents and sponsors, andreduced tuition fees from funding bodies in the form of scholarships for students (C.Chen and Esangbedo, 2018; McPherson and Schapiro, 1999) Since parents are theprimary sponsors of most education in university, their level of income is a factorinfluencingthekindofeducationtheirstudentsget(ChenandEsangbedo,2018;Saleem et al., 2017; West et al., 2017) Tuition fees are the main cost of college(Burgessetal.,2018;ChenandEsangbedo,2018;Verčičetal.,2016),andauniversity’s ability to attract top student is affected by its provision of scholarships(Chen andEsangbedo, 2018; Flavell et al., 2018) Funding is related to the income ofparents/sponsors, tuition, and scholarships In summary, funding is indicative of thecost of living at a university, as well as its finances, scholarships, research grants,andtuitionfees.
Researchanddevelopment
Topromoteknowledgetransfer,change,creativity,innovation,andnationaldevelopme nt,universitiesshouldbeabletooptimizefundedresearch.Intoday'sknowledge-based economy, industrial development and university research productionareinterrelated;researchhelpstoboostandpromotescientificandtechnicalbreakt hroughs (Chen and Esangbedo, 2018; D’Este and Patel, 2007; Hamdan et al.,2011). Essential study procedures from university administrations are stretched to thecolleges to organize, and colleges worry about the vital task (Chen and Esangbedo,2018;Nelson and Rosenberg, 1993) Universities' research output can be estimated bythenumberofarticles(ChenandEsangbedo,2018;Frenkenetal.,2017).
Furthermore, the goals, outcomes, and accomplishments of these studies should beopen to the scientific community (Chen and Esangbedo, 2018; Kheiry et al.,2012).Consequently, R&D can be stated as a link between industry and In the form of keyprojects,asisevidentinacademicjournals,theuniversity.Finally,researchanddevelopm entaffectauniversity’stechnologicaltrends,keynationalp r o j e c t s , laboratoryequipme nt,andlibrary.
Studenttrust
Sinceitsmobilizationbypsychologistsinthe1950s,theconceptoftrusthasdeveloped in many different fields In a marketing context, consumer trust arises whenone party in a commercial transaction has faith in certain specific features of the other.From a psychological perspective, the function of trust is to reduce customer anxiety inawkwardsituationsinthedecision- makingprocess.Thisleadstoareductionintransactioncostsbecauselessinformationsearchi ngandcheckingarenecessary(Kramer,1999).Manyauthorshavestressedtheimportanceoft rustinachievingorganizational success Confidence can provide a sense of security, which will help anorganizationsurviveacomplex environment.
Thomas (2009) defines beliefs as “expecting a positive outcome, the outcome that acustomer may receive based on the expected action of another party.” In a situationwhere clients feel defenseless, they depend on positive associations (trust), diminishingtheir vulnerability (Aydin and Ozer, 2006) In short, trust is faith in an organization thatworks dependably, without destructive activities, such as the two parties are mutuallyadvantaged. Trustisviewedasanextension ofexperience;itisforeseeingthefuture.
Even though ideas of reputation and trust are distinct and unique, organizations thathave positive reputations reasonably foster more significant levels of certainty amongclients.Thesebringaboutimprovedimpressionsoftrusttowardstheorganiza tionand decreased views of risk (Heffernan et al., 2018; Keh and Xie, 2009 Trust may beportrayed as a client's belief that an organization would not act dishonestly—that itwouldprovideitsproductsattheexpectedquality(AndersonandWeitz,1992;Heffernan et al., 2018) Trusting clients accept that they will be protected and that anorganization will act uprightly (Heffernan et al., 2018; R M Morgan and Hunt, 1994).Trust is a complex construct that contains a psychological component, which dependson a shopper's information on the firm and its capacities, and a functional component,whichisthepassionatebond,createdovertime,betweentheindividualandtheorg anization(Dowelletal.,2015;Heffernanetal.,2018).
The study of Liu et al (2019) indicated that trust is to possess a high level ofconfidence in partners, to accept that partnership will put an organization’s tendenciesinapivotalposition,andtobewillingtomakeessentialcontributionstothepartners hip.
Finally, in the research of Rather (2018), factors of trust were whether a brand wastrusted, whether it was perceived as honest, whether it was perceived as safe,andwhethercustomersreliedonit.
Studentidentity
Customer identity is an essential yet underused construct Customer identity helpstoclarifytherelationshipbetweenworkersandtheircompany,aswellastherelationship betweencustomersandtheirgoodsconsumed.Brandresearchersinparticular believe that consumer identification with a brand culture can affect brand- relatedpurchasingbehaviorsandthelengthofthecommunity.Customeridentityi sa distinct notion from the identification of consumers with the brand of a business, itstargetmarkets,anditsprototypicalconsumer.Todemonstrate,whenbusinessesa dopta multi-brand strategy for all goods or services or operate in a wide variety of marketareas, the identification of consumers with a business can vary significantly from theiridentification with their particular brand A business with a high customer identity canbenefit from consumer loyalty to existing products, willingness to try new products,spreadingpositiveword- of-mouth,andresistancetonegativeb r a n d - r e l a t e d information.(KehandXie,2009).
In the educational market context, students are considered as customers. Theiridentityreferstolearnerswhofeelthattheybelongto(identifywith)theevaluation ofa university’s performance (Mitchell et al., 2018) This description demonstrates both auseful element and an awareness of the importance of a university Learners who feelaccepted,andwhoseemtobeatauniversitywheretheybelong,mayhavea n emotional connectionwith their university.O n t h e c o n t r a r y , s o m e l e a r n e r s f e e l t h a t theyarenotacceptedatauniversityandmaywishtowithdraw.Thisisaccom paniedby cognitive assessments of the importanceof universities to their future success,althoughstudentsmayfeelrelievedbecausetheuniversityisquitecostly.Someindivi duals, because of their negative academic experience, may protect themselves bybelievingthatgraduationisnotnecessaryfortheirsuccess(Mitchelletal.,2018).
TheresearchofNuraryoetal.(2018)expressedthatthecorporate-identitycomponent focused on business conditions: the quality of marketing The usual rule inthemarketwasthatprospectivestudentswouldoftenattendaleadingschoolbec auseof its overall reputation Universities were highly successful in their attempts to gainwhat they had set out for by rallying their tools and means to impart their identities togroups.
KehandXie(2009)indicatedthatcorporateidentityincludedthefollowingstatements:Th eorganization'ssuccessesweretheircompany'ssuccesses;Theircompany was very interested in what othersthink about the focal company; Ifa s t o r y in the media criticized this organization, their company would feel embarrassed; Whensomeonepraisesthefocalcompanyitfeelslikeacomplimentoftheircompany.”
The study of Liu et al (2019) showed that identity included these statements: Thebusinessisinvaluableincollaboration;theyarepleasedtobeamemberoftheorganization
;theorganizationisreadytobeconsistentandhasaphilosophyo f working together; reputation is decided and accepted by the coalition; participation inthecollaborationisacceptable.
Rather(2018)recognizedthefollowingfactors:Whensomeonecriticizest h a t brand, it feels like a personal insult; When the author talks about that brand, the authorusually say ‘we’ rather than ‘they’; That brand’s successes are the author’s successes;Whensomeonepraises thisbrand,itfeels likeapersonalcompliment.
Studentcommitment
Commitment is one of the essential concepts in marketing research and is rooted inthesocialexchangetheory.Rather(2018)andMoormanetal.
(1992)definedcommitmentas“anenduringdesiretomaintainavaluedrelationship.”Somere searchers have confirmed commitment as the essential determinant of creating andsustaining long-term relations between trading companions (Morgan and Hunt, 1994;Rather, 2018) Based on the literature, the research defined customer commitment as acommercialpartner’swillingnesstomaintainasignificantandlastingconnection(Morgana ndHunt,1994;Rather,2018).
Studentcommitmentalludestotheinspirationaldemeanorandconductofundergraduates whorelatedtotheirleadersandwerehappytoengageincomparative endeavors (Chen, 2018) As per experts’ hypothesis, a more grounded expert duty ofstudentsmeansamoregroundedlearninginspiration(Chen,2018).Theshared- characterm o d e l add it io na ll y statest ha tthe h i g h e r the p e r c e i ve d l eve l of i n d i v i d u a l s , the more constructive people in their movement are; that is, the one affirms an expert,themorevaluablyandenthusiasticallytheycarryouttheirresponsibilities(Chen,2018).
The research of Keh and Xie (2009) detailed factors that indicate commitment:
“Mycompany does not feel a strong sense of ‘belonging’ to the focal company; It would bevery hard for my company to leave the focal company right now, even if we wanted to;Thecompany deservesmy company'sloyalty;Itwouldnotbetoocostly formycompany to leave the focal company soon; My company would not leave the focalcompanyrightnowbecausewehaveasenseofobligationtothem.”
The study of Liu et al (2019) specified that commitment in learning is: to performsuch that future agreements won't easily break; accepting that a business will agree toits duties; cooperating with individuals from the organization; the organization wasbeingfaithfultothe partnership.
In the study of Rather (2018), factors of commitment were: feeling committed to abrand; being proud to belong to a brand; being a loyal customer of a brand; caring forthelong-termsuccessofa brand.
Behavioralintention
The behavioral component consists of managing the behavior of the employee.Given the current demand for economic responsibility and theincreased focusoncustomerchoice,universitiesareconsideringstudentsandstaffasclients.Conseque ntly, to maintain the desired level of service quality, the relationship betweenadministrativestaffandacademicshasbecomemorestructured.Thus,thebeh aviorof universityadministrationsfrequentlyresemblesthatofabusinessorganization(Nuraryoetal. ,2018).
“Buying intention” describes the probability that a customer plans or is preparedto buy a specific item or service later on The optimal move must be made when acustomer is intrigued and spurred because individuals will, in general, take part inpractices they intend to play out; the conduct is a determining factor of the activity. Anexpansioninpurchasingexpectationimpliesanincrementinpurchasingcapacity(Schiff man and Kanuk, 2007) At the point when buyers strongly intend to purchase,this intention constitutes a legitimate brand responsibility and inclines shoppers to realpurchasing activity (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975; Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007). Thus,purchasing intention is an adequate predictor of future conduct At the point whencustomers decide to purchase, this plays out an unmistakable brand guarantee andpersuades clients to take action (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980) Accordingly, investigatingpurchasinggoalsissensible ifonewishestoanticipatefuturebehavior.
Behavioral intentions include the intention to recommend something to others(Twaissi and Al-Kilani, 2015; Zeithaml et al., 1996) and the intention to repurchase(Twaissi and Al-Kilani, 2015) This latter intention is called “repurchase intention.” Inthe serving industry, repurchasesm e a n t h a t c o m p a n i e s a r e r e t a i n i n g p a s t c u s t o m e r s ; this is known as retention In gaining new customers and retaining old ones, servicequality is asignificantly useful instrument;it isalsoreceivingattentionin highereducation(TwaissiandAl-
Kilani,2015).Students’intentionstoabandontheiruniversitystudiescanbeeithertheresultso ftheirin-universityexperiencesinuniversities or other causes (Twaissi and Al-Kilani,
2015) Past studies have suggestedthat behavioral intentions are a good predictor ofactual behavior andcan predictconsumerloyalty(Xuetal.,2018)
Student’sbehavioralintentionshadbecomeachallengingproblemfortheacademicco mmunity.Thus,effectivemeasuresforstudentintentionhadtobeimplemented to achieve the desired behavioral intentions of qualified students in highereducation(Lau, 2003;Twaissiand Al-Kilani,2015).
In the research of Keh and Xie (2009), components of behavior intention were:planning to purchase most relevant products/services from the focal company in thefuture;consideringthefocalcompanythefirstchoicefromwhichtobuyproducts/ services;doing morebusinesswiththefocalcompanyinthenextfewyears.
Behavioral intention (BI) is described as the broad engagement of a client with acurrent product or service such that it will be purchased in the future (Lai et al., 2019;Oliver, 2014) Jani and Han (2015), as well as Kaur and Soch (2012), expressed
BI asthe encouragement of customers, including their families and companions, to use acompany’s products or services Shoppers aim to continue using products or servicesfor an extended period; the eagerness of customers to follow through on a greaterexpensefortheproductsorservicestowhichtheyarefaithful,ratherthanothe rs(Laiet al., 2019) In the context of higher education, the conduct expected of students mighttaketheformofapsychologicalpictureoftheiridealuniversity,acompellingassessmentor appreciationofthehistory andacademicreputationofsuchhighereducation institutions, the instinctual goal to be part of those institutions’ projects, andso on (Brown and Mazzarol, 2009; Han and Woods, 2014; Lai et al., 2019) Thus,students might display their behavioral intentions by the practical activities of joiningtheir ideal universities, and they might similarly demonstrate purchasing intention bymaking tuition payments Explicitly, BI is students demonstrating a willing attitudetowardthefollowing (BrownandMazzarol,2009):
Nikou and Economides (2017) described behavior intentions in education asintending to use their MBA in the future, planning to use an MBA in the future, andpredictingtheuseofanMBAinthefuture.
Finally, students’ behavioral intentions demonstrated the intention to study mostoftherelevantcoursesinamaster’sdegreeattheiruniversity,consideringthisuniversity the first choice from which to study a master’s program, and planning tostudy at the master’s program of this university in the next few years Variables areproposedbelow, intable2.3.
Alessandri et al (2006); Balmer et al (1997); Chen andEsangbedo(2018);Del-Castillo-Feitoetal.
(2013);EsangbedoandBai(2019);Fombrun and Van Riel (1997); Heffernan et al.(2018);Khanna et al (2014); N. Nguyen and LeBlanc(2001);PérezandT o r r e s
( 2 0 1 7 ) ; P l e w a e t a l ( 2 0 1 6 ) ; Su et al.(2016); Verčič et al (2016); Vidaver-Cohen(2007);Woodalletal.(2014).
BadriandMohaidat(2014);ChenandEsangbedo(2018); Del-Castillo-Feito et al (2020); Esangbedo andBai (2019);Fombrun et al (2000); Sarwari and Wahab(2016);Verčičetal.(2016).
(2010);ChenandEsangbedo(2018);Esangbedo,andBai(2 019);Fombrunetal.(2000);Fombrun et al., (2015); Verčič et al (2016); Vidaver-Cohen(2007).
Burgessetal.(2018);ChenandEsangbedo(2018);Flavell et al (2018); McPherson and Schapiro (1999);Saleem et al (2017); Verčič et al (2016); West et al.(2017).
Chen and Esangbedo (2018); D’Este and Patel(2007);Frenken et al (2017);Hamdan et al (2011);Kheiry etal.(2012);NelsonandRosenberg (1993).
(2015);Dzimińska et al (2018);Heffernan et al (2018); Liu etal (2019); Keh and Xie (2009); Meer and Chapman(2014);MorganandHunt(1994);Rather(2018).
Keh and Xie (2009); Liu et al (2019); M Chen. (2018);Moormanetal.
KehandXie(2009);Lau(2003);NikouandEconomides (2017); Nuraryo et al (2018); Twaissi andAl- Kilani(2015);Xuetal.(2018).
Foundationtheories
Marketsignalingtheory
Signal theory is fundamentally associated with reducing information asymmetrybetween two parties (Michael, 2002) A party with much information can honestly andreliably signal to those who are less informed Michael (1973) researched the labormarket, job candidates, and employers Employers cannot directly observe candidates'abilities; they can only do so indirectly, by way of candidates’ qualifications If less- competentpeopletakemoretimeandefforttoachievethesamelevelofeducationa s doqualifiedpeople,responsibleindividualscansendsignalsbygainingskills.Reputationisvi ewedastheoperative,creatingunderstandingsamongworkers,students,supporters,alumn i,andvariouspartnersaboutwhattheorganizationis,whatit accomplishes, and what motivates it (Aula, 2015; Fombrun and Van Riel, 1997).Game theorists characterize reputation as a trademark quality that acts as evidence,helping various actors to predict an organization’s future conduct
ClarkandMontgomery,1998;WeigeltandCamerer,1988).Gametheoristsperceiveorganiza tional “genuine types” and “deliberately assembled types,” and the type thatdetermines reputation can (although not necessarily) mirror the “genuine” quality of theorganization (Aula, 2015;ClarkandMontgomery,1998; WeigeltandCamerer, 1988).
Signaling theory is useful for describing the behavior that takes place when twoparties (individuals or organizations) have different access to information. Typically,one party, the sender, must choose whether and how to communicate (signal) thatinformation, and the other party, the receiver, must choose how to interpret the signal.Accordingly, signaling theory holds a prominent position in a variety of managementliterature,includingstrategicmanagement,entrepreneurship,andhumanresou rcemanagement(Connellyetal.,2011;KromidhaandLi,2019).
The core idea of signaling theory is that signalers were insiders whoh a v e a c c e s s to information and knowledge not available to receivers, who are outsiders (Connelly etal., 2011; Kromidha and Li, 2019) The signaling theory had traditionally been used toexplain how new ventures, requiring external finance but having greater informationabout their business, try to communicate and connect with external funders seekingprofitableinvestmentopportunities(Connellyetal.,2011).
In his formulation of signaling theory, Michael (1973) utilized the labor market tomodelt h e s i g n a l i n g f u n c t i o n o f e d u c a t i o n P o t e n t i a l e m p l o y e r s l a c k e d i n f o r m a t i o n aboutt he qua li ty ofj o b can di dat es T h e ca nd ida tes, t he re fo re , o bta in ed ed u c a t i o n s to signal their quality and reduce information asymmetries Education was presumed areliable signal because lower quality candidates would not be able to withstand therigors of higher education Michael’s model stood in contrast to human capital theorybecause it de-emphasized the role of education in increasing worker productivity andfocusedinsteadoneducationasameanstocommunicateotherwiseunobservablecharacteristics of the job candidate, thereby ensuring inclusive and equitable qualityeducationand promoting lifelonglearningopportunities forall.
In signaling theory in business, the signaling purpose of reputation is emphasized(Shapiro, 1983) Reputation is considered as a signal that gives a particular piece ofinformationtoabusiness.Reputation,asasignal,couldbestrategicallyusedinattempting to influence perceptions of a company and, for instance, to increase thetrustworthiness of a partnership (Fombrun and Van Riel, 1997) or to reduce uncertaintyresultingfromdataasymmetry(Greenwoodetal.,2005).Forinstance,ifanorganizati on's quality can not be directly observed, or there is doubt regarding thecompany's ability to deliver quality goods or services, a company can use, for example,relations with high-quality actors as a signal of its quality (Benjamin and Podolny,1999).Thesignalfunctionremainsespeciallysignificantonbehalfoforiginalinstitu tionsintheirdeterminationstoconstructrepute.Asnewfangledbusinessesusually lack a strong record, relative to established firms (Rindova et al., 2005), theycould “use reputations” from reputable actors (Beatty and Ritter, 1986) or “generatereputation by association” (Baden-Fuller and Ang, 2001; Lerpold, 2003) According toRindova et al.
(2005), companies can create repute by participating in related signalssuch as levels of financial performance, positive media advertising, or belonging to ahigh-reputation group(Benjamin and Podolny,1 9 9 9 ; F e r g u s o n e t a l , 2 0 0 0 ; S t u a r t e t al., 1999) In their research on the inter-organizational networks of young firms,Stuartet al (1999)found thatinorderto financethemselves,youngstart-upcompanies facing significant uncertainty about their efficiency, usually attempt to interact with well- knownventurecapitalistsandinvestmentbanks.
Socialcontributions,leadership,environment,funding,researchanddevelopment, and student guidance are all signals of reliability and quality of educationthata f f e c t u n i v e r s i t y r e p u t a t i o n ( C h e n a n d Esangbedo,
2018;E s a n g b e d o a n d B a i , 2019; Plewa et al., 2016) Simultaneously, reputation is known to signal informationabout a university's past and future activities, affecting students and other stakeholderswho perceive and interact with the university A prestigious reputation can enhancestudent trust and reduce perceived risk when judgments are made about organizationalperformanceandqualityofproductsorservices(MorganandHunt,1994).
Inthisstudy,thesignaltheoryisusedtoexplaintheimpactsofsocialcontributions,lead ership,environments,funding,researchanddevelopment,andstudent guidance on business reputation, and the roles of student trust, student identity,and student commitment are also tested insofar as their effects on university reputationand behavioral intention Signal theory supports hypotheses H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, andH6.
Summarily, we use signal theory to determine the construction of universityreputation and certain factors affecting it in the context of Vietnam’s higher educationsector.
Thetheoryofplannedbehavior(TPB)
The author of this thesis identifies and presents a highly important and innovativetheory in thestudy ofbehavioral intention:the theory ofplannedbehavior( T B P ) , whichisanextended,upgradedversionofthetheoryofreasone daction.
The theory of reasoned action (TRA), created by Ajzen and Fishbein (1975),proved that behavioral intent is influenced by two factors: consumers’ attitudes towardbehaviors and their subjective norms Behavioral intention is a dependent variable andthe focus of research because the behavioral intention is the best predictor of actualbehavior.Theintentionofactinginformsexecutedbehavior.
The theory of planned behavior, created by Ajzen (1991), is an extension of thetheory of reasoned action This theory was developed to address the limitations of thepriortheorybyassumingthatwill,exclusively,determinesindividualbehavior.Accordin g to TPB, behavioral intention is influenced by three factors Two of these,attitudes and subjective norms, are inherited from the theory of reasoned action. Thethirdfactorisperceivedbehavioralcontrol,whichreflectsthelevelofdifficultyassociated with performing a behavior.
Inthisdissertation,thetheoryofplannedbehavioractsasthetheoreticalfoundation and conduct test on the part of the theoretical model of the Vietnamesemarket Aside from using the majority of factors from the theoretical model, I includenew factors suitable for Vietnam’s economic, cultural, and social context in order tobetterexplain the universityretentionofstudents.
The theory of planned behavior is chosen for this review because it combines eachof the following critical determinants to evaluate the university retention of students.Below are a brief history of the theory and a fuller discussion of why it is suited forpredictinggraduationintentions.
Intention:Individuallyconsidered,theintentionisbasedonanindividual'sattitudeto wardanact,theperceivedcriteria,andthePBC(perceivedbehavioralcontrol) With each prediction, the intention is highly valued for its utility concerningtheevaluatedbehaviorandthepopulation(Ajzen,2010).Themorepowerfu lan individual’s intention to perform a behavior, the more likely that behavior will beperformed.
Behavior:Ajzen(2010)explainedbehaviorssuchasobviousresponsesinaspecifiedcondi tion,aimedtowardaparticulargoal.Furtherparticularly,behaviorsareamanifestati onof intentions and attitudesthat arecompatiblewith thebehavioralmechanism When behaviors do not pose thoughtful control problems, with significantaccuracy,theycanbepredictedfromintentions(Ajzen,1991).
Theories and behavioral attitudes:Theories of behavior are similar to positiveor negative assessments that a person is involved in questionable behavior (Ajzen,2010).
We habitually form views about behavior by relating it with specific factorsbecause these factors can be either completely or undesirably evaluated; this process isoften automatic and gives individuals the same attitude towards the behavior as towardsthe associated items Through this process, people with supportive behaviors achievedesirable results, and negative attitudes lead to behaviors that we link with unwantedeffects(FishbeinandAjzen,2011).Forinstance,iflearnersunderstandwhichauniv ersity degree can assist them to get high-paying work, they may also have anoptimisticattitudetowardsgraduation (Sutterand Paulson, 2017).
Loyal behavior:As noted by Erjavec (2015), measuring customer satisfaction isnotusefulifitdoesnottakecustomerloyaltyintoaccount.Customerloyaltyisexpressed as a deep customer commitment to the product or service they currentlyconsume, as well as an intention to continue purchasing it in the future (Oliver, 1999).Brown and Mazzarol
(2009) demonstrated that loyal international students are willingto: (1)enrollinothercoursesathighereducationinstitutionswheretheyhavepreviouslystudied,r egardlessoftheirabilitiesandcompetitionfromotheruniversities;
(2) register for alternative course-delivery methods (online, distance learning, etc.); (3)introduceo t h e r p o t e n t i a l s t u d e n t s t o t h e q u a l i t y o f t h e e d u c a t i o n a l s e r v i c e s o f t h e universities where they have studied; and (4) meet the needs of students and deliverfeedbacktotheirprevioushighereducationinstitutions.Reflectingont h i s phenome non, Gee et al (2008) suggest dividing “loyal behavior” into the loyalty ofattitude and fidelity of commitment, which encompasses both the attitudes and actionsoflong- termclients(Laietal.,2019,Oliver,1999).
Jani andHan(2014)and KaurandSoch (2012) delineate“loyalattitude”inseveral ways, including: (1) assistance provided by clients to their relatives and friendswhen it comes to using products or organizations to which clients are loyal, (2) clients’desirestocontinueutilizingtheseproductsororganizationsforanextendedperiod,a nd
(3) thewillingnessofclientstopay ahighercostfortheirpreferredproductsororganizations than for alternatives, among others Because of preparing, the attitudinalresolve of students could manifest as an abstract image of their optimal universities,satisfactory assessment of the establishment history, and academic reputation of suchpropelled training foundations, the conative desire for trying their optimal tasks, etc.(Hanet al.,2011).
Regarding loyal behavior, Oliver (1999) proposed including a final stage in theloyalty process: the action stages, in which customers act in specific ways to acquiretheirdesiredproductorservice(Oliver,1999).Ontheotherhand,inthisstage,custome rs devote much of their focus to social exercises (Han et al., 2011) Studentsmay express the reliability of their behavior with utilitarian activities such as movingtoward their social goals of becoming part of their selected universities (e.g., gatheringcourse pamphlets and student data) or following through on purchasing intention(e.g.,officially trying out their ideal program(s) and making payments for them) (Han andWoods,2014;Laietal.,2019).
Summarily,thisdissertationusesbehaviortheorytodeterminebehavioralintention in this study of the roles of student trust, student identification, and studentcommitmentinchoicesofmaster’sprograms inVietnamesehighereducation.
Theoryofreasonedaction(TRA)andextendedvalenceframework
The theory of reasoned action was proposed by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) andlaysthefoundationforanunderstandingoftherelationshipbetweenattitudes,intentions,a ndbehaviors.Accordingtothistheory,behavioralintentionisadeterminant of behavior based on available information This intention is influenced bytwofactors:personalattitudesandsubjectivenorms.Attitudesareameasureofindividual views on product attributes, and subjective norms are regulated by the otherpeople involved Applying a more abridged model than the TRA, McKnight et al.(2002) proposed a Web Trust Model This model determines that customer trust inproductattributesleadstobehavioralintention.
The discounted viewechoed is Valence Framework.Valuesa n d f r a m e w o r k s canbematerialandaccomplished(Goodwin,1996).Itisusedp r i m a r i l y b y g a m e theory researchers (Harrington and Hess, 1996), as well as by marketing researchers, tounderstand behavior in combination with perceived risk and perceived benefits (Peterand Tarpey,1975).Ina summary oftheresearchonconsumer behavior,c o m b i n e d withthevalueperceptionsframework,PeterandTarpey(1975)sugg estedthatperceived risk and perceived benefit are the essential considerations for consumers.“Perceived risk” represents the consumer’s incentive to minimize, or at least reduce,any expected negative utility associated with the purchasing behavior. Meanwhile, the“perception of benefits” represents consumers' motivations: a positive utility of thepurchasing behavior The cognitive value framework is a superior model because itincorporatestwopositiveandnegativeattributesofdecisions(PeterandTarpey,1975).
Based on the TRA model, web trust model, and value framework, Kim et al. (2008)proposed an expanded cognitive framework (Figure 2.1) In this model, trust influencespurchasingintentiondirectly,anditalsoinfluencesitindirectly,throughtwointermedi aries:perceivedbenefitsandperceivedrisks.
Theresearchmodelandhypotheses
Factorsaffectinguniversityreputation
Inhypothesesrelatingtosignalingtheory inbusiness,thereasonforusingreputation as a signal was engaged (Shapiro, 1983) Reputation was considered a signthat provided a piece of specific information to a business Reputation, as a signal,couldbedeliberatelyutilizedinattemptingtoimpactfactors.Simultaneously,reputati on is known to signal information about a university's past and future activities,affectingstudentsandotherstakeholderswhoperceiveandinteractwiththeuniversit y.
A prestigious reputation can increase student's trust and lessen perceived risk whenmaking judgments about the university’s performance and the quality of its products orservices(MorganandHunt,1994).Socialcontributions,leadership,environments,funding, research and development, and student guidance are all signals of reliabilityand quality of education, affecting university reputation (Chen and Esangbedo, 2018;Esangbedo and Bai, 2019; Plewa et al., 2016) Signal theory supports hypotheses H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,andH6.
The beginning of the research by Plewa et al (2016) produced a model thatdetails six factors impactful of university reputation such as teaching staff, Coursematerials,Administrative support,Facilities,Campuslife,andIndustrylinkage.
Recently, much more information on university reputation has become available.Chen and Esangbedo (2018) demonstrated that six factors affect universities: socialcontributions, environments, leadership, funding, R&D, and student's guidance. Chenand Esangbedo evaluated the reputation of Chinese universities through a hierarchicalmodel The pair continued to develop the Grey Regulatory Focus Theory (GRFT)weighting designfortheevaluationofauniversity’sreputation.
Subsequently,EsangbedoandBai(2019)evenfurtherdevelopedtheGreyRegulatory Focus Theory (GRFT) weighting design for the evaluation of universityreputation. They continued to develop social contributions, environments, leadership,funding,R&D,andstudent'sguidancetomodifytheuniversityreputation
Thus, many factors affect the university reputation Their aspects were identifiedas social contributions, leadership, teaching staff, environments, funding, research anddevelopment, programs, facilities, and student guidance (Chen and Esangbedo, 2018;Esangbedo andBai,2019;Plewaetal.,2016).
Hypothesis1 ( H 1 ) : SocialC o n t r i b u t i o n s( S C N ) h a v ea p o s i t i v e i m p a c t o n UniversityReputation(UR).
Hypothesis2(H2):Leadership(LE)hasapositiveimpactonUniversityReputati on(RE).
Hypothesis5(H5):ResearchandDevelopment(RD)haveapositiveimpactonUniv ersityReputation(UR).
Hypothesis6 ( H 6 ) : S t u d e n t sG u i d a n c e( S G ) h a sa p o s i t i v e i m p a c t o n UniversityReputation(UR).
Therolesofstudenttrust,studentidentity, andstudentcommitment
Ajzen’s 1985, 1987, and 1991 TPB models describe how behavior is formed. In1985,Ajzenexpandedonthetheoryofreasonedaction(TRA)andhypothesizedcomponents that underlie a person’s behavioral intentions (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980;Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975) In the related hypothesis, the theory of planned behavior inbusiness According to the TBP theory described by Fishbein and Ajzen in 1977 andQuintal et al in 2010, emotional and psychological reputation, as affability and ability,serves specific functions for individuals since it is closer to how the general publicordinarily assesses a firm. Thusly, it is important to recognize the psychological andemotional components of corporate reputation when researching the public’s behaviorin general (Suárez et al.,
2020) In this dissertation, the theory of planned behavior actsas the theoreticalfoundationandconduct teston the partofthe theoreticalmodelofthe
Vietnamesemarket.Asidefrom using themajority offactors from thetheoreticalmodel, I include new factors suitable for Vietnam’s economic, cultural, and socialcontext in order to better explain the university retention of students In this researchmodel, trust influences purchasing intention directly, and it also influences it indirectlythrough two intermediaries: perceived benefits and perceived risks This theory is usedtoexplainthehypothesisH7,H8,H9,H10,H11,andH12.
Firstly, the research results ofKeh and Xie (2009) indicatedthat corporatereputation affected client social goals This article proposed a model with client trust,clientcommitment,andclientidentification(withthefirm/product)asthecriticalintercedin gfactorsbetweencorporatereputation,clientpurchaseintention,andwillingness to pay a cost premium Results indicated that organizational reputation hada positive impact on both client trust and clientidentification Client commitmentmediated the relationships between client trust, client identification, and behavioralintention.
Secondly,thestudyofRather(2018)developedandempiricallytestedanintegrative model that portrays acomprehensive view of the relationships betweenclient brand identification,satisfaction,trust,commitment,and their impact on hotelbrand loyalty.R e s u l t s d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t c l i e n t b r a n d i d e n t i f i c a t i o n h a s a p o s i t i v e effect on loyalty,commitment,satisfaction,and trust.Commitment mediates therelationships among client identity,trust,satisfaction,and brand loyalty.Further,customer identity and commitment were closely related,but they remained distinctconstructsin hospitalitycontexts.
Thirdly,Heffernanetal.(2018)providedempiricalevidencethatstudentconduct towards international education partnerships was impacted by the essentialrelational factors of university reputation, learner trust, and student identity. Significantpredictorsofstudentidentificationwitheachpartnerinstitutionwerefoundtobeuniversit y reputation and student trust, and student identity was a significant predictorof student satisfaction, commitment, and extra-role behaviors towards both local andinternationaleducationalorganizations.TheresultsofHeffernanetal.
(2018)indicate thata p p r o a c h e s f o r s t u d e n t r e l a t i o n s h i p - m a n a g e m e n t s h o u l d f o c u s o n b u i l d i n g t h e image of a highereducation institution andr a i s i n g t h e t r u s t a n d i d e n t i t y o f s t u d e n t s withtheorganization.
(2018)explainedtheinfluenceofcorporateidentity,throughcorporatereputationandstudent satisfaction,onstudentretentioninonebusiness school The authors indicated that corporate identity had a very significantinfluence on corporate reputation Corporate reputation also had a small influence onstudentretention.
Commitment is acrucial success factor in long-term relationships.Partners aresometimes willing to exchange short-term benefits for the realization of long- termbenefits(Liu et al.,2019).They are also willing, to prove that they are reliable,t o invest in assets for aspecific transaction Relationship commitment is one of theessentialfactorsintheestablishmentofanorganization’ssolidandlong- lastingreputation Thus,thisdissertationproposesHypothesis7(H7)asfollows:
According to the research of Keh and Xie (2009), Highly reputable businesses arelikely to gain consumer trust, consumers are more likely to view companies with strongreputations as having many interrelated characteristics- credibility, efficiency, trust, andtrustworthiness-and a good reputation demonstrates the integrity and goodwill of theseller As a consequence, clients will base their trust on a great reputation Finally,corporate reputation has always been regarded as a "fragile resource," something thattakessubstantialtimeandefforttodevelopbutisquicklydestroyed.Therefore,trustworth y businesses are expected to act well and are seen as less likely to engage inadverse actions that increase consumer confidence in their honesty and reliability Kehand Xie
(2009) found that confidence in the credibility of a supplier is one of thesignificantcognitive pr oces ses b y whichin dus tr ia lb uy er s d e v e l o p t r u s t in asu pp lie r business.Agarwaletal.
Various researchers have considered both trust and commitment as the pillars ofrelationship marketing due to the fact that they yield many outcomes that improve theefficiency,efficacy,andproductivity ofthecorporation(MorganandHunt,1994;Rather,
2018) In empirical marketing literature, relationship marketing theory supportsthe idea that trust and commitment are empirically structured as central mediators ofcorporateactionsand behavioralintentions(KehandXie,2009; Rather,2018).
Rather (2018) acknowledged trust as the state conducive to the enlargement ofcommitment and anecessity for building valued connections with clients.Numerousstudies have consistently supported that trust leads to commitment
(Keh and Xie, 2009;Rather (2018) Therefore, this paper suggests that trust should have an affirmativeimpact on student commitment Trust is an essential factor that influences commitmenttoauniversity(Dzimińskaetal., 2018).
Hypothesis 9 (H9):There is a positive impact between Student
Several researchers have addressed this area Hagiwara et al (2018) examined therelationships between elite athlete identity and sport commitment in a Japanese college.Martíneza n d D e l B o s q u e ( 2 0 1 3 ) p r o p o s e d t h a t t h e r e h a d b e e n a lacko f s t u d y o n identityandhowitfitsintostructuresalongsideothersocialinterchangefactors(Rather,2 0 1
8 ) K e h a n d X i e ( 2 0 0 9 ) r e c o m m e n d e d t h a t i d e n t i t y a n d c o m m i t m e n t reflect the strong relationship among a person and an enterprise, creating it easy toconfuse the two In an attempt to clarify both concepts so that they can more easily becaptured simultaneously, it was proposed that the key change consists of the elementthat identity exposes personages’ self-definition, while commitment does not (Rather,2018) While commitment is intellectualized as an approach toward a business, identityis a rational theory that exposes the degree to which business structures are combinedinto an individual’s self-concept (Rather, 2018) The research differentiated identityfrom commitment theoretically as well as operationally, thereby offering an answer tothedisputeontheseveranceofidentity/commitment.Consumerbrandidentityinfluences consumer commitment to the company (Keh and Xie, 2009; Rather, 2018).In the arena ofbusiness, identity is a vital variable for increasingc o m m i t m e n t ( K e h and Xie, 2009; Martínez and del Bosque, 2013) The research of Liu et al. (2019)confirmed that commitment has a significant positive influence on the identity of anindustry.Totestthishypothesisineducation, thispaperproposesHypothesis10.
Hypothesis10(H10): T h er eisa positive impact between S t u d e n t I de nt it y(SI ) andStudentCommitment(SC).
( 2 0 1 8 ) , w h i c h i n d i c a t e d t h a t corporate(university)identityhadasignificantimpa ctonstudentintention,w e proposethat:
Hypothesis11(H11): T h er eisa positive impact between S t u d e n t Identity(SI ) andBehavioralIntention(BI).
Organizational commitment is seen as the strength of an employee's identificationand involvement with a particular organization, and it is positively related to manyorganizationalo u t c o m e s ; t h e s e i n c l u d e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l c i t i z e n s h i p b e h a v i o r andj o b satisfaction The effect of psychological factors on one’s behaviors is impossible toignore.Accordingtothesocialexchangeviewofcommitment,organizationalcommitment isrelatedtoemployeecitizenshipbehavior(Lietal.,2017).
According to the research of Keh and Xie (2009) and Morgan and Hunt (1994),there is also evidence to indicate that the linkage between trust and behavioral intentionisoftenfullyorpartiallymediatedbycommitment.Accordingly,weproposeHypoth esis12:
Hypothesis12( H 1 2 ) : T h e r eisa positiveimpact betweenS t u d e n t commitment
Based on the literature review, a model with twelve hypotheses is designed toinvestigatetheresearchproblemsanddevelopthehypotheses.Figure2.9—thedissertation model—presents the recommended model for this research into students’intentionswhenitcomestotheirchoiceofmaster’sprogramsinVietnam.
Chen and Esangbedo (2018);Esangbedo and Bai (2019);
Leadership(LE)onUniv ersityReputation(UR)
Chen and Esangbedo (2018);EsangbedoandBai(2019);P lewaetal (2016).
Environments(EN)onUni versityReputation(UR)
ChenandEsangbedo(2018);Del- Castillo-Feito et al (2020);Esangbedo and Bai (2019); Plewaetal (2016).
Funding(FU)onUnive rsityReputation(UR)
Chen and Esangbedo (2018);EsangbedoandBai(2019);P lewaetal (2016).
Chen and Esangbedo (2018);EsangbedoandBai(2019);P lewaetal (2016).
Student Guidance(SG)onUniversityRep utation(UR)
Chen and Esangbedo (2018);EsangbedoandBai(2019);P lewa etal.(2016).
UniversityReputation(UR)an d Student commitment(SC) Liuetal.(2019).
Agarwal et al (2015); Keh and
Student Trust(ST)andStudentCom mitment(SC)
Student identity(SI)andStudentco mmitment(SC)
Hagiwara et al (2018); Keh andXie (2009); Liu et al. (2019);MartínezandDelBosque(2
Behavioral Intention(BI) Keh and Xie (2009); Li et al.
Identity(SI)andBehaviora lIntention(BE)
Conclusion
WeconstructtwelvehypothesesandatheoreticalmodelinthecontextofVietnameseh i g h e r e d u c a t i o n T h e m o d e l p r o p o s e s r o l e s f o r s t u d e n t t r u s t , s t u d e n t identity,andstudentcommitmentmodulatingtherelationshipbetweenuniversityreputationan d behavioral intention.
Introduction
In a dissertation such as this one, where a large number of research hypothesesrequire investigation,the appropriatemethodology would typically be quantitativeanalysis However, the concepts in the model are new in Vietnam, and consequently,they must be evaluated and designed to suit conditions specific to Vietnam Hence,qualitative research would also be an appropriate methodology.
Given the above, amixed- method,inwhichqualitativeresearchadjuststhescalea n d q u a n t i t a t i v e research tests the hypotheses, is the most suitable research strategy for this study. Thischapteraimstointroducetheresearchmethodsandtheapproachesemployedtoexamineun iversityreputationandbehavioralintentioninVietnamesehighereducation:specifically,therol esofstudenttrust,studentidentity,andstudentcommitmentinstudentchoicesofmaster’spro gram.Thischapter providessomegeneralinformationaboutthesystemresearched,theresearchapproach,and measurement, sampling, data collection, and data analysis procedures To best achievethe dissertation’saim,Chapter3isdividedasfollows:
First, anoverview ofthe research processwillbec o n d u c t e d ; s e c o n d l y , t h e scaledesignforresearchconceptstestedbytheresearchmodel;andt h i r d l y , t h e designofaquestionnairefortheresearchprogramandasurveytoassessthescale.
Theresearchprocess
The research process included the following activities: (1) literature review, (2)groupd i s c u s s i o n ( i n - d e p t h i n t e r v i e w s a n d s e m i n a r s ) ,
Literatureresearchisanimportantstepintheresearchprocessb e c a u s e literature research aims to understand studies by previous authors On that basis, Iconducted an overview of the research situation and identified the attributes related tothe topic as a basis for the development of expert interviews and seminars Whenstudying the theory, previous research demonstrated that the concepts included in theresearchmodelhadbeenstudiedandtestedinthepast.
Groupdiscussionis a d i sc u ss i o n amongr esea rc h s u b j ec t s underthegui danceofresearchers.Itprovidesinformationonaspecifictopic(HughesandD u m o n t , 19 93).Questionsandfactorsroseininterviewsandgroupd i s c u s s i o n s p r o v i d e detaile dfeedback(Morgan,1996).Qualitativeresearchisconductedviagroupdiscussion methods because they can detect a range of views on a certain topic andclarifydifferencesofopinionamonggroupmembers(Rabiee,2 0 0 4 ) G r o u p discu ssion gives group members greater flexibility and freedom of speech, making iteasier to solve problems and overcome obstacles Furthermore, data collected fromgroupdiscussionsareoftenricherthanthatofone-on-oneinterviews(Rabiee,2004).
This research aimed to explore the components of university reputation andadjust its measurement scales It also aimed to investigate the roles of student trust,studentidentity,andstudentcommitmentinmediatingtherelationshipbetweenuniver sityreputationandbehavioralintentioninVietnamesehighere d u c a t i o n Specificobje ctiveswere as follows:
Discover the roles of student trust, student identity, and student commitment inmediating the relationship between university reputation and behavioral intention inVietnamesehighereducation.
Understand and confirm the proposed theoretical model before including it inthestudy.Additionally(andespecially),totesttheseconceptsinthen e w l y competitive environment of higher education, group discussion aimed to adjust themeasurementscalestosuittheresearchobject.
Participants were shared into four discussing groups (in seminars and in- depthinterviews)exploringthecomponentsthatconstructuniversityreputation.Theexplora tioncoveredtherolesofstudenttrust,studentidentity,a n d s t u d e n t commitmentinmedi atingtherelationshipbetweenuniversityr e p u t a t i o n a n d behavioralintention;theseit emswereadjustedtobesuitabletotheVietnameseeducationalcontext(seeAppendixA).
ThefirstgroupwascomposedofindividualsfromNAEM(NationalAcademyofEducationM anagement).Itcontainedfiveexperts(4professors,1Ph.D.)intheeducationalfield(Appendi xB).Collectively,thisgrouphadnumerousyearsofexperience in teaching and educational research In this group, the bilateral discussionwasemployedat30minutesperindividual.
The second group contained participants from IUH (Industrial University ofHCM City): two economic specialists, one educational specialist, and one managingspecialist(1professor,3Ph.D.)Discussionswere60minutesperperson(AppendixC).
Thethirdgroupwascomposedof22instructorsfromthebusinessadministrationfaculty at Industrial University of HCM City (1 professor, 3 Ph.D., 18 masters) Weorganizedoneseminar(AppendixD).
Thefourthgroupincluded30Vietnameseuniversitygraduateswhowerepreparing to enroll in a master's program in the future (Appendix E) For this group, wealso organized one seminar Of the 30 group members, 11 worked at either HD Bank,BIDV Bank, HCM City Institute for
BANK.Otherparticipantsdidnotspecifywhetherorwheretheyworked.All30aregraduatedindividuals whohadexperiencedstudyingatand graduating from Vietnamese universities The reputation of the university at whichtheystudiedhadsignificantlyimpactedtheirlifeandwork;therefore,theywereexpectedtoha vearelativelyaccuratesenseofauniversity’sreputation.
Across all four focus groups, the total number of participants in the discussions(thetwoin-depthinterviewsandtwoseminars)was61.(Appendix E).
Foranonymity,participantswerecodedasfollows.Table3.1presentsthecodingofgroupdis cussionparticipantsusedinprimarydatacollection.Theparticipantsinthe4groupdiscussionswereexp erts,instructors,orindividuals.Therefore,expertandspecialistparticipantswerecodedasEXan dSP,respectively.Thefirstexpert(Expert1)participating inthe first discussiongroup(group1)wasencoded asEX1G1,andIndividual 1, participating in the4th group and taking part in the seminar, was encodedasIN1G4,andsoforth.
The following question was posed:“According to you, which factors impactuniversityreputationinhighereducation?”Theexpertanswersaresummarizedbelow.
EX1G1thoughtthatcoursesarethemostimportantfactorinbuildingauniversityreputation.According to EX1G1, courses must reflect the latest knowledge EX2G1stated that lecturers are one aspect that creates university reputation and those lecturersshouldcareforandsupporttheirstudents.
EX3G1answeredthatthequality ofuniversity facilities— suchaslibraries,informationsystems,classrooms,andcomputerrooms— mustmeettheneedsofstudentsandisanaspectofuniversityreputation.
EX4G1consideredthatthestudentguideincludescontactissuessuchastheeaseofmeeting andcommunicatingwithofficials/administrators/academicstaff;theyarguedthat human readiness and convenience, as well as tools that support teaching andlearning,areaspectsofuniversityreputation.
EX1G1 further stated that the quality of lecturers, especially faculty competenceand interaction between lecturers and students, is alsoan aspect of the universityreputation.
The remaining experts of group 1 felt that these factors influence the universityreputation.
The results of the first discussion indicated that the majority of participatingexpertsagreedthatuniversityreputationiscomposedofthefollowingcomposition:
Once again, the following question was posed:“According to you, whichfactors impact university reputation in higher education?”Graduates’ responses aresummarizedbelow.
IN1G4 believed that university courses should provide instruction in diversedisciplines according to social needs The content of these courses would be renewedandupdatedtomeettrainingrequirementsandsocialneeds.Studentsw ouldimprove their foreign language skills in the lesson with English textbooks, once again accordingtosocialneeds.IN1G4believedthattheseaspectsbuildauniversity'sreputation.
IN2G4andIN3G4feltthatlecturers,havingprofessionalknowledgeappropriate to the social needs, should use teaching methods responsive to those socialneeds.
IN4G4 believed that supportive interaction by university staff with studentscreatesareputationforauniversity.
IN6G4,IN7G4,IN8G4,andIN9G4allfeltscholarshipfundstohelpstudentsfeelcomf ortablestudyingbuilduniversityreputation.
IN10G4statedthatthecomponentsofsocialcontributionscreatetheuniversity reputation by strongly supporting the community, exerting positive socialinfluence,andhelpinggraduatesgethigh-qualityjobs.
IN11G4believedthatthecomponentsofagoodenvironmentcreateauniversityre putationfor:beingasafe,clean,andpleasantplacetolearn,beingculturallydiverse, andbeing internationallyrenowned.
IN11G4 thought that the factor of research and development modifies thereputation of a university, being representative of the university’s technological trends,keynationalprojects,laboratoryequipment,andlibrary.
IN12G4 believed that the factor of leadership expresses student interest intheirc o u r s e s , p r e s t i g i o u s p r o f e s s o r s , a n d a c l e a r v i s i o n o f d e v e l o p m e n t , t h e l a t e s t technology, andacademicsuccess.
The results of the second group discussion notably diverged from the resultsof the first group discussion The majority of individuals participating in the seminaragreedthatthereputationofauniversityisbuiltthrough6components:
The results of the 2nd group seminar suggested a positive relationshipbetween university reputation and student behavioral intention The results ofgroupdiscussions1and4werethatthemajority ofexpertsandgraduatesparticipating in the discussion agreed that the reputation of the university isexpressiblethrough6components:
Participants in group 3 were asked,“What do you think about the relationshipbetween university reputation and student behavioral intention?”The participatinglecturersansweredasfollows:
LE1G3thoughtthatparticipatingstudentswerestudyingataprestigiousuniversity and would visit this university after graduation LE2G3 stated an intention toselect this university for further study in the future LE3G3 stated an intention torecommendthatfriendsandrelativesstudyatthisuniversity.LE4G3 statedanintentiontos p e a k h i g h l y o f t h i s u n i v e r s i t y t o o t h e r s L E 5 G 3 s t a t e d a n i n t e n t i o n t o c o n t r i b u t e mentally and materially to the development of the university, if possible LE6G3 statedthatiftheyaresuccessfulinthefuture,theywillhelpgraduatesfromthisuniversity.
LE7G3thoughtthatparticipatingstudentswerestudyingatanationalkeyuniversity and would visit this university after graduation LE8G3 stated an intention toselect this university for further study in the future LE9G3 stated an intention torecommendthatfriendsandrelativesstudyatthisuniversity.LE10G3statedanintentionto speak highly about this university to others LE11G3 stated an intention to contributementallyandmateriallytothedevelopmentoftheuniversity,ifpossible.LE12G3statedthatifthey aresuccessfulinthefuture,theywillhelpgraduatesfromthisuniversity.
LE13G3thought thatparticipating studentswere studying at anhonestandreliable university and would visit this university after graduation LE14G3 stated anintention to select this university for further study in the future LE15G3 stated anintentiontorecommendthatfriendsandrelativesstudyatthisuniversity.LE16G3statedan intention to speak highly about this university to others LE17G3 stated an intentionto contribute mentally and materially to the development of the university, if possible.LE18G3statedthatiftheyaresuccessfulinthefuture,theywillhelpgraduatesfromthisuniver sity.
LE19G3thoughtthatparticipatingstudentswerestudyingatauniversitythathasmadeagre atcontributiontosocietyandthatstudentswouldreturntovisitthisuniversityaftergraduation.LE20G3st atedanintentiontoselectthisuniversityforfurtherstudyinthe future LE21G3 stated an intention to recommend that friends and relatives study atthis university LE22G3 stated an intention to speak highly about this university toothers.LE1G3statedanintentiontocontributementallyandmateriallytothedevelopmento ftheuniversity,ifpossible.LE2G3statedthatiftheyaresuccessfulinthefuture,theywillhelpgraduatesfr omthisuniversity.
LE5G3 thought that participating students were studying at a university that isfamiliartomanystudentsandthatstudentswouldvisitthisuniversityaftergraduation.
LE6G3statedanintentiontoselectthisuniversityforfurtherstudyinthefuture.LE7G3stated an intention to recommend that friends and relatives study at this university.LE8G3 stated an intention to speak highly about this university to others LE9G3 statedanintentiontocontributementallyandmateriallytothedevelopmentoftheuniversity,ifpossible. LE10G3 stated that if they were successful in the future, they will helpgraduatesfromthisuniversity.
LE3G3thoughtthatgraduatesfromtheuniversityofparticipatingstudentswouldeasily be recruited into domestic and foreign companies and would visit this universityafter graduation LE4G3 stated an intention to select this university for further study inthe future LE7G3 stated an intention to recommend that friends and relatives study atthisuniversity.LE4G3statedanintentiontospeakhighlyaboutthisuniversitytoothers.LE5G3 stated an intention to contribute mentally and materially to the development ofthe school, if possible LE6G3 stated that if they are successful in the future, they willhelpgraduatesfromthisuniversity.
Here, the relationship between university reputation and the behavioral intentionoflearnersispositive.
(2) The roles of student trust, student identity, and student commitmentinmediatingtherelationshipbetweenuniversityreputationandstudentbehavior alintention,accordingtoexpertandpersonalviewpoints.
The first group discussion focused only on exploring the components that createuniversityreputation,whilethesecondgroupdiscussionfocusedonreviewingwhetherit was possible to discover any new components Therefore, the first and second groupdiscussionseffectivelyrecordedthescalesforeachcomponentofuniversityreputation.
Afteridentifyingthecomponentsthatcreatetheuniversityreputationthroughthefirstandseco ndgroupdiscussions,wereliedonthescalesofthecomponentsutilizedinpreviousstudiesbutexplore dthefirstandsecondgroupdiscussionsasabasisforfurtherdiscovery,a d j u s t m e n t , a n d i n c l u s i o n o f c o m p o n e n t s c a l e s t o s u i t t h e p e r c e p t i o n s o f experts, lecturers, and individuals on university reputation in the Vietnamese market.Through the 4 th group discussion, we wanted to examine the roles of student trust,student identification, and student commitment in mediating the relationship betweenuniversityreputationandstudentbehavioralintention.
Whenasked“Whatdoyouthinkabouttherolesofstudenttrust,studentidentity,and student commitmentintherelationshipb e t w e e n u n i v e r s i t y r e p u t a t i o n a n d studentb e h a v i o r a l i n t e n t i o n ? ” , t h especialistsansweredasfollows:
SP1G2thoughtthatuniversityreputationimpactedstudenttrustinhighereducation because university reputation has a very significant impact on universitytrust SP1G2 thought that university reputation impacted student identity in highereducationbecauseuniversityidentityhasaverypositiveeffectonuniversityreputation.SP 1G2 thought that student trust and student identity research had examined the directinfluence of student trust on student– university identity, so student trust must impactstudent identity in higher education.
Sampleanddatacollection
The overall complexity of a structural model has little influence on the sample sizerequirementsforPLS-
SEM.Thereasonisthealgorithmdoesnotcomputeallrelationships in the structural model at the same time Instead, it uses OLS regressionstoestimatethemodel’spartialregressionrelationships.
(1) In the structural model, 10 times the greatest number of formative indicators isused to evaluate a single construct, or (2) 10 times the maximum number of structuralpathsdirectedataspecificlatentconstruct.
This rule of thumb is similar to saying that 10 times the maximum number ofarrowheads pointing at a latent variable anywhere in the path model should be theminimumsamplesize.Althoughthe10- foldruleprovidesaroughguidelineforminimums a m p l e s i z e c r i t e r i a , P L S -
S E M a l l o w s r e s e a r c h e r s t o c o n s i d e r t h e s a m p l e sizeagainstthemodelcontextanddatacharacteristics,muchlikeanystatisticaltechnique. Specifically, the required sample size should be determined using poweranalyses based on the part of the model with the largest number of predictors (Hair etal, 2017).
In this research, the effect of using a scale including 49 observed variableswasbuilt,theminimumsamplesizemusthavereached490(49*10= 490).
Primary data is data that is not available yet and is investigated by the authorthrough the survey questionnaire A sampling method through the survey has beendesigned Some are printed out and surveyed directly with the support of universitygraduates living in Ho Chi Minh City Some are sent via email and Facebook basedon online platforms through the establishment of questionnaires via Google Docs aswell as asking them to share help to collect data I will actively urge and control theselection of suitable survey subjects I chose a sample size of 1538 samples to study,resulting in high statistical significance The research was conducted in the educationsector of Vietnam A survey of university graduates was conducted to test the researchissues in many representative provinces and cities in the South of Vietnam There areten universities in my research asAn Giang University, Binh
DongNaiTechnologyUniversity,FPTUniversity,HoChiMinhCityUniversityofEconomic sandFinance,IndustrialUniversityofHoChiMinhCity,SaiGonUniversity, Ton DucThang University, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam NationalUniversity Ho Chi Minh City They are the national universities,national key universities, private universities, emerging universities that may partiallyrepresenthighereducationinVietnam.Respondentswerechosenbyconveniencesa mpling;thesampleconsistedof1,538individualswhohadgraduatedfromtheVietnamese universities listed in Table 3.15 of questionnaire participants, 737 (47.9%)weremenand801(52.1%)werewomen.
The questionnaire completed by respondents was the main data acquisition tool.The questionnaire contained questions about participants’ universities and graduationyears The survey was conducted in 2017, 2018, and 2019 The questionnaire containedquestions about the factors that influence university reputation andc o m p r i s e a m o d e l oftherelationshipbetweenuniversityreputationandbehavioralintentioninVietname sehighereducation,asmediatedbystudenttrust,studentidentity,a n d student commitment. Questions also inquired about participants’ personal informationand their choices of Vietnamese master’s programs The main body of the survey,whichconcentratedonresearchquestions,wasc r e a t e d u s i n g a s e v e n - p o i n t L i k e r t scale where 1 = stronglydisagree, 2 = slightlydisagree, 3 disagree, 4 = neutral, 5
=slightlya g r e e , 6 = a g r e e , a n d 7 = s t r o n g l y a g r e e T h e q u e s t i o n s o f t h e m a i n b o d y section were designedto measure eleven variables—namely, LE(Leadership), FU(Funding),R D ( R e s e a r c h a n d D e v e l o p m e n t ) , S C N ( S o c i a l C o n t r i b u t i o n s ) , E N
(Environment),SG(StudentGuidance),UR(UniversityReputation),ST(StudentTrust),S I(StudentIdentity),SC (StudentCommitment),andBI (BehavioralIntention).
For the duration of the study, all researchstaff and participants were blind totreatment.Nocommunicationwasmadewith anyparticipantsinthestudy.
In Vietnamese higher education, we review our model with two common datasetsfor the relationship between university reputation and behavioral intention: SPSS.savand Smartpls.splsm Eleven variables were in our dataset: six independent variables,four intermediate variables, and one variable dependent The dataset contained
1,538observationsand49items.Fordescriptivestatistics,SPSS.savwasusedandSmartpls.s plsmforadvancedanalysis.
PLS-SEM
Thisstudyaimstoexploretherelationshipbetweenuniversityreputationandbehavioral intention With the help of the survey’s seven-point Likert scale (highernumbers indicate greater agreement), we verify our model with two official datasets forthe relationship between UR and BI in Vietnamese higher education in Vietnam Ourdataset had eleven factors: six independent factors, four intermediate factors, and onedependent factor There were 1,538 individuals and 49 items captured in the data.Adancowasusedasthestatisticsprocessingandanalysissoftware.Thescale'sreliability andvaliditywerecheckedbyCronbach'sa l p h a (),a v e r a g e v a r i a n c e extracted( vc ),a ndcompositereliability(Pc).SEMwasutilizedtoexaminet h e model's hypotheses (Hair et al., 2017; Hair Jr et al., 2016; Henseler et al., 2016;LatanandNoonan,2017;Sarstedt etal.,2019).ACronbach’s alphacoefficient h igherthan
0.6wouldguaranteethescale'sreliability(NunnallyandBernstein,1994).Pcisbetter than0.6and mustbegreaterthan0.5.Thetheoreticalframework used wasPLS- SEM.Andwhenmulticollinearityoccurs,thisapproachcanmanipulateseveralindependent variables PLS can be performed from a series of one or more independentvariables as a regression model, estimating one or more dependent factors, or it can becompleted as a path model The set of independent factors can be related to severaldependent factors by PLS (Hair et al.,
2017; Hair Jr et al., 2016; Henseler et al.,
1 Internalconsistency: a Cronbach’s alpha values > 0.6, except in the case of 1 component (it should beemphasized that this evaluation criterion is limited to the PLS-SEM) (Hair et al., 2017;HairJr.etal.,2016;Henseleretal.,2016;NunnallyandBernstein,1994). b The composite reliability varies between 0 and 1, with a higher value indicatinghigher reliability The composite reliability (Pc) values > 0.6 in all cases (Hair et al.,2017;HairJr.etal.,2016;Henseleretal.,2016;NunnallyandBernstein,1994)
Outer loading (OL) values > 0.4 in all cases Outer loadings on a structure measure thischaracteristic, showing that the related markers effectively share a great deal (Hair etal.,2017; HairJr.etal., 2016;Henseleretal.,2016;NunnallyandBernstein,1994).
The average variance extracted (Pvc) values > 0.5, except in the case of 1 component,which did not influence the statistical reliability of the model significantly (Hair et al.,2017;HairJr.etal.,2016;Henseleretal.,2016;Hulland,1999) c rho_A values > 0.5, except in the case of 1 component, which did not influence thestatistical reliability of the model significantly (Hair et al., 2017; Hair Jr, et al., 2016;Henseleretal.,2016)
4 Differentiation criteria: verified by Forner-Larcker test as well as by the cross- loading coefficient (Fornell and Larcker, 1981; Hair et al., 2017; Hair Jr et al., 2016;Henseleretal.,2016)
The key criteria for assessing structural models in the PLS-SEM approach arethe size and significance of path coefficients, the level of R 2 value, and the SRMR(standardizedrootmeansquareresidual)value.
Evaluatingstandardizedpathcoefficientsisvitaltoassessingwhetherthehypothesize d correlations are validated or refuted Researchers should not only relyheavily on the statistical level but also pay sufficient attention to the absolute size of apath relationship during interpretations Even when a relationship is significant, theabsolute size of a path coefficient may be too small to warrant managerial attention(Nitzl,2018).
The inner model can be evaluated with bootstrap methods (beta values) insofaras the connection between latent structures, and according to the predicted information(R 2 ) (Chin, 1998; Davison and Hinkley, 1997; Hair et al., 2017; Hair Jr et al., 2016;Henseler et al., 2016;Tenenhaus etal., 2005).However,nominimum valuesareacceptedforthisparameterintheliterature;theactualR 2 valuesarecont ainedinthe graphical representation of the models The R 2 value ranges from 0 to 1 In general,
R 2 valuesfortheendogenousconstructof0.75,0.50,and0.25canberespectivelydescribedass ubstantial,moderate,andweak(HairJretal.,2016).
The past style of a goodness-of-fit model connected with covariance-based SEMdoes not fit the PLS-SEM approach (Hair Jr et al., 2016; Henseler et al., 2016; Nitzl,2018) A qualifying integrity of- fit measurement for use in the PLS-SEM approach isthe standardized root mean square residual The SRMR is characterized as the rootmean of the squared disparity between themeasured relationships and the model-inferred connections; to be a solid match, this value ought to be lower than 0.08 (HuandBentler,1998).
PLS-SEM is a distribution-free framework for investigating multivariate data; asa result, PLS-SEM doesn't initially yield t-values for assessment ofthe estimates’importance (Hair Jr et al.,
2016) Instead, analysts must depend on the non- parametricbootstrappingstrategy,whichyieldsstandardbootstraperrors.
Also, the bootstrapping method entitles researchers to assess the steadiness andsignificanceofexternalweight,externalloadings,andpathcoefficientstomoreprecisely a r r i v e a t t h e i r v a l u e s ( K l i n e , 2 0 1 1 ) B o o t s t r a p p i n g i s a r e s a m p l i n g s t r a t e g y that draws tests, with substitution, from the first dataset and subsequently uses thesesamplestomeasurepathcoefficientsmultipleundermarginallyadjusteddataarrangemen ts (Hair Jr et al., 2016) The number of bootstrap tests ought to be high.However, it should, in any event, the number of significant observations in the datasetshould be at least equal As a rule of thumb, bootstrapping ought to include 5,000 testsat the degree of 95% certainty (Hair Jr et al., 2016) For instance, if the first example is200 significant observations, every one of the 5,000 bootstrap tests ought toc o n t a i n thatmanyobservations.
Thebootstrappingprocedureprovidesthestandarderrorofanestimatedcoefficient. This information allows us to determine empirical t-values The critical t-values for two-tailed test are 1.65 (= 0.1), 1.96 (= 0.05), or 2.57 (= 0.01) If theempiricalt- valueishigherthanthecriticalt- valueataselectedlevel,thenthecoefficientissignificantlydifferentfromzero.
Thebootstrappingmethodologyalsorecordstheconfidenceintervalofthebootstrap, whichprovidesdataonthestrengthofcoefficientestimation.T h e confidence interval is the range over which the true population parameter, assuming aspecific confidence interval, will decrease (Hair Jr et al., 2016) The bootstrappingstrategygivesthelowerboundandtheupperboundofthebootstrapconfidencei nterval, from the outer weight, standard error, and likelihood oferror level Ifz e r o does not fall within the scope of the confidence interval, a researcher should expect theexternalweighttobekey tothelikelihoodoferrorlevel(HairJr.etal.,2016).Furthermore, if a coefficient's confidence level range is increasingly wide, the reason isthatits reliabilityislower(HairJr.et al.,2016).
The important evaluation metrics for the structural model were
(Hairetal.,2017).The(f 2 )effectsizeallowedtheindependentcontributionofthevariableto thedependentvariabletobeassessed.The
0.02f 2 valuewassmall,0.15medium,and0.35high(Cohen,1988).
Quantitativeanalysisframe
The quantitative analysis frame starts with the specification of structural modelsand measurement scales, followed by the collection and examination of data.Next, weestablishedthePLS-SEMapproachforthethesisinVietnam(Thien,2018)and providedalltheimportantconsiderationswhenconductingthisanalysis,asillustratedinFigure3.1.
Conclusion
This chapter showed the methodology and general information about the processesweresearched,includingthedesigningdiscussiongroups,theresearchapproach,m easurement, sampling, data collection, and data analysis system we coded discussionparticipants, discover the components that create a university reputation the roles ofstudent trust, student identity, and student commitment in mediating the relationshipbetweenuniversityreputationandstudentbehavioralintention,measurefactors,adjustedthemafterdiscussion.WeexpressedaboutPLS-SEMforthequalitativemethod. c
Introduction
Chapter 4 describes and investigates the data used in this dissertation, beginningwithinternalconsistencyandconvergentvalidity.Thenextsectionsdisplaytheempi rical results of testing the hypotheses developed in Chapter 3, including the resultsof the direct regressions and the mediated path regressions that are treated by Adancosoftware The practical results are arranged in order from the first hypothesis to thetwelfth Lastly, the test results of variables and hypotheses are listed Not only is thedatadescribed,buteachimportantdissertation isalsoexplored.
Internalconsistencyandconvergentvalidity
Inthisstudy’smodel,convergentvaliditywasexaminedthrough or Cronbach’s alpha and weret h e m e a s u r e s o f r e l i a b i l i t y , a s C r o n b a c h ’ s a l p h a o f t e n undervalues scale reliability (Hair et al., 2017; Hair Jr et al., 2016; Latan and Noonan,2017; Sarstedt et al., 2019) Nevertheless, according to Hair et al (Hair et al., 2017;Hair Jr et al., 2016), Cronbach’s alpha and Pc values should be higher than 0.60, andthe rho_A and Pvc index should be higher than 0.50 for the validation of constructreliability Some factors have Pvc and Cronbach's Alpha lower than 0.5 and 0.6 butother measurements are acceptable so the result of construct reliability and validity areshowninTable 4.1,below.
Cronbach's rho_A Pc Pvc Decision
Theseresultsdemonstratethatthemodelisinternallylogical.Toinvestigatewhether these factor indicators demonstrate converging validity, Cronbach’s alpha wascalculated.InTable4.1,itcanbeseenthatallofthefactorsarereliable(>0.60), and
>0.5(Wong,2013).FactorssuchasEN,FU,andSGhad