Universities’ Brand Identity on Attachment Strength: Evidence from the Republic of South Africa

Abstract

The paper examined the influence brand identity has on the strength of international students’ attachment to their South African public universities. The study was grounded on Cognitive psychology theory as its theoretical underpinning. A sample of 205 international students was drawn through purposive sampling techniques using questionnaires from participants across the various public universities. The data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) statistical technique with Smart PLS version 3.0 software to determine the relationship between the stated hypotheses. The findings revealed that the brand identity of the universities in South Africa has a greater influence on international students’ satisfaction, attachment, and commitment levels but their willingness to recommend South African Public universities to prospective postgraduate students was not significant. International students’ commitment to recommend South Africa’s universities to prospective students in general was highly significant where as their levels of satisfaction and trust intent to recommend were not significant. The study contributes to the ongoing research in probing the linkage between branding and higher institutions. Implications for theory and practice were also provided.