A structural evaluation of university identification

Abstract

This study empirically analyzes a comprehensive model of university identification. The study investigates the role of university brand personality (UP), university brand knowledge (UBK), university brand prestige (UBP) in improving university identification (UI) in terms of stakeholders. The study also explores whether UI elicited brand-supportive behaviors such as suggestions for improvements, university affiliation (UA), advocacy intentions (AI) and participation in future activities of stakeholders. The model is analyzed using data collected from local people, students and employees of a public university. A total of 1000 usable surveys were obtained. The structural equation modeling was used to analyze hypotheses. The study contributes to this literature by enhancing our understanding of under-researched university identification in higher education. The results show that UBK and prestige positively affect university identification. Additionally, university identification is positively associated with suggestions for university improvements (SUI), UA AI and participation in future university activities (FUA) of stakeholders.