Strategic positioning in Romanian higher education

Abstract

Purpose

The study presented in this paper is intended to assist the decision‐making process in Romanian higher education institutions on topics such as market structure analysis, market segmentation, positioning of the specializations, and the cannibalization between them.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper describes a preliminary qualitative study that examines the primary motives that affect choice of specializations before developing and validating a measurement instrument. The objective of the questionnaire was to help managers collect information regarding perceptions on specializations from a pool of 344 students of a major Romanian business faculty. The data were used to generate a perceptual map, which disclosed a three‐cluster solution. In a parallel study, an internal analysis of preferences on 1,390 subjects revealed the existence of three market segments: “the pragmatics,” “the sociables” and “the diploma hunters.”

Findings

Facing competition, Romanian higher education institutions need to carefully plan their actions, and better manage their scarce resources.

Originality/value

This study is one of the few that tried to develop, to reliability test and to validate a questionnaire in the field of higher education, and the first one that has analyzed the positioning of the specializations at the level of a business faculty.

Citation

Niculescu, M. (2006), "Strategic positioning in Romanian higher education", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 19 No. 6, pp. 725-737. https://doi.org/10.1108/09534810610708378