Studying the impact of e-marketing by universities on students' loyalty with the mediation of intention to get enrollment and moderation of eWOM

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to recognize the significance of branding in the academic field to enhance students' loyalty. The research has examined the effect of e-word of mouth as a moderator on loyalty and exploring the intention to get enrollment variable as a mediator in the context of higher education institutes. In order to establish theoretical foundation of study, theory of planned behavior and expectancy-value theory have been used to hypothesize relations.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative research methodology has been used in this research while structured questionnaires have been used to collect the sample data which is comprised of 201 students. Population for this study included students of universities in Pakistan from both private and public sector.

Findings

It has been found that e-marketing has a positive relationship with student loyalty. Further, eWOM acts as a moderator between e-marketing and student loyalty. The study also found that intention to get enrollment mediates the relationship between e-marketing and student loyalty.

Practical implications

This study is a contribution to higher education literature and provides implications that how effectively HEIs should employ e-marketing techniques that not only attract new students to get enrolled but also help to develop long-term relations leading toward student loyalty.

Originality/value

The study has been unique as it has examined the increasing role of e-marketing on students' loyalty. The study is the first in nature which has explored how universities can use e-marketing to enhance students' loyalty and how this relationship can be enhanced through the use of electronic word of mouth (eWOM).

Citation

Wahab, A., Aqif, T. and Bint-e-shehzad, Z. (2023), "Studying the impact of e-marketing by universities on students' loyalty with the mediation of intention to get enrollment and moderation of eWOM", Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-08-2022-0264