Driving enrolment intention through social media engagement: a study of Vietnamese prospective students

Long Nguyen*, Vinh Nhat Lu, Jodie Conduit, Thanh Thi Ngoc Tran, Brett Scholz

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    11 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Social media platforms provide prospective international students with ready access and exposure to information relevant to international higher education institutions and their respective brand images. We examined the extent to which social media engagement and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) activities shape prospective students’ perceived brand image of institutions and, subsequently, their enrolment intention. Findings from a sample of 445 prospective students in Vietnam indicate the indirect effect of social media engagement on enrolment intention via eWOM-seeking activities and perceived brand image. Compared with their postgraduate counterparts, prospective undergraduates’ perception of an institution’s brand image is more strongly influenced by their eWOM-seeking activities on social media. In contrast, the direct influence of perceived brand image on enrolment intention is stronger for prospective postgraduate students. The findings from this study enrich the higher education literature and have implications for higher education providers in relation to developing engagement strategies with prospective students through social media platforms.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1040-1055
    Number of pages16
    JournalHigher Education Research and Development
    Volume40
    Issue number5
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2021

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