Segmenting university graduates on the basis of perceived value, image and identification

In a knowledge-based environment, public institutions and in particular universities must be able to design and implement sustainable strategies in order to become innovative service organizations. The need of a market orientation in this public context entails the identification of market segments...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International review on public and nonprofit marketing 2013-10, Vol.10 (3), p.235-252
Main Authors: Jiménez-Castillo, David, Sánchez-Fernández, Raquel, Iniesta-Bonillo, M. Ángeles
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business and Management
College graduates
Competition
Competitive advantage
Customer services
Graduate studies
Higher education
Identification
Market segments
Marketing
Nonprofit organizations
Original Article
Perceptions
Purchase intention
Students
Studies
Teaching methods
University graduates
Value creation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In a knowledge-based environment, public institutions and in particular universities must be able to design and implement sustainable strategies in order to become innovative service organizations. The need of a market orientation in this public context entails the identification of market segments and the use of strategies adapted to the selected targets. This study aims to identify and profile graduate segments on the basis of the relationships between three key variables in the educational context: the perceived value of the university, the university image, and the graduate identification with the institution. Given that this potential heterogeneity in the graduate market has not been explored in the literature, we try to improve the knowledge in this area by showing how these relationships may vary among segments. Using a finite mixture modeling approach, we demonstrate that perceived value and university image influence on identification through a global model. We also identify three subgroups that differ in the intensity and sign of the proposed relationships and we describe their profile. Implications and recommendations for future research and practice are discussed.
ISSN:1865-1984
1865-1992
DOI:10.1007/s12208-013-0102-z