CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 30Digital Marketing and Social MediaEmployer Branding and e-HRMConsumer Behavior and Marketing Influence

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 4 of the 4 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Online search for information about universities: a Hong Kong study

Wong, Phoebe, Lee, Daisy, M.L. Ng, Peggy·2018·International Journal of Educational Management
DOI 10.1108/ijem-12-2016-0268
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Purpose: A fuller understanding of the information search behaviour of prospective students in the digital era is one of the keys to success in university recruitment. The purpose of this paper is to investigate students’ university choice factors in relation to the online environment. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 637 samples from 11 private higher education institutions were collected and tested against assumptions before performing statistical analysis including exploratory factor analysis and mean comparison. Findings: The findings revealed that there are some significant differences in gender and academic discipline in the use of the internet to search for university information. In addition, four constructs of university information were identified that are perceived as important by students in their search behaviour: “university reputation”, “eligibility and affordability”, “teaching and learning” and “university tangibility”. The outcomes of this research provide some noteworthy insights which have numerous strategic digital marketing implications. Originality/value: While most existing studies have explored types of social media apps or online channels that prospective students use, little research has touched on students’ university choice factors in relation to the online environment. Responding to Constantinides and Zinck Stagno (2011) and Hemsley-Brown et al.’s (2016) call, this paper aims to address this research gap by investigating students’ university information search in relation to the online environment.

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1108/ijem-12-2016-0268

Cites

4 of 4 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Citations

Cites

Research works printed but not linked: 55

  1. 2011, Gender differences in consumers’ perception of online consumer reviews, Electronic Commerce Research, 11, 201, 10.1007/s10660-010-9072-y · DOI
  2. 2016, Antecedents and consequences of university brand identification, Journal of Business Research, 69, 3023, 10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.01.017 · DOI
  3. 2009, Social Media and College Admissions: The First Longitudinal Study
  4. 2010, Student recruitment marketing in South Africa – an exploratory study into the adoption of a relationship orientation, African Journal of Business Management, 4, 435
  5. 2009, My place or yours? Perceptions of, and selection choice criteria for, higher education institutions: the case of UK and Malaysian students, International Journal of Economics and Business Research, 1, 165, 10.1504/IJEBR.2009.024017 · DOI
  6. 2015, Predicting college students’ online information searching strategies based on epistemological, motivational, decision-related, and demographic variables, Computers & Education, 90, 54, 10.1016/j.compedu.2015.09.002 · DOI
  7. 2012, From web analytics to digital marketing optimization: increasing the commercial value of digital analytics, Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 14, 30, 10.1057/dddmp.2012.20 · DOI
  8. 2011, SPSS: Analysis Without Anguish: Version 18 for Windows
  9. 1992, Statistical power analysis, Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1, 98, 10.1111/1467-8721.ep10768783 · DOI · Paper page
  10. 2011, Potential of the social media as instruments of higher education marketing: a segmentation study, Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 21, 7, 10.1080/08841241.2011.573593 · DOI
  11. 2005, Best practices in exploratory factor analysis: four recommendations for getting the most from your analysis, Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 10, 1
  12. 2010, Toward an integrated framework for online consumer behavior and decision making process: a review, Psychology & Marketing, 27, 94, 10.1002/mar.20322 · DOI
  13. Education Bureau, 2016, The Government of the HKSAR
  14. 2013, Co-creation of value in higher education: using social network marketing in the recruitment of students, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 35, 45, 10.1080/1360080X.2013.748524 · DOI
  15. 2011, We’re all connected: the power of the social media ecosystem, Business Horizons, 54, 265, 10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.007 · DOI
  16. 2006, Differences in actual and perceived online skills: the role of gender, Social Science Quarterly, 87, 432, 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2006.00389.x · DOI
  17. 2006, Universities in a competitive global marketplace: a systematic review of the literature on higher education marketing, International Journal of Public Sector Management, 19, 316, 10.1108/09513550610669176 · DOI
  18. 2016, Exploring brand identity, meaning, image, and reputation (BIMIR) in higher education: a special section, Journal of Business Research, 69, 3019, 10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.01.016 · DOI
  19. 2014, Gender differences in engineering students’ imagined futures, Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 20, 197, 10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2014007079 · DOI
  20. 2000, Indonesian students’ perceptions of choice criteria in the selection of a tertiary institution: strategic implications, International Journal of Educational Management, 14, 40
  21. 2010, Facebook: an online environment for learning of English in institutions of higher education?, The Internet and Higher Education, 13, 179, 10.1016/j.iheduc.2010.07.003 · DOI · Paper page
  22. 2005, An evaluation of web enhanced instruction in college level biology courses, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 21, 533
  23. 2010, Opening up the road to nowhere: problems with the path to mass higher education in Hong Kong, Higher Education, 59, 167, 10.1007/s10734-009-9241-x · DOI
  24. 2007, Gender differences in online travel information search: implications for marketing communications on the internet, Tourism Management, 28, 423, 10.1016/j.tourman.2006.04.001 · DOI
  25. 1981, Developing marketing strategies and tactics in higher education through target market research, Decision Sciences, 12, 175, 10.1111/j.1540-5915.1981.tb00074.x · DOI
  26. 1998, Internet paradox: a social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being?, American Psychologist, 53, 1017, 10.1037/0003-066X.53.9.1017 · DOI · Paper page
  27. 2013, A qualitative study of the factors influencing student choice: the case of public university in Indonesia, Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research, 3, 314
  28. 2013, The impact of student retention strategies: an empirical study, International Journal of Management in Education, 7, 22
  29. 1997, What are student education and educational related needs?, Marketing and Research Today, 25, 199
  30. 2007, Branding higher education: equivalence and difference in developing identity, Journal of Business Research, 60, 990, 10.1016/j.jbusres.2007.01.024 · DOI
  31. 1997, Perceived barriers to education and career: ethnic and gender differences, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 50, 124, 10.1006/jvbe.1995.1536 · DOI
  32. 2011, Are digital natives a myth or reality? University students’ use of digital technologies, Computers & Education, 56, 429, 10.1016/j.compedu.2010.09.004 · DOI
  33. 2006, University and course choice: Implications for positioning, recruitment and marketing, International Journal of Educational Management, 20, 466
  34. 2014, Consumer moments of truth in the digital context, Journal of Advertising Research, 54, 200, 10.2501/JAR-54-2-200-204 · DOI
  35. 2016, Strategic enrolment management (SEM) in self-financed higher education of Hong Kong: evaluation and measurement, Asia Pacific Education Review, 17, 161, 10.1007/s12564-016-9418-9 · DOI
  36. 2015, Factors affecting student satisfaction and performance gap in relation to the model of strategic enrolment, graduation and articulation (SEGA): the case of self-financing higher education in Hong Kong, The Public Administration and Policy, an Asia-Pacific Journal, 18, 27
  37. 2011, The dynamics of search engine marketing for tourist destinations, Journal of Travel Research, 50, 365, 10.1177/0047287510369558 · DOI
  38. 2003, Consumer information search behavior and the Internet, Psychology & Marketing, 20, 99, 10.1002/mar.10062 · DOI
  39. 2003, The influence of family on Thai students’ choices of international education, International Journal of Educational Management, 17, 211
  40. 2010, Findings on Facebook in higher education: a comparison of college faculty and student uses and perceptions of social networking sites, The Internet and Higher Education, 13, 134, 10.1016/j.iheduc.2010.03.002 · DOI
  41. 2016, Social media interaction, the university brand and recruitment performance, Journal of Business Research, 69, 3096, 10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.01.025 · DOI
  42. 2008, An investigation of differences in undergraduates’ academic use of the internet, Active Learning in Higher Education, 9, 11, 10.1177/1469787407086744 · DOI
  43. 2005, Optimal search engine marketing strategy, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 10, 9, 10.1080/10864415.2005.11043964 · DOI
  44. 2007, Reading habits and attitude in the digital age: analysis of gender and academic program differences in Malaysia, The Electronic Library, 25, 285, 10.1108/02640470710754805 · DOI
  45. 2002, Students’ preferences for university: a conjoint analysis, The International Journal of Educational Management, 16, 40
  46. 2001, Gender differences and the online classroom: male and female college students evaluate their experiences, Community College Journal of Research & Practice, 25, 805, 10.1080/106689201753235930 · DOI
  47. 2015, The engagement gap: exploring gender differences in university industry collaboration activities, Research Policy, 44, 1176
  48. 2012, University students’ online information searching strategies in different search contexts, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 28, 881
  49. 2004, University selection: information requirements and importance, International Journal of Educational Management, 18, 160
  50. 2000, Critical success factors in online education, International Journal of Educational Management, 14, 216
  51. 2012, Computer mediated communication for social and academic purposes: Profiles of use and university students’ gratifications, Computers & Education, 58, 609, 10.1016/j.compedu.2011.09.015 · DOI
  52. 2000, Gender differences in Internet use patterns and Internet application preferences: A two-sample comparison, CyberPsychology and Behavior, 3, 167, 10.1089/109493100316012 · DOI
  53. 2016, Students’ choice of sub-degree programmes in self-financing higher education institutions in Hong Kong, Higher Education, 71, 455, 10.1007/s10734-015-9915-5 · DOI
  54. 2008, Gender differences in the usage and attitudes toward the internet among student teachers in a public Malaysian university, American Journal of Applied Sciences, 5, 689, 10.3844/ajassp.2008.689.697 · DOI
  55. 2005, Gender differences in online learning: sense of community, perceived learning and interpersonal interactions, Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 6, 31

Cited by

Sorted by citations

See all 30

Metadata

Authors
Wong, P., Lee, D., & M.L. Ng, P.
Affiliations
Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK)
ORCID
Venue
International Journal of Educational Management
Publisher
Emerald
Published
2018-04-09
Volume
32
Issue
3
Pages
511-524
ISSN
0951-354X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1108/ijem-12-2016-0268
OpenAlex
W2794321947
Cited by
30
References
4
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1
FWCI
9.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.emerald.com/insight/site-policies (tdm)
Locations
  • International Journal of Educational Management (publishedVersion)
  • PolyU Institutional Research Archive (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Digital Marketing and Social Media
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Employer Branding and e-HRM
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior and Marketing Influence
Keywords
prospective students, college choice, higher education recruitment, private higher education institutions, university reputation, digital marketing, gender differences, academic discipline differences, Hong Kong

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review