An analysis of market orientation in the UK Higher Education sector, taking into account the nature of multiple 'customer' constituencies for HE institutions

• Main Author: Alnawas, Ibrahim
• Published: University of Reading 2013
• Subjects: 658.8
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.602530

Unlike conventional products and services, higher education (HE) is characterized by not-forprofit institutions serving multiple constituencies (e.g., students, alumni, governments, etc.). Therefore, conventional market orientation (MO) methodology needs to be adapted to reflect this. However, previous researchers who examined the concept of MO in HE have drawn on MO models which were originally developed for manufacturing, with little effort to uncover the dimensions of MO that reflect the specificity associated with the sector and the nature of activities performed by HE institutions. Accordingly, this thesis investigates the concept of MO in HE from a holistic perspective, utilising market orientation theory, multiple constituency theory and value chain theory. First: it proposes a constituency-departmental approach to conceptualize and empirically examine the concept of market orientation against three constituency groups: (1) prospective students in relation to university-marketing departments - 'Prospective Student Orientation', (2) current students in relation to faculties/schools - 'Student Orientation', and (3) alumni in relation to development and alumni relations offices - 'Alumni Orientation'. Second: it investigates whether levels of 'Prospective Student Orientation', 'Student Orientation' and 'Alumni Orientation' are influenced by internal and external factors (e.g., university orientation, university mission, budget size, geographical location, etc.). Third: it examines the effect of 'Prospective Student Orientation', 'Student Orientation' and 'Alumni Orientation' on different organisational consequences (e.g., university business performance, student satisfaction, alumni engagement, etc.).