Is higher education in the UK becoming more competitive?

Adcroft, Andrew; Teckman, Jonathan; Willis, Robert

doi:10.1108/09513551011069040

Cited by 31 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The increased competition in the UK education market has been seen as the key driver of higher education marketisation across the world (Maringe, 2005a(Maringe, , 2010. However, even though universities are forced in some senses to become more independent, at present the most influential market is state-regulated (Henkel, 1997;Adcroft, Teckman & Willis, 2010). In addition, the emergence of branding in higher education also seems to be a consequence of system level policies in the higher education sector (Stensaker, 2005), where the government supplies the organisation with critical resources (contributions) and in exchange the government expects its interests to be satisfied (Hill & Jones, 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the emergence of branding in higher education also seems to be a consequence of system level policies in the higher education sector (Stensaker, 2005), where the government supplies the organisation with critical resources (contributions) and in exchange the government expects its interests to be satisfied (Hill & Jones, 1992). The influence of government is felt more strongly by colleges and universities than by business and industry (Karol & Ginsburg, 1980;Adcroft et al, 2010). Governments control universities through legislation, administrative regulations (Gledhill, 1996), court decisions and the actions of the executive branch of government.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Towards a branding oriented higher education sector: An overview of the four perspectives on university marketing studies

Sujchaphong¹,

Nguyen²,

Melewar³

2017

mark. rev.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards a branding oriented higher education sector: An overview of the four perspectives on university marketing studies

Sujchaphong¹,

Nguyen²,

Melewar³

2017

mark. rev.

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“…With higher fee levels for UK undergraduates from 2012 (BIS, 2011), increasing competition (Adcroft et al, 2010) and universities ever more reliant on brand and reputation to attract income, developing a trusting relationship with students which can be leveraged to the organization's benefit during a crisis could be a point of significant competitive advantage for a university. At present, the evidence suggests that universities have not effectively engaged with this potential.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Business continuity management in UK higher education: a case study of crisis communication in the era of social media

McGuinness

Marchand

2014

IJRAM

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This study explores crisis communications in UK Higher Education Institutions (HEI's) between the institution and its students. Using a case study of British universities, data is presented from interviews with university business continuity managers and student focus groups. The paper provides insights into current Business Continuity Management (BCM) practice in the higher education sector, business continuity managers' attitudes to social media as a communication tool during the incident response phase, and students' declared communication preferences.Keywords: business continuity management, communications, stakeholders, social media, higher education, university 4The marketization of British higher education is driving universities to become increasingly akin to the private sector in their outlook and activities (Brown, 2011, Shattock, 2010. In effect, whilst HEIs are public institutions, they are subject to both private and public sector imperatives and influences reflecting government moves towards a free market in higher education (Higher Education Funding Council for England, 2005). The landscape of British higher education is also subject to further change, not least due to the introduction of higher undergraduate student fees effective from the 2012 academic year (Department for Business, 2011, Browne, 2010 British higher education, is institutional brand and reputation a critical weapon in attracting students (Maringe and Gibbs, 2008, Chapelo, 2011, Chapleo, 5 2010. Furthermore, a consequence of this process are elevated expectations on the part of universities' primary consumers (students) and, increasingly, their 'co-consumers' (parents) (Williams, 2011). Although the reputation and brand of UK higher education continues to draw students from across the world, as a result of these multifarious influences, maintaining and enhancing the quality of the student university experience gains ever greater significance. Threats to this, in the form of disruptions to the student learning experience or devaluing of the institutional brand that the student has 'bought into' must be minimized for the success and longer-term sustainability of any British HEI. Ensuring the robustness of the institution to potential threats and disruption is therefore vital, and business continuity provides a strategy for ensuring organizational resilience. However, many argue that despite evidence to show that universities can be subject to threats and disruptions just as in any other sector, they remain ill-prepared (Mitroff, 2011, Kiernan, 2005, Beggan, 2011. In recent times, many British universities have found themselves having to deal with widespread disruption due to snow. Others have faced a range of incidents which have threatened their standing internationally (for example, the fatal off campus shooting of one of the University of Lancaster's international students in an apparently racially motivated attack) and one university was obliged to restructure as result of a student visa scam (University of Wales)...

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“…As a consequence of the changes, building strong ties with students has become one of the central functions of HEIs (Adcroft, Teckman and Willis 2010), and is seen as an outcome that leads to several advantages, most notably enhancing student satisfaction (JyhShen and Droge, 2006) and ultimately increasing student retention (see Ghosh, Whipple and Bryan 2001). A good relationship with students can mean that they become a HEI's most powerful advocates as to why future students should study at a particular HEI.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The components of trustworthiness for higher education: a transnational perspective

Kharouf

Sekhon

2014

Studies in Higher Education

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Despite the strong theoretical foundation for the role of trustworthiness in building buyer-seller relationships, a lack of empirical evidence exists to validate the importance of trustworthiness in the Higher Education (HE) sector. Our research examines the drivers of trustworthiness across two distinct cultures -the United Kingdom and India, providing a significant contribution to the body of knowledge by understanding the role and nature of trustworthiness within HE.The results of the proposed model offer important insights into the process of understanding trustworthiness within the HE sector. Firstly we establish the importance for HE institutes of building trustworthiness. Next, we empirically validate trustworthiness using data from two countries, and finally we confirm the proposed model using two sampling points, and provide directions for practitioners and theorists alike.

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Is higher education in the UK becoming more competitive?

Cited by 31 publications

References 37 publications

Towards a branding oriented higher education sector: An overview of the four perspectives on university marketing studies

Towards a branding oriented higher education sector: An overview of the four perspectives on university marketing studies

Business continuity management in UK higher education: a case study of crisis communication in the era of social media

The components of trustworthiness for higher education: a transnational perspective

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