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Universities and export market orientation: an exploratory study of UK post-92 universities

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Yousra Asaad

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Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how post-92 UK universities perceive and managemarket orientation (MO) in their export operations of educational services to international students(i.e. export market orientation (EMO)) in the context of international student recruitment.Design/methodology/approach – Through a case study design, this qualitative research wasundertaken amongst eight post-92 UK universities. Semi-structured in-depth interviews wereconducted with managers in the international offices of universities.Findings – The results indicate that EMO in universities consists of information-based activitiesgeared towards foreign markets. Superior knowledge and awareness of the market componentsis central to the implementation of these information-based activities. This involves marketinformation generation and dissemination, as well as the need for rapid responsiveness due to thechanging nature of the higher education market.Research limitations/implications – The selected methodology makes these results alone unfit forgeneralising to a larger population. Improved theoretical models are needed for generating moreknowledge about the antecedents and consequences of EMO in universities.Practical implications – The authors believe the findings are particularly relevant for internationalmarketing managers of exporting universities. The current paper suggests some implicationsfor international marketing managers when actively managing their marketing activities towardsforeign markets.Originality/value – The paper identifies a gap in current higher education marketing research. Theoriginal contribution of the paper is to address this gap so that researchers and practitioners havesome understanding of the export marketing behaviour of UK universities in the context of therecruitment of international students

Publication metadata

Author(s): Asaad Y, Melewar TC, Cohen G, Balmer JM

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Marketing Intelligence and Planning

Year: 2013

Volume: 31

Issue: 7

Pages: 838-856

Print publication date: 01/11/2013

Date deposited: 13/01/2017

ISSN (print): 0263-4503

ISSN (electronic): 1758-8049

Publisher: Emerald

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/MIP-01-2013-0007

DOI: 10.1108/MIP-01-2013-0007

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