Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration: The roles of student trust, identity and commitment in the relationship between university reputation and behavioral intention - TRƯỜNG CÁN BỘ QUẢN LÝ GIÁO DỤC THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH

This dissertation aims to investigate and explore the roles of student trust (ST), student identity (SI), and student commitment (SC) in a relationship between the reputati[r]

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY

-

BUI HUY KHOI

The roles of student trust, identity and commitment in the relationship between university reputation and

behavioral intention

A dissertation submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration

Ho Chi Minh City – 2021

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY

-

BUI HUY KHOI

The roles of student trust, identity and commitment in the relationship between university reputation and

behavioral intention

Industry: Business Administration Industry ID: 9340101

A dissertation submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration Academic Supervisors:

Dr Nguyen Huu Lam

Dr Dang Ngoc Dai

Ho Chi Minh City – 2021

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I please declare that this submission is my work and except where due reference is made; this dissertation contains no material previously published or written by another person(s)

This dissertation does not contain material extracted in the whole or part from the dissertation or report presented for another degree or diploma in University

of Economics Ho Chi Minh city or any other educational institution

January 2021

Bui Huy Khoi

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

First of all, this dissertation is dedicated to the thank of my wife-Nguyen Thi

Ngan, to my daughter-Bui Mai Anh (9 years), my daughter-Bui Mai Vy (6 years),

my son-Bui Minh Nhat (4 years), and to my son-Bui Minh Hoang (4 years) They help me have many efforts to overcome difficulties in completing my dissertation It

is the biggest achievement of my life

Second, I would like to express my best gratitude to Ph.D Nguyen Huu Lam and Ph.D Dang Ngoc Dai, who supervise and help me conduct my dissertation for many years at University of Economics HCM City

Third, I am deeply thankful to Prof Vladik Kreinovich, University of Texas, USA for supporting me to publish my paper related to my dissertation in the Scopus system

Especially, I would express my gratefulness to Ph.D Ngo Quang Huan, University of Economics HCM City and Ph.D Nguyen Thanh Long, Industrial University of HCM City who indirectly or directly support and help me conduct the dissertation Moreover, I am thankful to the board of professors in School of UEH Graduate, the independent reviewers for their constructive reviewing and comments

Bui Huy Khoi

TABLE OF CONTENT

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

TABLE OF CONTENT iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii

LIST OF TABLES viii

LIST OF FIGURES ix

ABSTRACT x

TÓM TẮT xi

CHAPTER 1 RESEARCH OVERVIEW 1

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Research background 1

1.3 The research gap identification 9

1.4 Research object and scope 10

1.4.1 Research object 10

1.4.2 Research scope 11

1.5 Research aim 11

1.6 The research questions 13

1.7 Methodology 13

1.8 Dissertation contributions 14

1.8.1 Theory contributions 15

1.8.2 Practice implications 16

1.9 Dissertation structure 17

1.10 Conclusion 18

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 19

2.1 Introduction 19

2.2 Reputation 19

2.2.1 Student guidance 28

2.2.2 Social contributions 29

2.2.3 Environments 31

2.2.4 Leadership 32

2.2.5 Funding 33

2.2.6 Research and development 33

2.3 Student trust 34

2.4 Student identity 35

2.5 Student commitment 37

2.6 Behavioral intention 38

2.7 Foundation theories 43

2.7.1 Market signaling theory 43

2.7.2 The theory of planned behavior (TPB) 45

2.7.3 Theory of reasoned action (TRA) and extended valence framework 50

2.8 The research model and hypotheses 51

2.8.1 Factors affecting university reputation 51

2.8.2 The roles of student trust, student identity, and student commitment 53

2.9 Conclusion 62

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 64

3.1 Introduction 64

3.2 The research process 64

3.3 Sample and data collection 97

3.4 PLS-SEM 100

3.5 Quantitative analysis frame 104

3.6 Conclusion 106

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS 107

4.1 Introduction 107

4.2 Internal consistency and convergent validity 107

4.3 Indicator reliability 108

4.4 Discriminant validity 110

4.5 Collinearity issue 112

4.6 The fitness of the structural model 113

4.7 Stability of parameter estimates 116

4.8 Discussion 119

4.9 Conclusion 120

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS 121

5.1 Introduction 121

5.2 Conclusions 121

5.3 Key Contributions 122

5.4 Contributions to methodology 124

5.5 New contribution to the measurement model 125

5.6 Implications 126

5.6.1 Practical Implications 126

5.6.2 Implications for domestic manager 128

5.6.3 Implications for university manager 128

5.7 Limitations and recommendations for further research 135

PUBLICATION 137

REFERENCES 138

APPENDIX 159

EDITED CONFIRMATION BY CAMBRIDGE 187

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Abbreviation Meanings

PLS-SEM Partial least squares structural equation modelling

SRMR The standardized root mean square residual

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Variables and their proposing authors 41

Table 2.2 Summary of the correlations in the model 61

Table 3.1 The discussion group code 68

Table 3.2 Social Contributions’ items 75

Table 3.3 Environments’ items 77

Table 3.4 Leadership’s items 78

Table 3.5 Funding’s items 79

Table 3.6 Research and Development’s items 81

Table 3.7 Student Guidance’s items 82

Table 3.8 Student Trust’s items 83

Table 3.9 Student identity’s items 84

Table 3.10 Student Commitment’s items 85

Table 3.11 Behavioral Intention’s items 86

Table 3.12 Items and factors in the reputation scale 90

Table 3.13 Item and factor in the university reputation scale 95

Table 3.14 University Reputation’s items 96

Table 3.15 Sample Statistics 99

Table 4.1 Internal consistency and convergent validity 107

Table 4.2 Outer Loadings 109

Table 4.3 Fornell-Larcker Criterion 111

Table 4.4 Inner VIF Values 112

Table 4.5 Measurement of model PLS-SEM 115

Table 4.6 Path Coefficients 116

Table 4.7 f2 (effect size) 117

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Valence Framework Model 51

Figure 2.2 The model of Keh and Xie (2009) 54

Figure 2.3 The model of Rather (2018) 55

Figure 2.4 The model of Heffernan et al (2018) 56

Figure 2.5 The model of Nuraryo et al (2018) 57

Figure 2.8 The theoretical model 61

Figure 3.1 The process of quantitative analysis 105

Figure 4.1 Model Testing and Analysis 114

ABSTRACT

This dissertation aims to investigate and explore the roles of student trust (ST), student identity (SI), and student commitment (SC) in a relationship between the reputation of a university (UR) and its students’ behavioral intention (BI) in Vietnam's higher education sector The dissertation builds an empirically tested model from a sample of 1,538 Vietnamese graduates Its purpose determines the factors affecting university reputation and the roles of student trust, student identity, and student commitment in the relationship between university reputation and behavioral intention to understand student choices of master’s programs Next, these factors will be measured by some analysis quantitative tools Finally, this dissertation will also give some implications to develop the relationship between university reputation and behavioral intention in Vietnamese higher education The analysis results revealed that the tested relationship between university reputation and behavioral intention to continue studying is positive Twelve of the proposed hypotheses were confirmed, including the direct relationship of the variables and the mediating role of SI, SC, and ST in the model The results suggest that a university reputation can be a driving force toward students’ behavioral intention to achieve positive goals in the development of their higher education This dissertation significantly contributes to the understanding of university reputation and student behavioral intention in higher education In both theory and practice, it provides vital findings and suggestions to scientists, university administrators, and strategic marketers applying in their working environment

Keywords: University reputation, behavioral intention, student trust, student identity, student commitment, higher education

TÓM TẮT

Luận án này nhằm mục đích khám phá và kiểm tra vai trò của niền tin (ST), nhận biết (SI) và cam kết (SC) của sinh viên trong mối quan hệ giữa danh tiếng trường đại học (UR) và dự định hành vi của sinh viên (BI) tốt nghiệp đại học trong bối cảnh giáo dục sau đại học tại Việt Nam Luận án xây dựng một mô hình được kiểm nghiệm từ thực tế trong một mẫu nghiên cứu gồm 1.538 sinh viên tốt nghiệp đại học ở Việt Nam Mục đích của luận án là xác định các yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến danh tiếng trường đại học và vai trò của niền tin, nhận biết và cam kết của sinh viên trong mối quan hệ giữa danh tiếng trường đại học và dự định hành vi để hiểu sự lựa chọn của sinh viên đối với các chương trình đào tạo thạc sĩ Ttiếp theo, các yếu tố này sẽ được đo lường bằng một số công cụ phân tích định lượng Cuối cùng, luận án cũng sẽ đưa ra một số hàm ý quản trị nhắm phát triển mối quan hệ giữa danh tiếng trường đại học và dự định hành vi trong giáo dục sau đại học tại Việt Nam Kết quả phân tích cho thấy mối quan hệ đã được kiểm định giữa danh tiếng trường đại học

và hành vi có dự định tiếp tục lựa chon việc học tập là tích cực Mười hai giả thuyết được đề xuất đã được xác nhận, bao gồm mối quan hệ trực tiếp của các yếu tố và vai trò trung gian của niền tin (ST), nhận biết (SI) và cam kết (SC) của sinh viên trong mô hình cũng được xác nhận Kết quả cho thấy danh tiếng trường đại học có thể là động lực thúc đẩy dự định hành vi của sinh viên nhằm đạt được các mục tiêu tích cực trong sự phát triển giáo dục sau đại học của họ Luận án này góp phần đáng

kể vào sự hiểu biết về danh tiếng trường đại học và dự định hành vi của sinh viên trong giáo dục sau đại học Về cả lý thuyết và thực tế, nó cung cấp những phát hiện

và đề xuất quan trọng cho các nhà khoa học, các nhà quản trị trường đại học và các nhà tiếp thị chiến lược ứng dụng vào môi trường làm việc của mình

Từ khóa: Danh tiếng trường đại học, dự định hành vi, niềm tin, nhận biết, cam kết, giáo dục sau đại học

CHAPTER 1 RESEARCH OVERVIEW

1.1 Introduction

This dissertation shows the roles of student trust, identity and commitment in the relationship between university reputation and behavioral intention in Vietnamese higher education I present standard information about the studied problem and dissertation background, and I identify the dissertation’s aims and research questions This chapter also briefly describes the dissertation structure

1.2 Research background

QS University Rankings for Asian 2021 based on 11 different criteria to evaluate one university, including academic reputation (30%), employer reputation (20%), lecturer/ student ratio (10 %), percentage of lecturers with doctoral degrees (5%), ratio

of published papers per lecturer (5%), citations per paper (10%), international research network (10%), international lecturer ratio (2.5%), international student rate (2.5%), domestic exchange students (2.5%), and foreign exchange students (2.5%) (Duong Tam, 2020) Vietnam has 11 universities participating in the QS University Rankings for Asian 2021(QS, 2020) So, reputation is the most important key for ranking a university and that is a reason which Vietnamese universities are creating, building, and developing it

Nowadays, the university operates in a highly competitive market (Del-Castillo-Feito et al., 2020; Lafuente-Ruiz-de-Sabando et al., 2018) where attracting resources has become a complicated task The current trends of globalization and internationalization have led higher education institutions (HEIs) to receive increasing interest from policymakers and educational leaders (Tran and Villano, 2017) This is because a nation’s human resources significantly affect its socioeconomic development (Agasisti and Pohl, 2012; Tran and Villano, 2017) The globalization of business

has been embraced by the higher education sector, in which education is seen as a service that is marketable worldwide Universities and other institutions of higher education must compete to attract highly talented students, prestigious professors, and effective employees (Del-Castillo-Feito et al., 2020; Hemsley-Brown et al, 2016; Nuraryo et al., 2018; Plewa et al., 2016; Wilson, 2016) Some individuals credit the globalization of universities to the many changes and difficulties that the educational sector is now facing Despite differences in opinion, school leaders and various other commentators agree that competition between higher education institutions has intensified over the last few years (Chen and Esangbedo, 2018; Plewa et al., 2016) Education plays an enormous role in a country’s development, and its progress in a given country partly symbolizes that country’s growth in general (Chen and Esangbedo, 2018)

Higher education institutions play an important role in society: they are essential partners of the knowledge-creation and knowledge-exchange networks, and they catalyze innovation, supply tangible benefits of research, and provide consulting and advisory services Universities are meant to foster progress, build social capital, prepare students for outside realities, provide access to knowledge, and extend the bounds of justice, thereby contributing to the creation and maintenance of a democratic and sustainable society However, the increasingly competitive and dynamic nature of educational environments raises many challenges, such as declining enrollment (Dzimińska et al., 2018)

Vietnam, a transitional economy in the Asia–Pacific region, has a population of over 96 million people (Nguyen and McDonald, 2019) In background terms, it is noteworthy that since the mid-1980s, Vietnam has been pursuing a path of market-oriented economic reform This course of change has helped the economy to free itself from absolute poverty and achieve substantial and sustainable economic growth