External drivers of entry mode decisions of a higher education institution

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of cultural distance, governance quality, and market attractiveness on attachment of agents with a university. Design/methodology/approach – A single university was chosen as a case study and secondary data were collected. The focus of this paper is on education agents who market higher education institution (HEI) in international market and recruit international students. Findings – Multiple regression was performed and the finding indicated that governance quality and market attractiveness are significantly related with a number of agents attached to the marketing department of the university. However, cultural distance showed no significant relationship with agent attachment. Research limitations/implications – The availability of data was most challenging in gathering data for this study because the culture of a country may change across time and the sample was based on only one case study, a minimal amount of information was obtained. Practical implications – This study addresses the external factors that needed to be considered in selecting new agents. Originality/value – This study contributes to the international marketing literature by a focus on HEI and focus on agency approach.

International Branch Campuses as an Entry Mode to the Foreign Education Market

“…; therefore, market selection is important. The factors that determine the entry mode choice include the varying levels of control, resource commitment, and risk (Anderson and Gatignon 1986;Blomstermo et al 2006;Madichie and Kolo 2013;Goi 2016).…”

Impact of international branch campus KPIs on the university competitiveness: FARE method

“…The need to test the internationalization of HEIs through quantitative methods has been discussed in the literature (Jiang and Carpenter, 2011;Goi, 2016 more frequently. Multicriteria evaluation using the factor relationship method (FARE) has been performed in this study in order to fill the gap.…”

Monitoring of Education Agents Engaged in International Student Recruitment: Perspectives from Agency Theory

“…The use of third-party education agents in international student recruitment is a widely used market entry strategy (Coffey & Perry, 2013; Havergal, 2015; Huang, Raimo, & Humfrey, 2016; Independent Commission Against Corruption [ICAC], 2015; Observatory of Borderless Higher Education [OBHE], 2014). Education agents are perceived as a type of “indirect exporting,” representing a “low equity–low control” export option (Brouthers & Hennart, 2007; Goi, 2015; Li & Roberts, 2012). Conformingly, the reasons for contracting education agents are often based on the desire to increase market presence without a high level of upfront investment, while many of the pertinent risks are linked to the limited abilities of education providers to control the behavior of their agents (Coco, 2015; Coffey & Perry, 2013; Galbraith & Brabner, 2013; ICAC, 2015; Queensland Government, 2009; Raimo, Humfrey, & Huang, 2015).…”