The Challenge to Foster Foreign Students’ Experiences for Sustainable Higher Educational Institutions

Abstract

While most companies are developing strategies that focus on responsibility and sustainability, recent discussions in higher educational institutions query the contribution of university social responsibility. Based on the theory of stakeholders and the new strategic paradigm of universities becoming sustainable corporations, the purpose of this paper is to determine Erasmus students' opinions on their experiences abroad, as they relate to the importance they attribute to their emotions, and their relationship with and loyalty to their host university's country as a tourism destination. The method inquired into Erasmus students' impressions when studying in Spain through an ad hoc questionnaire based on academic literature and the Delphi technique. Survey data was analyzed through an exploratory factor analysis and partial least squares structural equation modeling. The study is a first attempt at analyzing experiential marketing in Erasmus students, who we considered tourists. The results support experiential marketing as a key approach for achieving sustainability in universities. The paper draws attention to the need for institutions to be more aware of the needs of foreign students as important stakeholders when designing mobility programs, as well as suggestions on how this awareness can be cultivated, in order to contribute to the consolidation of the selected country as a tourism destination.

Increasing destination loyalty of international students towards Malaysian higher educational institutions

“…From the perspectives of tourism, destination loyalty is the engagement of tourists with their travel destinations wherein they form favorable attitudes to a particular tourism attraction, and they are likely to perform positive tourist behaviors such as revisiting, recommending, and positive word-of-mouth (WOM) [19]. The positive destination loyalty resulted in a higher revisiting rate of international students to their educational destinations for re-enrolment and further studies such as postgraduate or doctorate programs [20]. Besides, positive destination loyalty amongst the foreign students could also lead to higher levels of positive WOM as they were more likely to introduce and recommend their favorite destinations to others [6].…”

Sustainability Culture of Polish Universities in Professionalization of Management

“…One of the fastest growing areas of sustainable development at universities is student exchange. Student exchange between universities enables universities to make a significant contribution to the progress of the concept of sustainable development [78] as, e.g., ERASMUS exchange students contribute to sustainable marketing of the university. Achieving sustainable development goals in the area of quality education, gender quality and reduced inequalities is supported by student exchange because students from less developed countries have access to the best universities.…”

Employment of foreign students after graduation in Hungary in the context of entrepreneurship and sustainability

“…This is because mastering a foreign language has a special impact on university students, who are positioned by the market as migrant workers with entrepreneurial spirit (Sabaté-Dalmau, 2020). At the same time, the overseas study program contributes to the sustainable development of education, that is, educational institutions make great efforts to adjust the management model, human capital and technology, as well as curriculum to meet the needs of mobile students (Bañegil-Palacios & Sánchez-Hernández, 2018). Mosneaga & Winther (2013) believe that in the global competition for talent, international students are regarded as potential skilled workers.…”