The impact of social media on international student recruitment: the case of Lebanon

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand and accentuate the value of social media in international student recruitment in Lebanese higher education institutions (HEIs). This study analyses the significance of social media and the changes occurring in the means of communicating with the potential international students, with an aim to understand how the HEIs could adapt with the changes to implement a model of engagement to include social media as a fundamental constituent of the Lebanese HEIs’ international student recruitment strategy. Design/methodology/approach The researchers carried out a study through quantitative descriptive approach by using a probabilistic simple random sample and a self-administered questionnaire on 230 international students from several universities and colleges in Lebanon as a data collection method. Findings The findings demonstrated a certain level of engagement in social media networks from the part of the students during their search for college or university and course information. Research showed that international students still prefer the traditional sources, apart from social media, during their search. Among traditional media sources, friend, family and university website were the highest in ranking. Among social media sources, Facebook, Instagram, Google+ and YouTube showed the highest ranks. Most students have, indeed, contacted a friend or a university staff for university course information by using social media sites. Practical implications For managerial practice, this is an incentive for institutions of higher education to re-evaluate and assess the effective impact of social media on the recruitment of international students and to regulate their social media marketing strategies. For research in international education, the insights of this study are useful to explore further research avenues in the area of capacity building for business innovation, marketing and quality assurance in higher education in the cross-cultural context. Originality/value This study offers insights on the implications of social media for international student recruitment strategies in a particular Lebanese context of HEIs

Transforming big data into knowledge:the role of knowledge management practice

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate how big data collected from social media contribute to knowledge management practices, innovation processes and business performance. Design/methodology/approach: The study used 418 questionnaires collected from firms that actively invest in marketing, advertising and communication in the Italian market. The hypotheses testing and analysis were conducted using structural equation modeling. Findings: The results reveal that customers’ data gathered from social media produce different effects on knowledge management practices and firms’ innovation capacity. Furthermore, increased innovation capacity turned out to affect customer relationship performance directly, while it contributes to gain better financial performance only when it is used to gain relational outcomes. Originality/value: The outcomes of the study help firms to develop a clear understanding about which big data retrieved from social media can be useful to improve their knowledge management practices and enhance their innovation capacity. Moreover, by investigating the mediating role of big data knowledge management in the context of social media knowledge acquisition and innovation capacity, this study also extends the mediation variables used to understand the relationship between knowledge capabilities and practices and innovation constructs.</p

Integrating adapting and standardisation in interal marketing: the AdaptStand Modelling Process

This research investigates UK multinational companies' level of adaptation and/or standardisation across international marketing tactics. The research methodology consists of a questionnaire survey of the 500 biggest UK multinational companies. It examines whether multinational companies are adapting or standardising their marketing mix elements/7Ps (product, price, place, promotion, people, physical elements, process management) when they cross geographical borders and expand their operations to foreign markets. This research identified that both adaptation and standardisation are used at the same time and that the level of integration is dependent upon a consideration of the relationship between the reasons and elements identified and an understanding of how these are affected by a number of factors. Based on the results of the analysis, this study proposes a new modelling approach, the AdaptStand Process, which outlines the different stages to be undertaken by multinational companies towards identifying the level of integration across the marketing mix elements. Consequently, this research aims to contribute to theoretical knowledge and at the same time guide marketing practitioners in deciding on implementation of marketing tactics when competing in the international marketing arena