Strategic Marketing of Higher Education in Africa

Strategic Marketing of Higher Education in Africa explores higher education marketing themes along the lines of understanding higher education markets, university branding and international marketing strategies, digital marketing and student choice-making. The Higher Education landscape around the world is changing. There is global competition for students’ enrolments, Universities are competing within their home market as well as in the international market and as Government funding for public universities is reducing there is pressure on universities to seek additional income by increasing their student enrolment. African universities are not an exception in this competitive market. This book is unique in providing a composite overview of strategic marketing and brand communications of higher education institutions in Africa. It recognises that there is a growing need for Universities to understand the stakeholders and develop strategies on how best to engage with them effectively. Highlighting the unique characteristics, nature and the different challenges of African universities, this book explores the marketisation strategies of African universities, with focus on the strategic digital marketing and brand management. The book provides significant theoretical and marketing practice implications for academics, higher-education administrators and practitioners on how best to market higher education in Africa and reach out to prospective students. International practitioners aiming to market to Africans and start a partnership with an African university will also find this relevant in understanding the dynamics of the African market

Emerging challenges, opportunities, and agenda for research, practice, and policy on marketing and brand communications of higher education institutions in Africa

The higher education landscape is changing. The global competition for students’ enrolments has increased around the world. Universities are competing within their home market as well as in the international market. As government funding for public universities is reducing, there is pressure on universities to seek additional income by increasing their student enrolment. Attracting and enrolling students has become increasingly more challenging, as student behaviour is changing. These challenges present the need for higher education institutions to be more strategic in their approach to reaching out to prospective students. This concluding chapter on strategic marketing of higher education in Africa presents practical implications and critical insights into strategic marketing and brand communications of higher education institutions in Africa. Agenda for future research were also provided. It is anticipated that this will shape further discussion and theoretical advancement which will be relevant for scholars, students, managers, practitioners, and policymakers in the field of higher education marketing

Understanding the market in higher education in Africa

Marketisation is the application of economic theory to the practice of higher education. This is based on the fundamental notion of the primacy of the market as a tool for business and strategic decisions. The market is the primary unit of focus as it determines supply and demand, while the ultimate goal is the maximisation of productivity and profit margins. However, there are persistent arguments against the marketisation of higher education. The commercialisation or commodification of education and its transactionalisation as a good to be sold by universities and purchased by students is probably the most prominent critics. The chapter theoretically explored the notion of marketisation and its growth on the African continent and discussed the six conceptual ideas had become well developed in the marketisation of higher education in order to provide a backdrop for the work covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The concluding section of the chapter provides an overview of the chapters in the book

Investigating market orientation and positioning in star-rated hotels in Ghana

Purpose: Market orientation and positioning have been widely recognized as organizational metrics linked to hotel performance. This study offered empirical evidence on the relationship among market orientation, positioning, and hotel performance in Ghana’s (luxury) hotel sector. It also reports on the joint effect of market orientation and positioning on hotel performance in the same sector. Design/methodology/approach: Three hypotheses were investigated on the relationship between market orientation and hotel performance; positioning and hotel performance; and the joint effect of market orientation and positioning on hotel performance. A survey of star rated (luxury) hotels in the capital city of Ghana was used. One hundred and five (105) responses were used in the analysis. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and hierarchical regression were used to test the three (3) hypotheses. Findings: All hypotheses were accepted. Market orientation and positioning jointly affect hotel performance, and the study provides hotel managers with suggestions on to enhance their performance via market orientation and positioning. Research limitations/implications: Management perspectives on market orientation, positioning and hotel performance were sought to the exclusion of customers. Future studies may consider using customer perspectives as well. Practical implications: Hotels should consider adopting market oriented positioning strategies to improve on their performance. Originality/value: This study is one of the few attempts to systematically investigating the intertwined concepts of market orientation, positioning and performance in a developing economy hospitality context

Understanding the Higher Education Market in Africa

This book offers theoretical and practical insights into the marketing of higher education in Africa. It explores the key players, challenges and policies affecting higher education across the continent, their marketing strategies and the students’ selection process. While acknowledging the vast size of the continent, this book aims to provide an understanding of the dynamics of higher education in Africa. This book recognises the private and Government Involvement in higher education provision, students and staff as stakeholders in the marketisation process. Strategic efforts by Universities to positions themselves to attract prospective students. This book further addresses issues such the responses of higher education sectors to the notion of markets and marketing, consumerism and competition in higher education in Africa, conceptions of the commodification of higher education in Africa and the dominance of western epistemologies and influence in transforming higher education sectors. Students as consumers in increasingly marketized higher education sectors in Africa is discussed. Though primarily for marketing students and academic researchers, the book's feature of blended theoretical and practical knowledge means that it will also be of interest to marketing practitioners and university managers

Strategic marketing communications of African universities: an introduction to edited collection

Strategic marketing of higher education encompasses the efforts made by tertiary or higher education institutions to develop a better understanding of the needs of their prospective customers in order to design products and services to meet and exceed these needs. These marketing activities of tertiary institutions should usually be carried out through the execution of purposeful conversations with all the university brand stakeholders, and this is the function of brand marketing communications. Brand marketing communications seeks to integrate multiple consumer contact points that occur through the purchase of commercial messages in paid, earned, and owned media to deliver persuasive and impactful statements about higher education brands. Persuasive brand communications is a critical pillar in the successful marketing efforts of universities worldwide, and this new edited book focuses on marketing and brand communication issues from an African perspective. This chapter introduces the coverage and contents of the book, highlighting the different themes and chapters

Examining Consumer Mobile Money Usage Behaviour in Ghana

This study develops a theoretical model to examine the effects of agent credibility and service quality on customer empowerment and the consequences of such empowerment in mobile money (MM) usage in Ghana. In total, 595 valid responses were collected using a pre-tested onsite-survey instrument. The research findings suggest that a higher level of MM agent credibility increases customer empowerment, which in turn positively affects the continuous usage of MM services. A significant association between MM agent service quality and customer empowerment was also noted. The study concludes with a discussion of study implications, limitations, and future research directions

Export and the Internet in Ghana: A Small and Medium Enterprise Exporter Benefit Model

No Abstract available LBS Mgt. Rev. Vol.9(1) 2004: 46-5

Perceptions of Internet Usefulness amongst Non-Traditional Exporters in Ghana

The study examined perceptions of Internet usefulness amongst Ghanaian Non-traditional Exporters with the view to understanding usage patterns from perspectives such as levels of internationalization and direction of trade. The results showed that, Ghanaian NTEs with the highest internationalisation (80% - 99%) reckoned the most that the Internet was definitely useful in their exporting activities. NTE businesses, which were over 10 years old, were the most certain about the fact that the Internet plays a key role in their exporting business. In terms of South-South relations, it was amazing to note that NTEs who had exporting relations in the West African sub-region believed the most that, Internet use helped them in their export business. Wholly owned local exporting firms believed the most that, the Internet was key to their exporting more. Majority of NTEs (70%) strongly disagreed with the notion that the Internet is only for technical people, and this is encouraging to the extent that knowledge about the technology and the use of its applications can be more easily diffused amongst Ghanaian NTEs. Key words: Internet, Ghana, Non-traditional exporters, Use The Information Technologist Vol.2(1) 2005:40-5