Role of social media community in strengthening trust and loyalty for a university |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Accounting and Information Systems, California State University Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330, United States;2. Martin V. Smith School of Business and Economics, California State University Channel Islands, One University Drive, Camarillo, CA 93012, United States;3. Department of Information Systems and Operational Management, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, PO Box 26165, Greensboro, NC 27402, United States;1. School of Management, Jinan University, China;2. School of Management, Shanghai University, China;3. Department of Marketing, School of Business Administration, Guangdong University of Finance & Economics, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China;1. Department of Business Management, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Malaga, Campus El Ejido, 29016 Malaga, Spain;2. Department of Marketing and Market Research, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Granada, Campus La Cartuja, 18071 Granada, Spain;1. Department of Marketing, Economics, and Sports Business, Haile/US Bank College of Business, Northern Kentucky University, United States;2. Department of Economics, Gatton College of Business and Economics, University of Kentucky, United States;3. Department of Economics, North Central College, United States;1. Western University, Canada;2. Liverpool John Moores University, UK |
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| Abstract: | As the increasing internationalization of higher education creates competition among the universities, many institutions are making use of social media communities to attract and retain students. We surveyed 206 users of a university Facebook page to investigate how it may be related to their identification with the university community and the university brand. We further investigate how this identification is associated with the trust and loyalty to the institution and is likely to be linked to positive behaviors such as promoting the university to their peers as an active member of the university community. Our results show that the perceived strength of the Facebook community is related to the identification with the university community and the university brand which in turn are related to trust and loyalty. Higher loyalty is linked to citizenship behaviors such as increased contribution to the educational process labeled in-role behaviors and providing positive word of mouth about the university labeled extra-role behaviors. With the challenges of a diverse and global student body which is expected to continue increasing, universities can benefit from use of social media in developing identity, loyalty and trust. |
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| Keywords: | Internationalization of higher education Organizational identification Brand identification Loyalty Trust Citizenship behaviors |
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