Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and brand outcomes: a case of higher education

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and brand outcomes: a case of higher education Diversity, equity and inclusion ideology is the latest appeal of individual compassion, institutional legitimacy and enlightened society. Specific to higher education, diversity, equity and inclusion is an honorable ideology, value and mission. This paper aims to (1) empirically recognize the differences in the level of importance between the university’s and faculty’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, (2) identify the diversity, equity and inclusion outcomes, such as university brand image and student intention to engage postgraduation, (3) uncover the moderating role of university brand preference attainment and (4) validate the mediating role of student identification in diversity, equity and inclusion literature.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 1,027 usable responses was employed to perform two moderations, four mediations and two confidence interval analyses.FindingsThe university’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are significantly more rewarding than the faculty’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives for the university brand image and students’ intention to engage postgraduation. Findings uncover the mediating role of student identification and the moderating role of brand preference attainment.Practical implicationsFocusing on diversity, equity and inclusion at the institutional level is more impactful than at the faculty level. In industries where frontline employees have significant autonomy, such as higher education, the positive brand performance outcomes are related to the faculty’s diversity, equity and inclusion awareness, not the faculty’s diversity, equity and inclusion advocacy. Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives should align with the student’s shared values.Originality/valueThe study relies on institutional theory to underscore the asymmetric importance of the university’s and faculty’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in achieving perceived brand image and engagement. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Product & Brand Management Emerald Publishing

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and brand outcomes: a case of higher education

Download PDF
19 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/diversity-equity-inclusion-and-brand-outcomes-a-case-of-higher-v3brRq8vsw

References (146)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
1061-0421
eISSN
2054-1643
DOI
10.1108/jpbm-05-2023-4545
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Diversity, equity and inclusion ideology is the latest appeal of individual compassion, institutional legitimacy and enlightened society. Specific to higher education, diversity, equity and inclusion is an honorable ideology, value and mission. This paper aims to (1) empirically recognize the differences in the level of importance between the university’s and faculty’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, (2) identify the diversity, equity and inclusion outcomes, such as university brand image and student intention to engage postgraduation, (3) uncover the moderating role of university brand preference attainment and (4) validate the mediating role of student identification in diversity, equity and inclusion literature.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 1,027 usable responses was employed to perform two moderations, four mediations and two confidence interval analyses.FindingsThe university’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are significantly more rewarding than the faculty’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives for the university brand image and students’ intention to engage postgraduation. Findings uncover the mediating role of student identification and the moderating role of brand preference attainment.Practical implicationsFocusing on diversity, equity and inclusion at the institutional level is more impactful than at the faculty level. In industries where frontline employees have significant autonomy, such as higher education, the positive brand performance outcomes are related to the faculty’s diversity, equity and inclusion awareness, not the faculty’s diversity, equity and inclusion advocacy. Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives should align with the student’s shared values.Originality/valueThe study relies on institutional theory to underscore the asymmetric importance of the university’s and faculty’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in achieving perceived brand image and engagement.

Journal

Journal of Product & Brand Management – Emerald Publishing

Published: Nov 26, 2024

Keywords: Diversity; Equity; Inclusion; Brand preference attainment; Student intention to engage postgraduation; Student identification

There are no references for this article.