Dutch Journal of Finance and Management

Dutch Journal of Finance and Management, 2020 - Volume 4 Issue 1, Article No: em0063
https://doi.org/10.29333/djfm/8401

Published Online: 19 Jul 2020

Views: 2238 | Downloads: 1921

The primary objective of the study was to describe the extent to which image differentiation strategies may be used to gain competitive advantage among private tertiary education institutions in Botswana. The study examined how image differentiation may be employed by private tertiary education institutions to achieve competitive advantage. The study used descriptive survey research and the findings revealed that the institutions have not done enough in image differentiation to clearly stand out as differentiated universities. The study recommends that the universities must get involved in activities that will enhance institutions’ image. Institutions need to work together with key stakeholders and continually seek ways to attain competitive advantage through image differentiation.

image differentiation competitive advantage private tertiary institutions

• Abd-El-Salam, Shawky and El-Nahas (2013). The Impact of Corporate Image and Reputation on Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty Testing the Mediating Role. Case Analysis in an International Service Company. The business Management Review, 3(2), 178-196.
• Akareem, H. S. and Hossain, S. S. (2016) Determinants of Education Quality: What Makes Students’ Perception Different? Open Review of Educational Research, 3(1), 52-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/23265507.2016.1155167
• Amadeo, K. (2011). What Is Competitive Advantage? 3 Strategies That Work. Available at: https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-competitive-advantage-3-strategies-that-work-3305828
• Amaoko, G. K., Junior, S. K., Daetey-Baak, K. and Dzogbenuku, R. K. (2013). The Effect Of Marketing Communication Performance: A case study of Airtel Ghana. African Journal of Marketing Management, 4(2) 65-79. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJMMX11.006
• Armstrong, G., Adan, S., Denize, S. and Kotler, P. (2012). Principles of Marketing. 5^th Edition. Sydney. Prentice Hall.
• Awwad, A. S., Al Khattab, A. A. and Anchor, J. R. (2013). Competitive Priorities and Competitive Advantage in Jordanian Manufacturing. Journal of Service and Management, (6), 69-79. https://doi.org/10.4236/jssm.2013.61008
• Boyd, R. L. (2012). Customer service in Higher Education: Finding the middle ground. The Mentor. An Academic advising Journal, 14. https://doi.org/10.26209/MJ1461308
• Durkin, M., Howcroft, B. and Fairless, C. (2016). Product Development in Higher education Marketing. International Journal of Education Management, 30(3), 354-369. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-11-2014-0150
• Ernst Young (2011). Higher Education and the Power of Choice. Ernst Young Global Limited. Australia.
• Gebauer, H., Gustafsson, A. and Witell, L. (2011). Competitive Advantage through Service Differentiation by Manufacturing Companies. Journal of Business and Research, 64(12), 1270-1280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.01.015
• Hoque, K. E., Razak, A. A. and Zohora, M. F. (2013). Service delivery in higher Education: A Comparative Study between Public and Private Universities. Life science Journal, 10(3), 108-117.
• Reimer, D. and Jacob, M. (2010). Differentiation in Higher Education and Its Consequences for Social Inequality: Introduction to Special Issue. Higher Education, 61, 223-227. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-010-9373-z
• Kandampully, J. and Hu, H. H. (2007). Do Hoteliers Need to Manage Image to Retain Loyal Customers? International Journal of contemporary Hospitality management, 19(6), 435-443. https://doi.org/10.1108/09596110710775101
• Kasule, G. W., Wesselink, R. and Mulder, M. (2014). Developing Innovation Competence Profile for Teaching Staff in Higher Education in Uganda. Journal of Education, (2), 1-26.
• Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2010). Principles of Marketing. 13^th Global Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.
• Kunykaite and Piligrimiene (2013). Communication in Social Media for Company’s Image Formation. Economic and Management, 18(2), 305-317. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.em.18.2.4651
• Malik, M. E., Ghafoor, M. M. and Iqbal, H. K. (2012). Impact of Brand, Service Quality and Price on Customer Satisfaction in Pakistan Telecommunication Sector. International Journal of Business and Social science, 3(23), 123-129.
• Mateus, M. B. (2017). How to Achieve Competitive Advantage through Operations. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-achieve-competitive-advantage-through-operations-manuel-b-mateus
• Milan, R. P., Davies, S. and Zafira, D. (2016). Barriers to Differentiation: Applying Organisational Studies to Ontario Higher education. Canadian Journal of Higher education, 46(1), 19-37.
• Miletic, S. (2010). Image Communication and Competitive advantage. Facta Universitatis, Series: Economics and Organization, 7(1), 119-128. Available at: http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/eao/eao201001/eao201001-10.pdf
• Mixon. P. (2014). Do What You Do Best: Competitive Advantage as A Differentiator in Higher Education. The evolllution. Available at: https://evolllution.com/opinions/best-competitive-advantage-differentiator-higher-education/
• Nikolas, F. (2016). Competitive Strategies and Industry Analysis. Available at: http://www.nickols.us/porterbasics.pdf
• Novais, M. A and Arcodia, C. (2013). Measuring the Effects of Event Sponsorship: Theoretical Frameworks and Image Transfer Models. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 30(4), 308-334. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2013.784149
• Owino, E. O. (2013). The Influence of Service Quality and Corporate Image on Customer Satisfaction Among Universities in Kenya (Dissertation/ Thesis). Available at: http://chss.uonbi.ac.ke/sites/default/files/chss/Edward%20Owino%20PhD%20Thesis.pdf
• Park, C. W., Eisingerich, A. B., Pol, G. and Park, J. W. (2013). The Role Of Brand Logos On Firm Performance. Journal of Business Research, 66, 180-187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2012.07.011
• Podnar, K. (2015). Corporate Communications: A Marketing Viewpoint. 1st Edition. London and New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315752785
• Porter, M. (1990). The Competitive Advantage of Nations. N.Y., USA: The Free Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11336-1
• Porter, M. (1985). Competitive Advantage. N.Y., USA: The Free Press.
• Reeves, M. and Deimler, M. (2017). Adaptability: New Competitive Advantage. Health Care and the Pandemic. Available at: https://hbr.org/2011/07/adaptability-the-new-competitive-advantage#comment-section
• Sigalas, C., Pekka-Economou, V. and Georpopoulos, N. B. (2013). Developing a Measure of Competitive Advantage. Journal of Strategy and Management, 6(4), 320-342. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSMA-03-2013-0015
• Smith, D. (2013). Differentiation and Diversification In Higher Education: The Case Of Private Faith Based Higher Education in Manitoba. Canadian Journal of Higher education, 43(1), 23-43.
• Stamm, B. V. (2008). Managing Innovation Design And Creativity (2^nd edition). United Kingdom: John Wiley and Sons.
• Steier, F. A. (2003). The Changing Nexus: Tertiary Education Institutions, The market place and the state. Higher Education Quarterly, 57(2), 158-180. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2273.00240
• Tanwar, R. (2013). Porter Competitive strategies. IOSR Journal of business and Management, 15(1), 11-17. https://doi.org/10.9790/487X-1511117
• Mbuya, T. (2017). The Decline And Fall Of Higher Education In Botswana: Quality Assurance Authorities Complicit (part II). Mmegi online. Available at: http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?aid=65977&dir=2017/january/20
• The Linguist Chair. (November 10, 2016). The state of Botswana Tertiary Education capture. Part One: The definition problem. The Sunday Standard. Available at: https://www.sundaystandard.info/the-state-of-botswana-tertiary-education-capture/
• Tizhe, T. K (2016). Diversification Management at Tertiary Education Level: A Review. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(4), 110-115.
• Zekiri, J. and Nedelea, A. (2011). Strategies for Competitive Advantage. The annals of The Stefan cel Mare” University of Suceava. Fascicle of the Faculty of Economics and Public Administration, 11(2(14)), 63-73. Available at: https://econpapers.repec.org/article/scmausvfe/v_3a11_3ay_3a2011_3ai_3a2(14)_3ap_3a6373.htm

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.