Development of a brand dual empowerment model in higher education institutions

Today, understanding the dual nature of the brand in higher education institutions can be of great help to university administrators in identifying market opportunities and optimally allocating marketing budgets to create a competitive advantage. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to design a model of brand ambiguity in higher education institutions. The method of the present research is mixed and of exploratory-applied type. The statistical population of the research in the qualitative part includes the directors and members of the faculty of Iranian universities and in the quantitative part includes the students of Yazd University. In this research, in the qualitative part, interviews have been used to collect information. In this regard, the interviews were conducted to the extent that the obtained data reached theoretical saturation. Based on this, 15 people were selected using purposive sampling method and participated in the interview. Data analysis in the qualitative section was performed using theme analysis method and finally the research conceptual model was developed. Finally, in the quantitative part, a questionnaire was distributed among the students who were selected using the classification sampling method and then confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the model fit and the validity of the structures. According to the research findings, brand ambiguity in higher education institutions includes two types of exploration and exploitation strategies. Dimensions related to exploratory strategies based on the results of interviews include: brand equity (including: university brand conformity and brand image), service diversity (including: diversity of educational and non-educational services) and continuous innovation (including: technological advances). . Dimensions related to exploitation strategies are: brand performance (service guarantee, responsibility, tangibility and empathy) and brand prominence (flexibility and brand reputation).