http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/232 Fri, 03 Apr 2026 21:19:22 GMT 2026-04-03T21:19:22Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/6504 Title: An investigation into the relationships between universities’ internal branding, employee brand support and the transformational leadership characteristics of immediate leaders: A study from the perspective of academic staff in Thai universities Authors: Kaewsurin, Narissara Abstract: Internal branding in universities has been acknowledged in marketing literature as an important area of research. In the context of higher education institutions, employees play a crucial role in the branding process. Research within the current spectrum of internal branding indicates some ambiguities surrounding internal branding in higher education. Yet very few studies are available in the field of internal branding within universities to explore employee behaviour in brand support. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to examine, from the academic staff’s perspective, the relationships between internal branding in universities and employee brand support and also the relevant underlying mechanisms (specifically, the mediating effects of internal branding aspects, i.e., 1. brand-centred training and development activities and 2. internal brand communications) in a Thai university context. This study employed a mixed methods approach with a dominant quantitative component, involving semi-structured interviews (with 19 respondents) and a pilot survey (with 95 respondents) to collect data for the development of measurement scales. Afterwards, the main survey (with 347 respondents) was conducted in order to test the research hypotheses and the proposed conceptual model. In addition, information from the semi-structured inteviews is used to explain the relationships found in this study after hypothesis testing. Based on a review of the existing literature in a range of fields (including higher education management, brand management, organisational identity, organisational culture and behaviour, corporate communication, human resource management, marketing management, government policy and leadership), this study proposes a conceptual model of the positive relationships between internal branding activities in universities (internal brand communications and brand-centred training and development activities) and employee brand support. In addition, the transformational leadership characteristics of the immediate leader (idealised influence or charisma; inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration) are also included in the model as determinants of internal branding activities and employee brand support. Brand-centred training and development activities and internal brand communication activities are proposed as mediators of the relationships in the model. The proposed conceptual model is developed on the basis of marketing control theory (Jaworski, 1988) combined with transformational leadership theory (Burns, 1978), social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) and Lewin’s (1947) change theory. From the statistical findings, together with upport from the literature and the in-depth interviews during the exploratory stage, this study finds positive relationships between brand-centred training and development activities, internal brand communication activities, the transformational leadership characteristics of the immediate leaders and employee brand support. However, an unexpected outcome is that the relationship between internal brand communication activities and employee brand support is not significant. This outcome indicates that the brand-centred training and development construct fully mediates the relationship between internal brand communication activities and employee brand support. Therefore, in order to create employee brand support behaviours among academic staff, institutions cannot rely solely on their internal communication activities. This finding highlights a crucial role for brand-centred training and development activities in building employee brand support in the context of higher education. In addition, the study finds that, given transformational leadership characteristics, an immediate leader of academic staff not only affects their brand support behaviour, but also either initiates or influences internal branding activities in the institution, thereby creating employee brand support among academic staff. Therefore, institutions which want to build employee brand support from the academic staff should ensure that the immediate leaders of their academic staff’ should manifest transformational leadership characteristics. Finally, this investigation is expected to be of value in advancing current knowledge about internal branding in universities and also be useful to higher education management and public policy-makers who want to encourage academic staff to support their university’s brand. Description: This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/6504 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/6503 Title: The influences of social e-shopping in enhancing young women’s online shopping behaviour Authors: Dennis, C; Morgan, A; Wright, LT; Jayawardhena, C Abstract: The background to this paper is that shoppers, particularly women, are motivated by a variety of different reasons, including socialising and enjoyment. Despite the growth of Internet retailing (e-retailing), these social needs are largely unmet in e-shopping. In the high street, women do most of the shopping but online shopping (e-shopping) tends to be dominated by male shoppers. At the same time, social networking is growing fast and is especially popular amongst young females. The purpose of this paper is to draw on prior research about why people shop in order to explore the concept of social e-shopping, based on combining e-shopping with social networking. We propose that shoppers, particularly young females, will prefer social e-shopping to traditional e-shopping. We carried out a qualitative study for our propositions with a comparison experiment, semi-structured questionnaire and focus group, to compare a traditional e-shopping website with a social e-shopping one. The findings reveal that young women prefer social e-shopping sites. Both utilitarian and hedonic young adult female shoppers found social e-shopping enjoyable and useful. However, although many participants found the social e-shopping site more difficult to use, this was outweighed by their enjoyment of the site and its usefulness. The study demonstrates the potential value of the concept of social e-shopping for future research. The findings have practical implications in that social e-shopping can be a valuable strategy for e-retailers wanting to gain competitive advantage and to positively increase the e-shopping behaviour intentions of young women. This study is original in being the first academic study of which we are aware to propose the concept of social e-shopping and examine the influences of social e-shopping on consumer shopping behaviour. Description: Copyright @ 2010 Westburn Publishers Ltd Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/6503 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/5838 Title: An investigation into export market orientation in UK universities from the international marketing managers’ perspective: A mixed-method approach Authors: Asaad, Yousra Abstract: Recent developments in the theories of export marketing have resulted in the conceptualisation of export market orientation in the manufacturing industry. However, little research investigating the concept of export market orientation in the higher education context exists, despite the importance of the export market in shaping the direction of the marketing of higher education. Building on the existing literature on export marketing and higher education marketing, this research offers a conceptualisation of export market orientation in universities and its antecedents and consequences from a managerial perspective. A mixed-method research design was adopted, consisting of two main phases. The first phase involved conducting key informant interviews with the international marketing managers of UK universities. Together with the literature review, an analysis of the key themes led to the development of research hypotheses and an operational model. The model was tested in the second phase with a survey directed at the international marketing managers of different UK universities. Partial Least Squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the survey responses. The structural model showed a good fit with the data and good convergent, discriminant and nomological validity and reliability stability. This research is the first to formulate and develop the concepts of export market orientation and export performance in the higher education context. The outcome of this research adds new perspectives to the growing body of higher education marketing literature, and suggests directions for future research. This research also offers important implications for management bodies in universities, academia and public policy-makers alike. Description: This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University. Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/5838 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/5620 Title: A life cycle stakeholder management framework for enhanced collaboration between stakeholders with competing interests Authors: Scandelius, C; Cohen, G Abstract: Implementation of a Life Cycle Sustainability Management (LCSM) strategy can involve significant challenges because of competing or conflicting objectives between stakeholders. These differences may, if not identified and managed, hinder successful adoption of sustainability initiatives. This article proposes a conceptual framework for stakeholder management in a LCSM context. The framework identifies the key sustainability stakeholder groups and suggests strategic ambiguity as a management tool to harness dysfunctional conflict into constructive collaboration. The framework is of practical value as it can be used as a guideline by managers who wish to improve collaboration with stakeholders along the supply chain. The article also fills a gap in the academic literature where there is only limited research on sustainability stakeholder management through strategic ambiguity. Description: This is a postprint version of the Book Chapter. Information regarding the official publication is available from the link below - Copyright @ 2011 Springer Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/5620 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z