Stakeholder approach and the impact of brand image within higher education in the Middle East: Student and staff perspective

• Published date: 01 February 2021
• Author: Khaled Qassem Hailat,Amal Abdelhadi Alshreef,Islam A. Azzam,Fakhrieh Darabseh
• Date: 01 February 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1941

ACADEMIC PAPER

Stakeholder approach and the impact of brand image within

higher education in the Middle East: Student and staff

perspective

Khaled Qassem Hailat

1

|Amal Abdelhadi Alshreef

2

|Islam A. Azzam

3

|

Fakhrieh Darabseh

4

1

Department of Marketing, Faculty of

Economics and Administrative Sciences,

Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan

2

Department of Marketing, Faculty of

Economics, University of Benghazi, Benghazi,

Libya

3

Department of Business Administration,

Faculty of Economics and Administrative

Sciences, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan

4

Department of Tourism, Faculty of Travel and

Tourism, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan

Correspondence

Khaled Qassem Hailat, Assistant Professor at

Department of Marketing, Faculty of

Economics and Administrative Sciences,

Yarmouk University, Irbid 21163, Jordan.

Email: khaledhailat@yu.edu.jo

Higher education institutions should take into account the needs of stakeholders in the

planning and development of quality educational services. In general, the stakeholders

are divided into two categories: internal and external stakeholders. This study aims to

explore the diverse basic needs of the university internal stakeholders (students, aca-

demic staff, and employees) and the impact of the services on the brand image of the

educational institutions. Consensus has been built that an organization's image can only

be or assessed by its stakeholders or constituents. Utilizing the qualitative approach

through empirical semi‐structured interviews, data were collected from both Benghazi

University in the country of Libya and Yarmouk University in the country of Jordan. To

gain an in‐depth understating of the basic services, interviews were conducted with 41

university internal stakeholders (students, academic staff, and employees). The findings

have a remarkable impact on the education services quality and the perception of brand

image of both institutions, which subsequently affects the Libyan and Jordanian econ-

omy. The paper explores the differences between the needs of the three groups. This

study is of value to educational leaders as it serves as contribution to the well designing

of comprehensive plans of the university, by providing the decision makers with infor-

mation on the needs of the university internal stakeholders. Managements can develop

policies, which will improve the safety of customers and staff and increase collabora-

tions with both universities stakeholders, etc. Accordingly, the results provide a founda-

tion on which future research can be built.

1|INTRODUCTION

Stakeholder approach integrates diverse organizational activities by

looking at various organizational stakeholders and identifying the ser-

vices and quality what they want from the organization. Green (1994)

argues that it is necessary to define the criteria that each stakeholder

uses when judging quality and consider these different views.

The landscape of higher education is changing, and institutions

within the industry are seeking new approaches in identifying what

key factors will assist them in being successful. One approach that

this study will investigate is the stakeholder approach.

A stakeholder approach suggests that leadership of higher educa-

tional institutions should formulate and implement processes that sat-

isfy stakeholders' needs in order to ensure the long‐term success.

Khan and Matlay (2009) point out that in higher education institutions

cannot successfully satisfy the external stakeholder needs until the

internal users' needs are satisfied. It emphasizes active management

of the business environment, relationships, and the promotion of

shared interests. Colleges and universities are more likely to succeed

through an approach utilizing information processes, as a result of

monitoring and analysing the needs and wants of stakeholders in

return identifying and developing quality educational services.

Received: 7 February 2019Accepted: 23 February 2019

DOI: 10.1002/pa.1941

J Public Affairs. 2019;e1941.

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1941

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa1of10

J Public Affairs.2021;21:e1941.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.1of10

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1941