Corporate social responsibility in private universities: Empirical evidence in Vietnam
Date Published:
25/03/2025
Online Published:
25/03/2025
Section:
Business Administration, Marketing, Commerce, and Tourism
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study evaluates the impact of corporate social responsibility on brand equity at private universities in Vietnam. A partial least squares structural equation modeling approach was utilized in the study to analyze 640 survey responses. Results show that perceived corporate social responsibility has a direct impact on brand equity, brand reputation, and brand trust. Brand reputation and brand trust also have a direct impact on brand equity. In addition, brand reputation and brand trust play an intermedia mediating role in the relationship between perceived corporate social responsibility and brand equity. The study's findings also imply management implications for managers in higher education about their branding tactics, including increasing corporate social responsibility activities to increase brand equity, brand reputation, and brand trust, encouraging corporate social responsibility initiatives in order to instill a sense of respect for the institution, a sense of quality service, and a belief in their promises, enhancing university reputation and trust by utilizing social media and media platforms to disseminate messages and outcomes of corporate social responsibility initiatives, in addition to putting them into practice.
Keywords
Brand equity; Brand reputation; Brand trust; Corporate social responsibility; Private university
Article Details
Field of Economic (JEL Codes)
I23 - Higher Education • Research Institutions - Education and Research Institutions, L14 - Transactional Relationships • Contracts and Reputation • Networks - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance, M10 - General - M14 - Corporate Culture • Diversity • Social Responsibility - Business Administration
References
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Bashir, M. (2022). Corporate social responsibility and financial performance – the role of corporate reputation, advertising and competition. PSU Research Review, 8(2), 389-402. https://doi.org/10.1108/PRR-10-2021-0059
Bianchi, E., Bruno, J. M., & Sarabia-Sanchez, F. J. (2019). The impact of perceived CSR on corporate reputation and purchase intention. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 28(3), 206–221. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJMBE-12-2017-0068
Chikazhe, L., Chigunha, B., Dandira, M., Mandere, T. S., & Muchenje, K. C. (2020). Corporate social responsibility as a mediator of the effect of brand awareness and corporate reputation on customer loyalty. Business Management and Strategy, 11(1), 243-261. https://doi.org/10.5296/bms.v11i1.17141
Choi, T. -M., Cheng, T. C. E., & Zhao, X. (2016). Multi-methodological research in operations management. Production and Operations Management, 25(3), 379–389. https://doi.org/10.1111/poms.12534
Collins, D. (2003). Pretesting survey instruments : An overview of cognitive methods. Quality of Life Research, 12, 229–238. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023254226592
Dennis, C., Papagiannidis, S., Alamanos, E., & Bourlakis, M. (2016). The role of brand attachment strength in higher education. Journal of Business Research, 69(8), 3049–3057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.01.020
Dijkstra, T. K., & Henseler, J. (2015). Consistent partial least squares path modeling. MIS Quarterly, 39(2), 297–316. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26628355
Lichtenstein, D. R., Drumwright, M. E., & Braig, M. (2004). The effect of corporate social responsibility on customer donations to corporate-supported nonprofits. Journal of Marketing, 68(4), 16–32. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.68.4.16.42726
Falqueto, J. M. Z., Hoffmann, V. E., Gomes, R. C., & Mori, S. S. O. (2020). Strategic planning in higher education institutions: what are the stakeholders’ roles in the process? Higher Education, 79, 1039–1056. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00455-8
Foroudi, P., Yu, Q., Gupta, S., & Foroudi, M. M. (2019). Enhancing university brand image and reputation through customer value co-creation behaviour. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 138, 218–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.09.006
Freeman, R.E., 1984. Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. Boston: Pitman.
George, N. A., Aboobaker, N., & Edward, M. (2020). Corporate social responsibility and organizational commitment: effects of CSR attitude, organizational trust and identification. Society and Business Review, 15(3), 255–272. https://doi.org/10.1108/SBR-04-2020-0057
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., & Thiele, K. O. (2017). Mirror, mirror on the wall: A comparative evaluation of composite-based structural equation modeling methods. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 45, 616–632. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-017-0517-x
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., Danks, N. P., & Ray, S. (2021). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) Using R: A workbook. Springer Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80519-7
Hair, J. F., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2011). PLS-SEM: Indeed a silver bullet. Journal of Marketing theory and Practice, 19(2), 139-152 https://doi.org/10.2753/mtp1069-6679190202
Henseler, J. (2017). Partial least squares path modeling. In: P. Leeflang, J. Wieringa, T. Bijmolt, K. Pauwels (Eds.), Advanced methods for modeling markets (pp. 361-381). Springer, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-53469-5_12
Huo, C., Hameed, J., Zhang, M., Bin Mohd Ali, A. F., & Amri Nik Hashim, N. A. (2022). Modeling the impact of corporate social responsibility on sustainable purchase intentions: Insights into brand trust and brand loyalty. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istrazivanja, 35(1), 4710–4739. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2021.2016465
Hur, W. M., Kim, H., & Woo, J. (2014). How CSR leads to corporate brand equity: Mediating mechanisms of corporate brand credibility and reputation. Journal of Business Ethics, 125, 75–86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1910-0
Iglesias, O., Markovic, S., Bagherzadeh, M., & Singh, J. J. (2020). Co-creation: A Key Link Between Corporate Social Responsibility, Customer Trust, and Customer Loyalty. Journal of Business Ethics, 163, 151–166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-4015-y
Langrafe, T. de F., Barakat, S. R., Stocker, F., & Boaventura, J. M. G. (2020). A stakeholder theory approach to creating value in higher education institutions. The Bottom Line, 33(4), 297–313. https://doi.org/10.1108/BL-03-2020-0021
Le, H. Q. (2020). Factors affecting students’ decision to select private universities in Vietnam. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 7(4), 235–245. https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2020.vol7.no4.235
Lemon, K. N., Rust, R. T., & Zeithaml, V. A. (2001). What Drives customer equity: A company’s current customers provide the most reliable source of future revenues and profits. Marketing Management, 10(1), 20–25. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284404248_What_drives_customer_equity
Line, N. D., & Wang, Y. (2017). Market-oriented destination marketing: An operationalization. Journal of Travel Research, 56(1), 122–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287515622288
Madadi, R., Torres, I. M., & Zúñiga, M. Á. (2021). Hierarchical relationships among brand equity dimensions: The mediating effects of brand trust and brand love. Services Marketing Quarterly, 42(1-2), 74–92. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332969.2021.1947086
Mahajan, R., Lim, W. M., Sareen, M., Kumar, S., & Panwar, R. (2023). Stakeholder theory. Journal of Business Research, 166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114104
Mahmood, A., & Bashir, J. (2020). How does corporate social responsibility transform brand reputation into brand equity? Economic and noneconomic perspectives of CSR. International Journal of Engineering Business Management, 12, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1847979020927547
Maignan, I., & Ferrell, O. C. (2004). Corporate Social responsibility and marketing : An integrative framework. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 32, 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070303258971
Mudambi, S. M.D., Doyle, P., & Wong, V. (1997). An exploration of branding in industrial markets. Industrial Marketing Management, 26(5), 433–446. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0019-8501(96)00151-4
Hoang Phuong Nguyen (2020). Human resource management of logistics in vietnam: Status and policy solutions. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 11(3), 569–583. https://ijicc.net/images/vol11iss3/11345_Nguyen_2020_E_R.pdf
Özcan, F., & Elçi, M. (2020). Employees’ perception of CSR affecting employer brand, brand image, and corporate reputation. SAGE Open, 10(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020972372
Nguyen Minh Quang, Van Cong Vu (2020). Improve the quality of logistics human resources through connecting training facilities with logistics businesses. Journal of Science and Technology - Hung Vuong University, 18(1), 12-23. http://thuvienlamdong.org.vn:81/bitstream/DL_134679/22631/1/CVv466V18S01202012.pdf
Rasoolimanesh, S. M., Shafaei, A., Nejati, M., & Tan, P. L. (2023). Corporate social responsibility and international students mobility in higher education. Social Responsibility Journal, 19(9), 1632–1653. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-12-2021-0505
Rasoolimanesh, S. M., Tan, P. L., Nejati, M., & Shafaei, A. (2021). Corporate social responsibility and brand loyalty in private higher education: mediation assessment of brand reputation and trust. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 34(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2021.1973645
Reinartz, W. J., Haenlein, M., & Henseler, J. (2009). An empirical comparison of the efficacy of covariance-based and variance-based SEM. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 26(4), 332–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2009.08.001
Singh, A., & Verma, P. (2019). The impact of corporate social responsibility on brand equity of Indian firms. International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 20(1), 64–86. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJBIR.2019.101689
Nguyen Minh Tri (2021). Developing education in Vietnam in the context of international integration. In 17th International Conference of the Asia Association of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (AsiaCALL 2021) (pp. 234-240). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210226.029
Tuan Khanh Vuong, Ha Manh Bui (2023). The role of corporate social responsibility activities in employees’ perception of brand reputation and brand equity. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, 7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscee.2023.100313
Wang, D. H.-M., Chen, P.-H., Yu, T. H.-K., & Hsiao, C.-Y. (2015). The effects of corporate social responsibility on brand equity and firm performance. Journal of Business Research, 68(11), 2232–2236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.06.003
Adhikariparajuli, M., Hassan, A., & Siboni, B. (2021). CSR implication and disclosure in higher education: Uncovered points. results from a systematic literature review and agenda for future research. Sustainability, 13(2), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020525
Bashir, M. (2022). Corporate social responsibility and financial performance – the role of corporate reputation, advertising and competition. PSU Research Review, 8(2), 389-402. https://doi.org/10.1108/PRR-10-2021-0059
Bianchi, E., Bruno, J. M., & Sarabia-Sanchez, F. J. (2019). The impact of perceived CSR on corporate reputation and purchase intention. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 28(3), 206–221. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJMBE-12-2017-0068
Chikazhe, L., Chigunha, B., Dandira, M., Mandere, T. S., & Muchenje, K. C. (2020). Corporate social responsibility as a mediator of the effect of brand awareness and corporate reputation on customer loyalty. Business Management and Strategy, 11(1), 243-261. https://doi.org/10.5296/bms.v11i1.17141
Choi, T. -M., Cheng, T. C. E., & Zhao, X. (2016). Multi-methodological research in operations management. Production and Operations Management, 25(3), 379–389. https://doi.org/10.1111/poms.12534
Collins, D. (2003). Pretesting survey instruments : An overview of cognitive methods. Quality of Life Research, 12, 229–238. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023254226592
Dennis, C., Papagiannidis, S., Alamanos, E., & Bourlakis, M. (2016). The role of brand attachment strength in higher education. Journal of Business Research, 69(8), 3049–3057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.01.020
Dijkstra, T. K., & Henseler, J. (2015). Consistent partial least squares path modeling. MIS Quarterly, 39(2), 297–316. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26628355
Lichtenstein, D. R., Drumwright, M. E., & Braig, M. (2004). The effect of corporate social responsibility on customer donations to corporate-supported nonprofits. Journal of Marketing, 68(4), 16–32. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.68.4.16.42726
Falqueto, J. M. Z., Hoffmann, V. E., Gomes, R. C., & Mori, S. S. O. (2020). Strategic planning in higher education institutions: what are the stakeholders’ roles in the process? Higher Education, 79, 1039–1056. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00455-8
Foroudi, P., Yu, Q., Gupta, S., & Foroudi, M. M. (2019). Enhancing university brand image and reputation through customer value co-creation behaviour. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 138, 218–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.09.006
Freeman, R.E., 1984. Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. Boston: Pitman.
George, N. A., Aboobaker, N., & Edward, M. (2020). Corporate social responsibility and organizational commitment: effects of CSR attitude, organizational trust and identification. Society and Business Review, 15(3), 255–272. https://doi.org/10.1108/SBR-04-2020-0057
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., & Thiele, K. O. (2017). Mirror, mirror on the wall: A comparative evaluation of composite-based structural equation modeling methods. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 45, 616–632. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-017-0517-x
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., Danks, N. P., & Ray, S. (2021). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) Using R: A workbook. Springer Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80519-7
Hair, J. F., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2011). PLS-SEM: Indeed a silver bullet. Journal of Marketing theory and Practice, 19(2), 139-152 https://doi.org/10.2753/mtp1069-6679190202
Henseler, J. (2017). Partial least squares path modeling. In: P. Leeflang, J. Wieringa, T. Bijmolt, K. Pauwels (Eds.), Advanced methods for modeling markets (pp. 361-381). Springer, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-53469-5_12
Huo, C., Hameed, J., Zhang, M., Bin Mohd Ali, A. F., & Amri Nik Hashim, N. A. (2022). Modeling the impact of corporate social responsibility on sustainable purchase intentions: Insights into brand trust and brand loyalty. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istrazivanja, 35(1), 4710–4739. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2021.2016465
Hur, W. M., Kim, H., & Woo, J. (2014). How CSR leads to corporate brand equity: Mediating mechanisms of corporate brand credibility and reputation. Journal of Business Ethics, 125, 75–86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1910-0
Iglesias, O., Markovic, S., Bagherzadeh, M., & Singh, J. J. (2020). Co-creation: A Key Link Between Corporate Social Responsibility, Customer Trust, and Customer Loyalty. Journal of Business Ethics, 163, 151–166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-4015-y
Langrafe, T. de F., Barakat, S. R., Stocker, F., & Boaventura, J. M. G. (2020). A stakeholder theory approach to creating value in higher education institutions. The Bottom Line, 33(4), 297–313. https://doi.org/10.1108/BL-03-2020-0021
Le, H. Q. (2020). Factors affecting students’ decision to select private universities in Vietnam. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 7(4), 235–245. https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2020.vol7.no4.235
Lemon, K. N., Rust, R. T., & Zeithaml, V. A. (2001). What Drives customer equity: A company’s current customers provide the most reliable source of future revenues and profits. Marketing Management, 10(1), 20–25. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284404248_What_drives_customer_equity
Line, N. D., & Wang, Y. (2017). Market-oriented destination marketing: An operationalization. Journal of Travel Research, 56(1), 122–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287515622288
Madadi, R., Torres, I. M., & Zúñiga, M. Á. (2021). Hierarchical relationships among brand equity dimensions: The mediating effects of brand trust and brand love. Services Marketing Quarterly, 42(1-2), 74–92. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332969.2021.1947086
Mahajan, R., Lim, W. M., Sareen, M., Kumar, S., & Panwar, R. (2023). Stakeholder theory. Journal of Business Research, 166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114104
Mahmood, A., & Bashir, J. (2020). How does corporate social responsibility transform brand reputation into brand equity? Economic and noneconomic perspectives of CSR. International Journal of Engineering Business Management, 12, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1847979020927547
Maignan, I., & Ferrell, O. C. (2004). Corporate Social responsibility and marketing : An integrative framework. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 32, 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070303258971
Mudambi, S. M.D., Doyle, P., & Wong, V. (1997). An exploration of branding in industrial markets. Industrial Marketing Management, 26(5), 433–446. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0019-8501(96)00151-4
Hoang Phuong Nguyen (2020). Human resource management of logistics in vietnam: Status and policy solutions. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 11(3), 569–583. https://ijicc.net/images/vol11iss3/11345_Nguyen_2020_E_R.pdf
Özcan, F., & Elçi, M. (2020). Employees’ perception of CSR affecting employer brand, brand image, and corporate reputation. SAGE Open, 10(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020972372
Nguyen Minh Quang, Van Cong Vu (2020). Improve the quality of logistics human resources through connecting training facilities with logistics businesses. Journal of Science and Technology - Hung Vuong University, 18(1), 12-23. http://thuvienlamdong.org.vn:81/bitstream/DL_134679/22631/1/CVv466V18S01202012.pdf
Rasoolimanesh, S. M., Shafaei, A., Nejati, M., & Tan, P. L. (2023). Corporate social responsibility and international students mobility in higher education. Social Responsibility Journal, 19(9), 1632–1653. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-12-2021-0505
Rasoolimanesh, S. M., Tan, P. L., Nejati, M., & Shafaei, A. (2021). Corporate social responsibility and brand loyalty in private higher education: mediation assessment of brand reputation and trust. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 34(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2021.1973645
Reinartz, W. J., Haenlein, M., & Henseler, J. (2009). An empirical comparison of the efficacy of covariance-based and variance-based SEM. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 26(4), 332–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2009.08.001
Singh, A., & Verma, P. (2019). The impact of corporate social responsibility on brand equity of Indian firms. International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 20(1), 64–86. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJBIR.2019.101689
Nguyen Minh Tri (2021). Developing education in Vietnam in the context of international integration. In 17th International Conference of the Asia Association of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (AsiaCALL 2021) (pp. 234-240). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210226.029
Tuan Khanh Vuong, Ha Manh Bui (2023). The role of corporate social responsibility activities in employees’ perception of brand reputation and brand equity. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, 7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscee.2023.100313
Wang, D. H.-M., Chen, P.-H., Yu, T. H.-K., & Hsiao, C.-Y. (2015). The effects of corporate social responsibility on brand equity and firm performance. Journal of Business Research, 68(11), 2232–2236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.06.003
How to Cite
Tran, M. T., & Lam, D. X. H. (2025). Corporate social responsibility in private universities: Empirical evidence in Vietnam. Journal of Finance - Marketing Research, 3(01), 46-59. https://doi.org/10.52932/jfm.v3i1e.686