AbstractsEducation Research & Administration

Professional Doctorate - Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Due to the emergence of Hong Kong’s knowledge-based economy in the 1990’s and the subsequent increase in self-financed higher education programmes from 2001 to 2013, quality assurance in Hong Kong’s higher education is of paramount importance. Those involved in the self-financed higher education sector realize the contribution of a good school reputation to positive word-of-month, which in turn enhances recruitment rates and attracts higher quality students. With the goal of providing a better understanding of the process involved in building a good school reputation, this study investigated the influence of teaching quality, student satisfaction, school image, and student loyalty on school reputation of self-financed higher education institutions in Hong Kong. A cross-sectional empirical study with a research framework was developed to test thirteen hypotheses by analyzing data collected from a questionnaire survey. The questionnaires were distributed to 320 students in four higher education institutions in Hong Kong. Responses were elicited from 297 students who were randomly selected from four self-financed higher education institutions, which gave a response rate of 92.81%. The collected data were analyzed using quantitative statistical methods. The study’s findings show that teaching quality positively correlates to student satisfaction, that student satisfaction strongly influences student loyalty and school image, and that student loyalty and school image have a mediating and moderating effects on the direct relationship between student satisfaction and school reputation. The study contributes to the body of knowledge in the field of self-financed higher education by verifying the relationships between teaching quality, student satisfaction, school image, student loyalty and school reputation. Recommendations are also provided for future similar studies.