Generating students’ loyalty towards the sustainable university during the later Covid-19 pandemic

Bibliographic Data

ID21721028
AuthorsDan-Cristian Dabija (0000-0002-8265-175X, Babeș-Bolyai University), Veronica Câmpian (0000-0002-1647-9250, Babeș-Bolyai University), Liana Stanca (0000-0003-2453-1511, Babeș-Bolyai University), Adriana Tiron‐Tudor (0000-0001-5530-5635, Babeș-Bolyai University)
Year2023
Volume24
Issue8
Pages1858-1876
Publication date2023-11-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1467-6370 • E-ISSN: 1758-6739
PublisherEmerald (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1108/ijshe-11-2022-0372
OpenAlexW4376275732
LanguageEN
References cited55

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has brought tremendous changes in society. Universities were among the few organisations with some previous knowledge of online education, being able to rapidly adapt by transferring already known best practices to the new context. As teaching moved to online, students encountered less sustainable implementation by their universities. This allowed the development of previously planned sustainable strategies so that when face-to-face teaching resumed, universities could be even more sustainable. This paper aims to explore loyalty to the sustainable university during the later COVID-19 pandemic based on the university’s efforts to manage a green campus. Design/methodology/approach To investigate loyalty towards the sustainable university during the later COVID-19 pandemic, a conceptual model is proposed. This research is grounded in an empirical investigation using a quantitative online survey implemented with online interviews, the relations between all latent constructs being analysed with SmartPLS. Findings The results show that university sustainability reflects student loyalty, outlining the image developed under the influence of green campus management. The results show that universities must intensify their efforts to support the sustainable agenda and create a sustainable academic brand, inducing student loyalty. The findings may attract the attention of other universities wishing to gain knowledge about the factors that students consider important in generating their loyalty. Research limitations/implications As this research was carried out in the later COVID-19 pandemic context from 2021, the students already had experience of online teaching, so their assessment of the sustainability strategies implemented could be quite different from their perceptions in the first months of the pandemic. This research provides a comprehensive insight into the overall strategy that a sustainable university might apply in a crisis context. Social implications Research has shown that green campus management has a positive impact on the sustainability of a university’s image, on how students perceive the university at which they study and on the university’s efforts to ensure efficient campus management. These factors contribute to the development of a strong and sustainable image of the university within the community. Originality/value The originality of this paper lies in the research questions designed to conceptualise and operationalise the generation of students' loyalty towards their university by encouraging and implementing sustainable strategies on campus. This paper highlights a structural model that combines strategic practices to determine students' loyalty towards a sustainable university during the COVID-19 pandemic

Business · Empirical research · Geography · Higher education · Loyalty · Pandemic · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Sustainability · Sustainable development · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Educational Environments and Student Outcomes · Medicine · Sustainability in Higher Education · Marketing

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