CORPORATE REPUTATION ANTECEDENTS AND OUTCOME OF MALAWI’S HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: THE MODERATING EFFECTS OF STAKEHOLDER GROUPS

Purpose of the study: The study aims at establishing the relationship of corporate reputation with its antecedents and outcome of stakeholder loyalty in higher education institutions in Malawi. It also examined the moderating effect of stakeholder groups between corporate reputation and stakeholder loyalty.
Methodology: The researchers employed a quantitative approach and surveyed 438 employees and students drawn from four public higher education institutions using a stratified random sampling procedure. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS for data preparation and descriptive analysis. SmartPLS 3.3.2 was used to test the relationships of corporate reputation with its antecedents and outcome.
Main findings: The study established that all the identified antecedents positively and significantly enhance Malawi’s higher education institutions' corporate reputation. In turn, corporate reputation has a significant impact on stakeholder loyalty. Besides, stakeholder groups moderated the relationship between corporate reputation and stakeholder loyalty. Stakeholder group moderation means there are differences between employees and students on their commitment to higher education institutions. The study's findings would enable the management of higher education institutions in Malawi to develop strategies of overcoming competition by attracting and retaining competent staff and excellent students. The identified strategies should be formulated with consideration of the differences in loyalty between employees and students.
The study's novelty: This study integrated three theoretical perspectives and tested stakeholder groups as a moderating variable for the relationship between corporate reputation and stakeholder loyalty. Such integration provides a better understanding of corporate reputation and stakeholder loyalty in higher education institutions in Malawi.