Marketing relacional nas instituições de ensino superior público: estudo de caso da ESTeSC

Abstract

Nowadays, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) find themselves in a stage of adaptation to the financial restrictions imposed by a State Budget distribution which is fundamentally based on the number of students of the institution. Therefore, it becomes crucial for the HEIs to attract new students and to create lasting connections with the existing ones, enhancing their loyalty. The present research intends to contribute to the understanding of the loyalty determinants in the context of HEIs. With the aim of validating the research model, an empirical study was conducted on Higher School of Health Technology of Coimbra of Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra including the collection of primary data based on a questionnaire, resulting in a sample of 645 respondents. The results obtained led to the conclusion that the perception of the HEIs’ relationship marketing practices has an indirect positive influence on students’ loyalty, which is mediated by perceived quality, perceived value, satisfaction, trust and students’ commitment.