Unveiling Student Decision-Making in Vietnam: The Role of CBBE and IMC Access to Higher Education

Background/purpose. Vietnam's higher education (HE) market has become increasingly competitive, with institutional branding playing a crucial role in attracting prospective students. This paper examines how Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) affects the choice of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC), reversing the conventional flow from IMC to CBBE and thus offering a unique perspective so that strategies can be made practical for the recruitment of students by HEIs in the evolving educational market of Vietnam. Materials/methods. A sample of 554 Vietnamese undergraduate students was surveyed by means of structured questionnaires. A dual-search approach was employed, first testing the hypothesized relationships using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), then using neural network analysis to consider non-linear effects. The dimensions of CBBE (brand awareness, perceived quality, and brand loyalty) and IMC practices (digital marketing, experiential events, and personal impacts) were measured, with brand evaluation serving as a mediator. Results. Mean scores for the CBBE constructs-brand awareness, perceived quality, and brand loyalty significantly influence the institutional preferences of students. Brand evaluation mediates the effect of CBBE on IMC channels, thereby strengthening the use of IMC channels in the decision-making process. Perceived quality significantly influences pricing, while experiential marketing and brand loyalty, through the development of emotional attachment, align with Vietnamese culture's emphasis on kinship and reputation. ANN analysis provides additional insights by exposing the non-linear effects. Conclusion. The adoption of PLS-SEC integrated with ANN depicts synergy between CBBE and IMC in paving the way to HEI competitiveness, driven by service quality and culture-sensitive experiential marketing, followed by a unifying digital strategy toward brand equity and appeal. This study presents a novel construct on HEI branding for emerging markets, providing managers with options on how to position institutions and consequently increase enrollment in Vietnam.