The effect of perceived value-in-use in advocacy behavior of private higher education institutions in Malaysia: A conceptual paper

In recent years, there has great deal of attention towards customer value since the concept of value creation prompted in the Service-Dominant (S-D) Logic in marketing theory (Vargo & Lusch, 2004). With that, one of the aspects that is crucial is building and maintaining relationships that prepares customers for future co-creations. In context of higher education institutions (HEIs), students move from one life cycle stage to another, thereby needs and expectations also evolve, and when they graduate, it may dissolve. With service innovations, a smart active relationship between students and HEIs should be part of any institutions internal branding efforts. As institutions delve into relationship with students, their focus on co-creation with an aim to translate students to advocates, someone who will spread the positive word-of-mouth, defend the brand, and most importantly to feel a sense of responsibility to represent the brand, when need arises. This calls for HEIs to not only manage exchange processes in their internal branding efforts, but also focus on students’ perceived value-in-use (ViU). The purpose of this paper is to explore perceived ViU of students at private HEIs, from the effects of extra-role behavior, trust, self-brand connection and brand prominence towards influencing students to engage in advocacy behavior.