Investigation of the Student Engagement Behaviour at the Faculty Level in a University

Abstract

The application of service-dominant logic (SDL) is the background for analyzing student engagement behaviour in this research. The case setting is the Faculty of Marketing belonging to National Economics University (NEU), Hanoi, Vietnam. The purpose is to investigate the types and the role of student engagement behaviour. Also, this study will identify antecedents affecting student engagement behaviour. This study used the case study method and data were collected through in-depth and focus group interviewing. A total of 25 undergraduate students at the Faculty of Marketing, NEU, Hanoi, were interviewed for this study. Findings show that among four types of student engagement behaviours, augmenting and influencing behaviour are the two most popular. The main findings indicated antecedents affecting customer engagement behaviours (CEBs) belonging to student-based and university-based factors. The most important antecedents in student-based factors are identified as the sense of initiative and student perception about the marketing occupation. The influential antecedents in university-based factors include the service provider’s career and vocational orientation, platforms for information exchange and feedback to student engagement behaviour. Based on the results, some managerial implications for the university and the faculty are proposed. Further, the research offers three research propositions related to the most important antecedents: the sense of initiative, the service provider’s career and vocational orientation and the reflective platform for information exchange and feedback towards CEB, which will have a positive effect on student engagement behaviour.