VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL GRADUATION PROJECT PROJECT NAME: FACTORS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING INFLUENCING GEN Z’S DECISION ON CHOOSING UNIVERSITY IN VIETNAM Student’s name: Khuất Thị Khánh Linh Hanoi - Year 2024 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL GRADUATION PROJECT PROJECT NAME: FACTORS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING INFLUENCING GEN Z’S DECISION ON CHOOSING UNIVERSITY IN VIETNAM SUPERVISOR: Ph.D Đào Công Tuấn (Academic title, academic degree, full name) STUDENT: Khuất Thị Khánh Linh STUDENT ID: 20070226 COHORT: IB2020B SUBJECT CODE: INS401101 MAJOR: International Business Hanoi - Year 2024 ABSTRACT This quantitative descriptive design study aimed to investigate the impact of social media marketing (SMM) on Gen Z's university choice in Vietnam. To investigate the impact, the study chooses five independent variables: informativeness, trendiness, customization, interactivity, and word-of-mouth, which are the forces of SMM that affect university decision-making through perceived usefulness, perceived trust, and attitudes. The study gathers data from a sample of 335 Gen Z individuals in Vietnam, aged 18 to 27, through an online survey, and then analyzes the data using PLS-SEM. The hypotheses of the study were tested using Smart-PLS 3, which revealed that SMM has contributed to partly explaining university choice decisions through meditating variables, including perceived usefulness and cognitive attitude.
The study results indicate that SMM is a valuable source of information for universities. However, it also presents a challenge for higher educational institutions (HEIs) to develop effective and appropriate SMM strategies to enhance trust and attract potential students. Keywords: Social media marketing, university choice, perceived usefulness, cognitive attitude, decision-making. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Professor Ph.
Dao Cong Tuan for his motivation, guidance and encouragement throughout my graduate project. Without his guidance, advice and feedback, I would not have been able to finish this thesis on time. I am grateful for the experience of getting to work with and learn from him. Additionally, I would like to express my gratitude to all the teachers and staff of International School of the Hanoi, Vietnam National University for teaching and helping me during 4-year study and research.
The knowledge I have acquired will serve as an invaluable asset for me in the future. I am also immensely grateful to my friends for their unwavering support throughout this journey. They've offered encouragement, support, and an occasional nudge to keep me going. Their belief in me has been the fuel to my determination, and I could not have done it without their presence by my side.
Moreover, I would like to express my gratitude to my colleagues, relatives, fellow students, and all those who have generously contributed their valuable time to participate in this research and assisted in circulating my questionnaire. Without their help, I truly couldn't have completed this thesis. Finally, I am profoundly appreciative of the love, support, and motivation provided by my family. Their unwavering confidence in me has been my most steadfast support throughout this journey.
Their comprehension, forbearance, and sacrifices have been indispensable. I am profoundly grateful for their unwavering support and unceasing encouragement, which have served as the cornerstone of my success. LETTER OF DECLARATION I hereby assert that the graduate project titled "Factors of Social Media Marketing Influencing Gen Z’s Decision on Choosing University in Vietnam" is an original piece of research conducted by myself. I have diligently adhered to the principles of research ethics, and the conclusions drawn in this study are based solely on our collected data.
The findings of this research have not been disseminated elsewhere. I assume complete accountability for the accuracy and integrity of the numerical data and other aspects encompassed within this scholarly investigation. Hanoi, 10/6/2024 Khuất Thị Khánh Linh LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AA Affective Attitude AVE Average variance extracted CA Cognitive Attitude CR Composite Reliability CT Customization HEI Higher Educational Institution HOC Higher order construct HTMT Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio IN Informativeness IT Interaction LOC Lower order construct PLS-SEM Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling PT Perceived Trust PU Perceived Usefulness SEM Structural Equation Modelling SOR Stimulus – Organism - Response SMM Social media marketing STD. deviation Standard deviation TR Trendiness UC University choice decision VIF Variances inflation factor WM Word-of-mouth LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Gender of survey's respondents .2: Respondents' Educational Status .3: University major of respondents .4: Number of respondents using social media platforms .5: Respondents’ average social media using hours per day.6: Respondents’ most using social media platform .7: Number of respondents using social media to research information when choosing university .10: Convergent Validity and Reliability (LOCs level) .11: Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio of LOCs .12: SMM’s Convergent Validity and Reliability .14: Result of hypothesis testing .44 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Conceptual Framework of the study.1: The measurement model for LOCs (Outer loading) .2: The measurement model for HOC (Outer loading).43 TABLE OF CONTENT CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.
Background of the study. Research objectives and research question. Significance of the study. Structure of the study .4 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.
Theoretical background and definition of research constructs. The Stimulus – Organism – Response (SOR) Theory. Social media marketing (SMM). Social media marketing in higher education.
Decision on choosing university. Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Trust. Cognitive Attitude and Affective Attitude. Social media marketing and Perceived Usefulness.
Social media marketing and Perceived trust. Perceived Usefulness and Attitude. Perceived Trust and Attitude. Attitude and University choice decision.
20 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOOGY. Sampling and data collection. Reliability and validity. Data analysis with PLS-SEM using SmartPLS.28 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOOGY.
An evaluation of higher-order constructs. Lower-order constructs. Higher-order construct. Assessing Multi-collinearity.
42 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND LIMITATIONS. Discussion and conclusion. Contribution and implications of the study. Limitations of the study.
Recommendations for future research. 50 APPENDIX: SURVEY QUESTIONAIRE. 61 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The study's findings are being explored to determine the factors of Social Media Marketing (SMM) that influence Gen Z's decision on choosing university in Vietnam. This chapter consists of five sections.1 provides an outline of the study's background, while Section 1.2 presents the investigation's objectives and research questions.3 provides a concise overview of the research methodologies, followed by section 1.4, which gives the research findings.
The thesis framework is presented at the end of the chapter (in Section 1. Background of the study Selecting a university is an important and demanding decision for many individuals. A significant number of people believe that enrolling in the appropriate educational institution can greatly improve their quality of life and future opportunities. This highlights the importance of careful consideration and sufficient involvement before making such a decision.
Many researchers have developed comprehensive models over the years to better understand the university selection process and acknowledge the significance of higher education. These models assess a variety of factors including costs, financial aid, reputation, educational programs and quality, social and cultural activities, advice from family and friends, as well as individual aptitudes and educational objectives (Constantinides & Stagno, 2012; Moogan, 2011; Olson, 2018). However, in an era of advanced technology, the previously described factors seem quite inadequate. Due to the emergence and widespread use of social media, SMM is having enormous effects on modern life and decision-making processes, including university choice.
Currently, social media has gained immense popularity, with a staggering 5.07 billion users globally as of April 2024, accounting for around 62.6 percent of the world's population (DataReportal, 2024). In Vietnam, the proportion is even higher, with 72.70 million individuals actively using social media, or about 73.3 percent of the country's population (Kemp, 2024). With such an extensive and diverse user base, SMM is regarded as one of the most effective marketing strategies for firms and organizations attempting to reach their target consumers (McCorkle & Payan, 2017). The higher education landscape has become increasingly competitive thanks to the 1 fast increase of universities, both domestically and internationally.
The number of higher education institutes (HEIs) in Vietnam rose from 150 in 2009 to 244 in 2023, indicating a growth of 62% (An, 2023; Hồng, 2023). Moreover, the increasing preference of Vietnamese students to pursue education overseas necessitates local colleges to not only compete against one other but also contend with international institutions. This highly competitive environment motivates institutions to enhance their reputations, quality, and marketing strategies in order to attract best students. HEIs have adopted SMM as a recognized and valuable marketing technique (Peruta & Shields, 2017).
In the United States, 61% of college admissions offices used social media platforms as a means of attracting potential students (Turner, 2017). Additionally, Turner (2017) asserted that marketers at HEIs have acknowledged the importance of SMM in their integrated marketing communications strategies for recruiting students. In order to stay ahead of the competition, numerous institutions in Vietnam have adopted SMM as a very successful method for communication, promotion, and content updates. Prior research has thoroughly examined the influence of SMM on consumer behavior and intentions, as well as its role in the educational environment, especially regarding university communications and students' decisions on which university to choose (Bilgin, 2018; Borges, 2023; Clark et al., 2017; Howell, 2019; Jasso, 2021; Karamang, 2021; Kim & Ko, 2010; Krishnan & Sajilan, 2014; Logan et al., 2012; Mehmood et al., 2016; Mesra et al., 2023; Nguyen et al., 2021; Seo & Park, 2018; Turner, 2017; Ural & Yuksel, 2015; Zimmerman, 2020).
The Stimulus – Organism – Response theory has served as a fundamental basis for studying customer intentions and decisions, offering a strong framework for evaluating the impact of different elements on behavior. This model emphasizes the substantial influence of individuals' attitudes on their intentions and actions. This notion has been confirmed in various research using both integrated attitude models and distinct affective and cognitive attitudes (Nagoya et al. Additionally, many research has investigated many characteristics that affect the intention to use services and customer behavior, especially Perceived Usefulness (Ahmed et al., 2017; Gunawan et al., 2019; Smith, 2006; Wiedmann et al., 2010) and Perceived Trust (Ling et al., 2011; Manzoor et al., 2020; Munoz-Leiva et al., 2 2017; Nguyen & Huynh, 2018; Pappas, 2016).
The impact of SMM on user habits and behaviors, especially when it comes to important choices such as selecting a university, is clearly increasing. Given the intense competition in the higher education sector (Bélanger et al., 2014), it is crucial for HEIs to comprehend the factors influencing students' college and university choices in order to attract top-tier students (Kotler & Fox, 1995). Universities are presently and will remain focused on Gen Z, which comprises many students who have not yet enrolled in university. Therefore, it is essential to examine the extent to which SMM factors influence the university choice decisions of Gen Z in Vietnam.
SMM is gaining significant popularity in Vietnam, attracting the attention of both students and university admissions departments. However, thus far, there has been limited study investigating the impact of SMM on university selection decisions in Vietnam. Thus, this study aims to address the existing gap by examining the variables of SMM that impact the decision-making process of Vietnamese Gen Z while selecting a university. The objective of this study is to examine the factors that impact the decision-making process of young individuals while choosing a university.
Research objectives and research question The objective of this research was to examine the impact of SMM on the decision- making process of Gen Z individuals in Vietnam while selecting a college. This study gathers data from people from Gen Z in Vietnam to provide insights for marketing managers and executives of HEIs who utilize SMM to attract students. The following research questions articulate the above purpose: (1) What factors of social media marketing influence Gen Z’s decision on choosing a university in Vietnam? (2) How significant are the impacts of these factors on Gen Z’s university choice decisions? 1. Significance of the study Vietnamese universities have embraced social media as an approach to attract students and enhance their competitiveness.