Analysis of factors influencing international student destination choice: a case of Indian HE

ABSTRACT

The inflow of international students to Indian higher education has remained low and this should be a matter of great concern. As a piece of country-specific research, this paper aims to understand the factors that influence an international students’ choice of India as a higher education destination. The results of an exploratory factor analysis indicate that international students enrolled in Indian universities considered conducive structural elements, the quality of education on offer, the cultural appeal of India, prospects of job in the destination country and the opportunity to learn English as the most important factors in host country selection. Further, a cluster analysis based on the identified factors specifies four international student segments that policymakers must pay attention to while formulating strategies to attract overseas students. This research provides an understanding into the destination choice motivations of an understudied market in an increasingly significant region of the world.

KEYWORDS:

• International student destination choice
• study abroad
• India
• enrolment decision-making

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Symbiosis International (Deemed University) [SIU/SCRI/ MRP Approval/2016/1609].

Notes on contributors

Sanjay Krishnapratap Pawar

Sanjay Krishnapratap Pawar, is an Associate Professor at the Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India. He holds a PhD in business management. His areas of research interest include international marketing of higher education, consumer behavior and marketing strategy.

Hirak Dasgupta

Hirak Dasgupta, is an Associate Professor at the Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India. He holds a PhD in management. His areas of research interest include human resource management and business decision models.

Swati Vispute

Swati Vispute, is an Assistant Professor at the Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India. She holds a PhD in management. Her areas of research interest include human resource management and organizational behaviour.