I Have to Choose This University: Understanding Perceived Usefulness of Word of Mouth (WOM) in Choosing Universities among Students of Higher Education

ABSTRACT

For decades, Word of Mouth (WOM) has been popularized as the most powerful form of marketing communication. However, there is scant evidence that validates its powerfulness from the receivers’ perspective. The study examined the powerfulness of WOM by testing its perceived usefulness in choosing Universities from 358 undergraduate students from the public university. Data were analyzed by using Structural Equation Modeling and the findings indicate that students choose Universities through the influence of WOM. Therefore, the University should focus on delivering quality services that influence the spread of positive WOM messages by its current students to prospective students.

KEYWORDS:

• Word of Mouth
• university
• perceived usefulness
• higher education