Abstract

This study attempts to investigate the applicability of relationship marketing concepts in the private tertiary education industry. With the rapid growth of tertiary education and new academic structure in Hong Kong, it is interesting to investigate the relationship between relationship commitment and student loyalty, and the key determinants of relationship commitment, in a leading private tertiary education institution in Hong Kong. Questionnaires were designed to collect data, and structural equation modeling approach was adopted to evaluate the explanatory power and casual links of the model. The results indicate that relationship commitment is a driver of student loyalty. Relationship benefits and trust are found to have positive influence on relationship commitment. Relationship termination costs and shared values are found to have non-significant roles in determining relationship commitment in private tertiary education environment, while shared value has a significant positive impact on trust. The research provides new insights to the management of private tertiary education providers in building relationship with students and resources allocation. The study discusses the implications of the findings and suggests areas for future research.

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