CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IN HIGHER EDUCATION – HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION SELECTION IN A GLOBALIZED MARKET

Globalizacija je fenomen današnjice koji otvara nacionalne granice i stvara jedno globalno tržište u poslovnom kontekstu. Za visoko obrazovanje to znači da se visokoškolske institucije nalaze na međunarodnom tržištu, gdje im se mogućnosti za pridobivanje studenata proširuju, ali se uslijed otvaranja tržišta javlja i problem visoke stope konkurencije, s kojom se suočavaju. Marketing je, stoga, za visokoškolske institucije bitan utoliko što na globalnom i visoko konkurentnom tržištu one moraju privući studente, sredstva za istraživanje i donacije kako bi opstale, dok s druge pak strane, moraju pružati kvalitetnu uslugu, odnosno pretvoriti studente u kvalificiranu radnu snagu koja će moći na adekvatan način zadovoljiti potrebe tržišta rada. To ukazuje na ulogu i značaj koji obrazovni sustav ima u kontekstu razvoja i blagostanja globalne ekonomije. U današnjoj ekonomiji, utemeljenoj na znanju, znanje i intelektualni kapital najistaknutiji su pojmovi, a upravo primjenjivo znanje pridonosi ekonomskom razvoju i prosperitetu. Uloga visokoškolskih obrazovnih institucija je stvaranje stručnjaka za tržište rada. One su time uvelike i odgovorne za ishode učenja, kompetencije i stručnost ludi. Temelj marketinga je zadovoljenje potreba krajnjih korisnika, što je u osnovi ideja koja vodi sve uspješne tržišno orijentirane organizacije. Ulaz sustava visokog obrazovanja predstavljaj maturanti, dok izlaz predstavljaju osposobljeni stručnjaci koji će biti sposobni odgovoriti na izazove suvremenog gospodarstva. Maturanti su od posebnog interesa za visokoškolske obrazovne institucije. Bitno je, stoga, za svaku visokoškolsku instituciju, poznavati čimbenike koji utječu na odluku maturanata o odabiru ustanove studiranja, kako zbog sve većih mogućnost uključivanja na studij u inozemstvu, tako i zbog sve veće konkurencije na tržištu visokog obrazovanja. Istraživanjem u doktorskoj disertaciji nastojalo se identificirati sve značajne čimbenike utjecaja na odluku maturanata prilikom odabira obrazovne institucije u inozemstvu, a ishod razrade problematike je identifikacija značajnih čimbenika utjecaja, definiran teorijski i empirijsk model procesa donošenja odluke maturanata o odabiru inozemne visokoškolske institucije prilagođen hrvatskim prilikama. Teorijskom analizom postojećih istraživanja iz područja marketinga visokog obrazovanja, identificirano je 114 čimbenika utjecaja sistematiziranih i kategoriziranih u definirane grupe čime je dobiven unificirani Teorijski model procesa donošenja odluke o kupnji na globaliziranom tržištu visokog obrazovanja prilagođen hrvatskim prilikama. Empirijskim testiranjem Teorijskog modela identificirano je 28 značajnih čimbenika utjecaja po grupama čimbenika, te je oblikovan Empirijski model procesa donošenja odluke o odabiru inozemne visokoškolske institucije prilagođen hrvatskim prilikama. U konačnici postavljena je glavna hipoteza H0 “Na odabir inozemne visokoškolske institucije utječe više čimbenika, te je moguće utvrditi intenzitet i smjer djelovanja pojedinih čimbenika”, koja se dokazuje potvrđivanjem najmanje dvije pomoćne hipoteze. Pomoćne hipoteze su H1 “Percepcija negativne perspektive zapošljavanja u Republici Hrvatskoj znatno utječe na odlazak hrvatskih maturanata na studij u inozemstvu”, H2 “Troškovi obrazovanja znatno utječu na odabir inozemne visokoškolske institucije”, H3 “Poznavanje jezika na kojem se izvodi nastava znatno utječe na odabir inozemne visokoškolske institucije”, H4 “Percipirana kvaliteta studijskog programa znatno utječe na odabir inozemne visokoškolske institucije”, te H5 “Specijalizacija studijskog programa znatno utječe na odabir inozemne visokoškolske institucije”. Rezultati analize potvrdili su dvije od pet hipoteza, hipotezu H1 i H3, čime je glavna hipoteza i potvrđena. Utvrđeno je, dakle, da je pitanje buduće zapošljivosti jedan od najbitnijih pitanja za maturante, budući da ono zadire u temelje buduće egzistencije, te poznavanje jezika što predstavlja ključni čimbenik odabira zemlje studiranja, što zajedno predstavljaju dva značajna čimbenika utjecaja prilikom donošenja odluke o odlasku na studij u inozemstvo. Sa marketinškog stajališta, najveću korist od ovog istraživanja imaju inozemne visokoškolske institucije, jer razumijevanjem glavnih čimbenika utjecaja mogu kvalitetnije promovirati vlastitu ponudu na ciljnom tržištu, a u ovom specifičnim slučaju to su hrvatski maturanti, ne bi li stekli tržišnu prednost nad ostalim visokoškolskim institucijama.Globalization is a phenomenon of the present time that opens national borders and creates a global market in a business context. This means that higher education institutions are now present on the international market where their possibilities to attract new students are increased, but on the other side they also face the problem of high competition. Marketing is therefore important for higher education institutions because in a global and high-competitive market they have to attract students, research resources and donations to survive, while on the other hand, they must provide quality service, turn students into a qualified workforce that will be able to meet the needs of the labor market. This shows the role and importance of the education system in context of development and prosperity of the global economy. In today’s knowledgebased economy, knowledge and intellectual capital are the most prominent terms, where only applicable knowledge contributes to economic development and prosperity. The role of higher education institutions is the creation of experts for the labor market, and thus they are largely responsible for learning outcomes, competences and expertise of people.The principle of marketing is to meet the needs of customers, which is the main concept behind all successful market-oriented organizations. The input of the higher education system is the high school graduate, while the output is a well-trained expert who will be able to respond to the challenges of modern economy. The high school graduates are of a particular interest for higher education institutions. Therefore, it is important for each higher education institution to understand the factors influencing the decision of the high school graduates about the choice of the institution of study, due to the increasing opportunities for applying to studies abroad and the increasing of competition on the higher education market. The dissertation’s research was aimed at identifying all significant factors influencing the decision of the high school graduates for the choice of the educational institution abroad. The outcome of the analysis is the identification of significant influencing factors, and the creation of a theoretical and empirical model of the decision-making process for selection of a higher education institution abroad adapted to Croatian circumstances. The theoretical analysis of existing researches in higher education marketing identified 114 influencing factors, systematized and categorized in specific groups, which resulted in a unified Theoretical model of the decision-making process on a globalized market in higher education adapted to Croatian circumstances. The empirical analysis of the Theoretical model identified 28 significant influencing factors categorized in defined groups and the Empirical model of the decision making process for selection of a higher education institution abroad adapted to Croatian circumstances was created.Finally, the main hypothesis H0 “The selection of a higher education institution abroad is influenced by several factors, and it is possible to determine their intensity and direction of influence” was set, which is accepted by the verification of at least two auxiliary hypotheses. The auxiliary hypotheses are: H1 “The perceived negative employment prospects in Croatia have a significant effect on the departure of Croatian high school graduates to study abroad”, H2 “Education costs significantly influence the selection of a higher education institution abroad”, H3 “Knowledge of the language in which the course is taught significantly influences the selection of a higher education institution abroad”, H4 “The perceived quality of the study program significantly influences the selection of a higher education institution abroad and H5 “The specialization of the study program significantly influences the selection of a higher education institution abroad”. The results of the analysis confirmed two of the five hypotheses, the hypothesis H1 and H3, with which the main hypothesis was accepted. It wa thus established that the issue of future employability is one of the most important questions fo high school graduates, since it is the basis for future existence, and that the knowledge of the foreign language which is a key factor for the selection of the country of study was the second important influence. They together represent two significant influencing factors when making a decision to go to study abroad. From a marketing standpoint, higher education institution abroad benefits the most from this research, because by understanding the major influencing factors they can better promote their own offerings to the target market, the Croatian high school graduates, in order to gain market advantage over other higher education institutions