Stakeholder influence on branding strategy at an international branch campus

The number of international branch campuses (IBCs) has grown exponentially in recent years and higher education institutions are investing significant resources in them. IBCs are complex organizations, operating in a competitive environment that is simultaneously local and global, in an industry where reputation and brand are paramount. This single-site case study, conducted at an established IBC located in Eastern Europe operated by a private U.S. university, investigated how stakeholders were engaged in and influenced a specific strategy to more closely align the brand of a maturing IBC with that of the home university. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and document review, and the researcher used the Stakeholder-brand Value Model (Jones, 2005) as a framework to identify and describe key stakeholders and explore their influence on the development and implementation of the branding strategy. Findings revealed that the IBC branding strategy was influenced by stakeholder expectations that changed over time, collaboration at the leadership level provided a clear vision and direction for the branding strategy, collaboration between stakeholders at the IBC and HC created value for the strategy and the enhanced brand, stakeholders and their networks facilitated information sharing and communication, and stakeholder engagement created legitimacy and established credibility that helped to validate the enhanced brand.