Strategic Communication in U.S. Higher Education: Testing Congruity Effects of University Identity and Image Among Parents of Prospective Students

Although higher education institutions (HEIs) are in a quest to win the “reputation race” in the hopes of luring prospective students, debate exists about how much strategic effort and internal organizational structure influence HEI reputation, which is subjective and multidimensional by nature. Thus, this study poses the question of how HEIs’ identity and image through strategic communication influence parents of prospective students. We examined this question by conducting a web-based experiment with 314 United States (U.S.) parents of prospective college students. We explored their perceptions of university identity and image as their supportive condition based on the theoretical argument of relational reputation management. Although the results show that parents perceive both identity and image as important assets for HEIs, establishing a strong identity is critical to enhancing their perceptions of and behavioral intentions toward a university. The findings contribute to understudied strategic communication research assessing parents’ informational and cognitive processes toward HEI reputation and reveal how HEIs can build their strategic communication directions.