Corporate reputation antecedents and stakeholder loyalty in malawi higher education institutions: employees' and students' perspectives

The proliferation of private and public universities in Malawi has increased competition for excellent employees and competent students. It is argued that corporate reputation has the potential to promote the competitive advantages of the HEIs by attracting and retaining employees and students. This study aims to identify how the quality of students, faculty expertise, media exposure, degree prestige, and social capital, considered as antecedents, may influence corporate reputation and its impact on stakeholder loyalty. Besides, the study sought to analyze the moderating role of stakeholder groups, specifically employees and students. A total of 438 valid questionnaires were collected from a sample of HEIs internal stakeholders, employees, and students from four public universities in Malawi. The proposed theoretical study model was tested using SmartPLS 3.3.2. The results highlight the positive influence of the quality of students, faculty expertise, media exposure, degree prestige, and social capital on corporate reputation. In turn, corporate reputation has a positive impact on stakeholder loyalty. Stakeholder groups moderated the relationship between corporate reputation and stakeholder loyalty such that employees strengthened the relationship. These results help raise interest in corporate reputation and provide HEIs managers with strategies for attracting excellent employees and competent students in the competitive HEIs landscape, thereby ensuring their sustainability or survival and success.