Published Online:June 2025
Product Name:The IUP Journal of Brand Management
Product Type:Article
Product Code:IJBRM010625
DOI:10.71329/IUPJBRM/2025.22.2.5-39
Author Name:Sudhakar Rao K and Sreeramulu D
Availability:YES
Subject/Domain:Management
Download Format:PDF
Pages:5-39
This study investigates a persistent paradox in higher education branding: faculty members consistently perceive their institution’s brand more favorably than students, despite students being the primary consumers of educational services. Drawing on stakeholder theory and organizational identification frameworks, the study analyzed survey data from 959 respondents (224 faculty, 735 students) across five Indian higher education institutions. The results from one-way ANOVA revealed significant differences in brand perception, with faculty rating institutional brands notably higher than students. Post-hoc analyses confirmed this gap, which we term the “insider optimism bias.” This phenomenon has critical implications for brand authenticity, student satisfaction, and institutional effectiveness. Strategies for perception alignment, including reality-check mechanisms, multistakeholder brand audits, and enhanced faculty-student dialog platforms were proposed. The findings contribute to stakeholder theory by revealing how proximity to brand creation versus consumption shapes perceptual differences, offering practical frameworks for managing internal brand alignment in higher education.
In the hallowed halls of academia, a curious paradox persists: those who deliver education consistently rate their institution’s brand more favorably than those who receive it. This phenomenon, which we term the “paradox of proximity,” reveals a fundamental tension in how educational institutions understand and manage their brand identities.