Title: Website words matter: an analysis of business schools' online brand personalities

Authors: Blake Frank; Sri Beldona; Scott Wysong

Addresses: Satish and Yasmin Gupta College of Business, University of Dallas, 1845 E. Northgate Dr, Irving, TX 75062, USA ' Satish and Yasmin Gupta College of Business, University of Dallas, 1845 E. Northgate Dr, Irving, TX 75062, USA ' Satish and Yasmin Gupta College of Business, University of Dallas, 1845 E. Northgate Dr, Irving, TX 75062, USA

Abstract: This study investigates how a business school website informs a prospective student about the school's brand personality. Using a content analytical approach, words were extracted from business school websites in one major US market. The results of this research demonstrated the utility of a dictionary-based approach to identifying brand personality, and that within the sample, business schools at public universities signalled more competence, while those at private universities exhibited more excitement and sincerity. Also, higher enrolment business schools portrayed themselves as more competent, while lower enrolment schools described themselves as more sincere. Interestingly, there was no difference between AACSB-accredited and non-AACSB schools on the brand personality dimension, competence. Implications and directions for future research are discussed in detail.

Keywords: brand personality; business schools; content analysis; correspondence analysis; school accreditation; school enrolment; school type (public vs. private).

DOI: 10.1504/JGBA.2020.109153

Journal for Global Business Advancement, 2020 Vol.13 No.1, pp.53 - 69

Received: 30 Jun 2020
Accepted: 30 Jun 2020
Published online: 21 Aug 2020 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article