A Literature Review of Higher Education Marketing Research Contributing to Effective Student Recruitment

Abstract

As the competition for student recruiting among universities intensifies, both domestically and internationally, research has been conducted on marketing strategies implemented by higher education institutions. These studies can be classified into five categories: 1) marketing strategies, 2) marketing communication, 3) branding, 4) globalization, and 5) ethics in higher education marketing. By surveying relevant research within these categories, the main focal points can be extracted. These studies have demonstrated the broad scope of higher education marketing research, relying on marketing theories that have evolved in the business realm while also underscoring disparities between Japanese research and that of other countries. The study concludes by outlining the future direction of research on higher education marketing in Japan.