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Journal of Marketing for Higher

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A market segmentation approach for

higher education based on rational and
emotional factors
a a b
Fernando Angulo , Albena Pergelova & Josep Rialp
a
School of Business , Grant MacEwan University , 10700-104
Avenue, T5J452, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
b
Departament d'Economia de l'Empresa , Universitat Autònoma
de Barcelona Edifici B , Campus UAB, 08193, Bellaterra,
Barcelona, Spain
Published online: 14 Jul 2010.

To cite this article: Fernando Angulo , Albena Pergelova & Josep Rialp (2010) A market
segmentation approach for higher education based on rational and emotional factors, Journal of
Marketing for Higher Education, 20:1, 1-17, DOI: 10.1080/08841241003788029

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 Journal of Marketing for Higher Education
Vol. 20, No. 1, January –June 2010, 1–17

A market segmentation approach for higher education based

on rational and emotional factors
Fernando Anguloa∗ , Albena Pergelovaa and Josep Rialpb
a
School of Business, Grant MacEwan University, 10700-104 Avenue, T5J452, Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada; bDepartament d’Economia de l’Empresa, Universitat Autònoma de
Barcelona Edifici B, Campus UAB, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
Downloaded by [Australian National University] at 03:20 06 January 2015

Market segmentation is an important topic for higher education administrators

and researchers. For segmenting the higher education market, we have to
understand what factors are important for high school students in selecting a
university. Extant literature has probed the importance of rational factors
such as teaching staff, campus facilities, and quality of education. Less
attention has been devoted to the relevance of emotional factors such as
personal values. The aim of this paper is to suggest a segmentation approach
based on integrating rational and emotional factors that prospective students
value when selecting a university. We gather information from 21 focus
groups and develop a survey applied to a sample of high school students.
We find six segments characterized by distinct rational and emotional
underlying factors that lead to a particular composition for each segment.
The factors discussed in this research can be used as a guide for higher
education managers to develop segmentation and communication plans.
Keywords: market segmentation; higher education; rational and emotional
factors

Introduction
As higher education (HE) is turning more competitive, it has become necessary
for HE institutions to engage in strategic marketing. Strategic marketing involves
more than just using promotion to draw students toward the HE institution; it
should also include market segmentation and positioning (Cann & George,
2003; Shirley, 1983). The premise behind segmentation is that while some
prospective students share similar characteristics (such as gender, age, or grade
point average), not all students with similar characteristics have the same
expectations, goals, and prospects for the future. Students with similar attributes
can be grouped, yielding definable segments. This allows HE managers to under-
stand the groups of prospective students better based on their current and evolving
needs, backgrounds, and expectations (Rogers, Finley, & Patterson, 2006).
∗
Corresponding author. E-mail: AnguloRuizL@macewan.ca
ISSN 0884-1241 print/ISSN 1540-7144 online
# 2010 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/08841241003788029
http://www.informaworld.com
 2 F. Angulo et al.

The literature on HE segmentation and choice has examined a large number

of variables that prospective students take into account when choosing a univer-
sity. The majority of these variables can be defined as university-focused and
based on the information seeking paradigm. Examples of relevant attributes
investigated are academic excellence and career opportunities (e.g., Gray,
Fam, & Llanes, 2003; Mai, 2005), quality of education (Chapman & Pyvis,
2006), cost and tuition fees (Langa & David, 2006), and reputation (Willis &
Kennedy, 2004). In addition to these rational factors, researchers have recently
called for a broader frame, including more emotional factors that are thought to
have an influence on the HE selection behavior but are still not widely studied
(Menon, Saiti, & Socratous, 2007). The purpose of this paper is to fill this
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research void in the literature by suggesting a segmentation approach based

on the integration of rational and emotional factors that prospective students
value when selecting a university. To the best of our knowledge, our research
is a first approximation to this phenomenon in HE.
Once the empirical research had been developed, we found six segments
characterized by distinct rational and emotional underlying factors that lead
to a particular composition for each segment. While some of the segments
had characteristics that can be usefully extrapolated to diverse environments,
others were embedded in the specific contextual market under analysis.
This paper is organized as follows. The second section discusses the inte-
grated conceptual framework of market segmentation based on rational and
emotional attributes and briefly introduces the extant research. The third
section tackles the research approach. The fourth section presents the results.
The last section contains discussion, conclusions, future research lines, and
implications for managers.

Integrating rational and emotional factors for higher education

segmentation
A large number of conceptual models have been developed in the literature
in order to explain the consumption behavior in general, and HE ‘consumption’
in particular. However, a simple typology can differentiate between two distinct
schools of thought: rational and emotional (Bhat & Reddy, 1998; Holbrook &
Hirschman, 1982).

The rational perspective

According to the rational school, consumers buy products based on objective cri-
teria such as price or technical features (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Schiffman &
Kanuk, 1994). The process of choice within this school of thought usually
involves the following stages: decide about the relevance of each attribute of a
product, collect information about competing products’ attributes, evaluate the
levels of each attribute in competing products, and choose the optimal product
 Journal of Marketing for Higher Education 3

(Bettman, 1979; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; McGuire, 1976). This competitive
aspect of information processing is treated at various stages (McGuire, 1976).
In the theory of college selection, Chapman (1986) proposes a behavioral
model as a process that consists of a sequence of five interrelated stages: (a) pre-
search behavior, (b) search behavior, (c) application decision, (d) choice decision,
and (e) matriculation decision. Researchers and, by inference, college admissions
decision makers could be misled by focusing only on the application and choice
behavior of students. For example, students who perceive a college to be too
expensive will not presumably apply to such a college in the first instance.
Chapman suggests that much of the substance of the college selection process
is still hidden behind the application decision. The present study is focused on
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the presearch and search stage according to the model of Chapman.

The majority of the research in HE segmentation and choice examines attri-
butes related to the rational perspective. We have grouped these attributes
according to their focus on university-centered underlying factors and individ-
ual-centered factors. Within the university-centered stream most of the research
concentrates on three groups of factors: academic excellence and subsequent
career opportunities (e.g., Briggs, 2006; Gray et al., 2003; Mai, 2005;
Menon, 1998; Young, 2002); quality of education, including teaching courses
and high standards of the HE institution (e.g., Chapman & Pyvis, 2006;
Conard & Conard, 2001; Hoverstad, Lamb, & Miller, 1989), and reputation
and social activities (e.g., Hoverstad et al., 1989; Willis & Kennedy, 2004;
Yogev, 2007). Other relevant factors investigated are infrastructure and physical
facilities (Gray et al., 2003; Mai, 2005), cost and tuition fees (Hoverstad et al.,
1989; Langa & David, 2006), availability of scholarships (Drewes & Michael,
2006), selectivity (Conard & Conard, 2001), and distance from home (Briggs,
2006; Drewes & Michael, 2006). Contrary to the richness of attributes investi-
gated in relation to the university, the research on individual factors is rather
scant. Relevant attributes here are the duration of the information search
process (Dawes & Brown, 2002; Menon, 2004; Menon et al., 2007) and self-
efficacy and vocational interest of the student (Cunningham et al., 2005). In
terms of geographical scope, research in this stream has been conducted in
Europe, the United States, Australia, and Asia. Table 1 summarizes extant
research focused on studying the rational perspective of HE segmentation.

The emotional perspective

Another influential perspective contends that the rational model does not
capture the multisensory imagery, fantasy, fun, and emotions associated with
the consumption of some products (e.g., Hirschman & Holbrook, 1982). In con-
trast to the rational or information processing approach, the emotional or
hedonic school holds that consumers’ motives are emotional in nature. Under
this perspective, individuals use personal or subjective criteria such as taste,
pride, desire for expressing themselves, and attaining emotional goals in their
 4 F. Angulo et al.

Table 1. Rational perspective in HE segmentation and choice.

Perspective Focus Underlying Factor Country Representative Studies

Rational University Academic and US, UK Mai (2005)

career opportunities Hong Kong Willis & Kennedy (2004)
Malaysia, Gray et al. (2003)
Singapore,
Hong Kong
US Young (2002)
Turkey Aycan & Fikret-Pasa (2003)
Scotland Briggs (2006)
Australia Marginson (2006)
Cyprus Menon (1998)
Israel Yogev (2007)
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Quality and US, UK Mai (2005)

high standard Hong Kong Willis & Kennedy (2004)
Malaysia, Gray et al. (2003)
Singapore, Chapman & Pyvis (2006)
Hong Kong
US Hoverstad et al. (1989)
Conard & Conard (2001)
Epple, Romano, & Sieg
(2006)
Canada Drewes & Michael (2006)
Image US, UK Mai (2005)
Hong Kong Willis & Kennedy (2004)
US Hoverstad et al. (1989)
Conard & Conard (2001)
Israel Yogev (2007)
Infrastructure US, UK Mai (2005)
and physical Malaysia, Gray et al. (2003)
facilities Singapore,
Hong Kong
Cost and tuition US Hoverstad et al. (1989)
fees Spain, UK Langa & David (2006)
Scholarship Canada Drewes & Michael (2006)
Selectivity US Conard & Conard (2001)
Distance from Canada Drewes & Michael (2006)
home Scotland Briggs (2006)
Individual Duration of search, UK Dawes & Brown (2002)
process/information Greece Menon et al. (2007)
seeker Cyprus Menon (2004)
Self-efficacy, US Cunningham et al. (2005)
vocational interest,
choice goals

consumption decisions (McGuire, 1976; Schiffman & Kanuk, 1994). In a

similar vein, Zaltman (2003) underlines that ‘at least 95 percent of all cognition
occurs below awareness, in the shadows of the mind while, at most, only 5
percent occurs in high order consciousness’ (p. 50). The rational perspective
represents only the tip of the mental iceberg, while the emotional one symbo-
lizes the unsuspected depth (Damasio, 2006; LeDoux, 1998).
 Journal of Marketing for Higher Education 5

The empirical research under the emotional perspective is underrepresented

in HE. The individual-focused attributes investigated within this stream can be
grouped within intrinsic (such as identity construction), personal values,
wishes, and expectations (Aycan & Fikret-Pasa, 2003; Chapman & Pyvis,
2006; Langa & David, 2006; Menon, 1998) and sociocultural influence such
as family, friends, and contextual barriers and supports (Avrahami & Dar,
2004; Cunningham et al., 2005; Young, 2002). At a university level, a recent
study (Baker & Brown, 2007) suggests that the romantic or exotic quality of
the sights, sounds, and smells of traditional institutions can be an emotional
influencer in university choice. Research in this stream has been carried out
in Europe, the United States, and Asia. Table 2 sums up current research
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investigating the emotional perspective of HE segmentation.

Integrating the rational and emotional perspectives

Both rational and emotional perspectives should be used to understand consumer
behavior and consequently serve as a basis for segmentation (Holbrook & Hirsch-
man, 1982; Sirgy, 1982). Zajonc (1980, 1984) and Zajonc and Markus (1982)
contend that information processing and emotions involve separate and partially
independent systems and that cognitive and affective factors may interact with
one another. Similarly, Ledoux (1998) claims that ‘cognition and emotion are
best thought as separate but interacting mental functions mediated by separate
but interacting brain systems’ (p. 69). In a study of the role of rationality in the
choice of a university, Menon et al. (2007) found that the rationality postulate
cannot fully explain the behavior of a large number of individual decision
makers in education, since more than 40% of their survey participants could

Table 2. Emotional perspective in HE segmentation and choice.

Representative
Perspective Focus Underlying Factor Country Studies

Emotional Individual Sociocultural influence (family, US Young (2002)

friends; barriers and supports) Cunningham
et al. (2005)
Israel Avrahami & Dar
(2004)
Intrinsic (identity construction; Singapore, Chapman &
personal values, wishes, and Hong Kong, Pyvis (2006)
expectations; psychological; Malaysia
relaxation and leisure) Turkey Aycan & Fikret-
Pasa (2003)
Cyprus Menon (1998)
Spain, UK Langa & David
(2006)
University Romantic or exotic quality to the UK Baker & Brown
sights, sounds, and smells of (2007)
traditional institutions
 6 F. Angulo et al.

not be classified as information seekers. Therefore, the authors claim a need to

take into account alternative frameworks in the attempt to explain human behav-
ior in education as well as to study the role of individual/attitudinal characteristics
such as subconscious feelings and values. Following this stream of research, the
current investigation is focused on rational and emotional factors interacting with
one another in segmentation for HE.

Research approach
Instrument development
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We developed the field research of this article in one Latin American country,
Peru, an appropriate context for the purposes of this study, because Latin
American countries have been considered highly emotional compared to
Western countries (Hofstede, 1980, 1991).
The first stage of the instrument development began with 21 focus groups
conducted from August to October 2003, for the purpose of determining
relevant rational and emotional attributes. One hundred and sixty-eight pro-
spective students from 12 high schools (six public and six private) in the city
of Trujillo (Peru) were randomly selected to participate. The main objective
of the focus groups was to find emergent attributes that prospective students
value when selecting a university (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). While both rational
and emotional attributes did appear as important for prospective students, a new
group that we called ‘emotional goals’ emerged as an additional important
factor that guides students in their search process. This group covered the
expectations and wishes of students for their immediate future after finishing
the university. This is in line with the results of Aycan and Fikret-Pasa
(2003) who found that personal wishes and expectations are the most important
factors that influenced career decisions. Fourteen rational attributes, 11
emotional attributes, and 11 emotional goals were identified during the focus
groups and guided the elaboration of the questionnaire.
Stage 2 of the instrument development process involved administering the
questionnaire to a sample of 20 high school students. Few problems were ident-
ified, and after reviewing these pretest results, several minor changes were made
and the final questionnaire was completed. The self-completion questionnaire
comprised four sections: (a) emotional attributes: Why are you going to study
at university? (b) emotional goals: How do you see yourself in six years/when
you finish at university? (c) rational attributes: How important are the following
attributes of a university to be chosen? and (d) sociodemographic information. In
sections 1 and 2 measurements were obtained through closed multiresponse
questions, where the student had the possibility to mark four alternatives as a
maximum, which then were transformed and treated as binary variables. For
section 3 we used a scale ranging from 1 (not important) to 7 (very important).
The questionnaire has been elaborated based on the relevant literature
 Journal of Marketing for Higher Education 7

(e.g., Aycan & Fikret-Pasa, 2003; Chapman & Pyvis, 2006; Conard & Conard,
2001; Cunningham et al., 2005; Gray et al., 2003; Langa & David, 2006;
Yogev, 2007) and the focus groups. The rational attributes, the emotional
attributes, and the emotional goals employed can be seen in Tables 3 and 4.

Sample and data collection

The marketing director of a Peruvian university sent letters to 35 directors of
high schools from Trujillo, requesting the application of the survey to junior
and senior students. In Peru, a senior student is a student in his or her last
year of high school education, while a junior is in his or her penultimate year
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(i.e., the next year seniors can enter into a university and juniors should wait
two years). Twenty-eight high school directors accepted to participate in the
survey. When the questionnaire was applied, interviewers introduced them-
selves as a body of an independent consultant agency in order to avoid biases.
Nine hundred and twelve questionnaires were distributed to student
respondents in junior and senior-level high school classes from June to July
2004. After eliminating incomplete questionnaires, 729 were processed. The
sample was bistage, probabilistic, stratified based on proportional representation
of students from all the high schools sampled, and independent. The sample sur-
veyed is representative of the high school population of Peru. The characteristics
of the sample under research are similar to the characteristics of the high school
population in Peru according to the National Statistics Institute. Males represent
48% of the sample. The average age of the sample is 16 years old. Senior
students comprise 52% of the sample. Students of public high schools represent
72% of the sample, while private high schools account for 28%.

Data analysis
Factor and cluster analyses were employed to determine whether the three
groups of attributes (rational attributes, emotional attributes, and emotional
goals) that high school students value when selecting a university could be
summarized into simpler dimensions and whether the whole market could be
grouped into segments. Since the scale of variables reflecting rational attributes
ranged from 1 to 7, we employed factor analysis in order to reduce the number
of rational attributes. The variables reflecting emotional attributes and emotion-
al goals were treated as binary variables, which is why we introduced them
directly into the cluster analysis. Thus, for the cluster analysis we used the
factors resulting from the rational attributes factor analysis and the binary
variables of emotional attributes and emotional goals. The Ward technique
(Ward, 1963) and discriminant analysis were used for statistical validation of
the cluster analysis. For the characterization of the clusters (segments) we
employ ANOVA, Student-Newman-Keuls test, and Bonferroni test.
 8 F. Angulo et al.

Results
Factor analysis
We employed principal components analysis with varimax rotation. The factor
analysis final results with six-factor solution (KMO ¼ 0.787) are presented
in Table 3. The selection of the six-factor solution was based on two criteria:
the eigenvalue of each factor and the cumulative percentage of explained var-
iance. The total variance explained by the six factors is 63.4%, and the
minimum eigenvalue is 0.903. Based on the scores of Cronbach’s alpha, the
reliability of each factor is satisfactory. The six factors include strategic alli-
ances, quality and high standards, image, infrastructure and physical facilities,
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academic and career opportunities, and cost and tuition fees. The majority of
these factors are in line with extant literature as reflected in Table 1. The
factor of strategic alliances is a new rational attribute not previously given
enough consideration in the literature. The six factors were used for post hoc
segmentation analysis (Green & Krieger, 1991).

Cluster analysis
Wind (1978) distinguishes four types of segmentation models: a priori, cluster-
based designs, flexible, and componential. A priori segmentation was ruled out
because management did not know in advance the number and types of segments.
Flexible and componential designs, both of which rely on conjoint analysis, were
inappropriate because of the large number of individuals in the market, so we
used cluster-based design. Ward’s (1963) minimum variance hierarchical
clustering routine with squared Euclidian distance as a distance measure was
used on the factor scores and the emotional attributes to search for segments.
In its most familiar form, Ward’s method is a hierarchical clustering process
that at each stage combines the two clusters whose fusion leads to the least
increase in the error sum of squares. This clustering method was chosen
because previous studies have reported that this technique is consistently more
accurate than others in recovering data from different populations (Blashfield,
1976; Doyle & Saunders, 1985; Odekerken-Schröder & Wetzels, 2003).
As with all clustering techniques, one of the problems is deciding how many
clusters to choose. To determine the number of clusters to choose, we plotted the
fusion scores (between error sums of squares of Ward method) against the number
of clusters (Doyle & Saunders, 1985). Inspection of that plot indicated six clusters.
As can be observed in Figure 1 there is a change in the error sum of squares
when the number of clusters changes from 5 to 6. The error sum of squares of
the 6-cluster solution is lower than the 5-cluster solution. A further increase
in the number of clusters does not lead to a significantly better solution because
the error sum of squares from the 6-cluster solution onward is largely stable.
To validate the number of clusters we used discriminant analysis. The 6-
cluster solution classified correctly 77.3% of the original cases grouped. This
 Journal of Marketing for Higher Education 9

Table 3. Factor analysis results.

FACTORS (F)
RATIONAL ATTRIBUTES F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6

STRATEGIC ALLIANCES
Part Time Job Opportunities 0.858
International Academic Alliances 0.849
QUALITY AND HIGH STANDARDS
High Standard of Education 0.776
Excellent Teaching Staff 0.649
Excellent Resources for Research 0.453
IMAGE
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Experience and Achievements of Institution 0.717

Opinion Leader Graduates 0.627
Social Cultural Activities 0.465
Friends Attend 0.459
INFRASTRUCTURE AND PHYSICAL
FACILITIES
Cleanness and Safety within Institution 0.850
Excellent Physical and Campus Facilities 0.520
ACADEMIC AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Academic Reputation 0.800
Job Placement after Graduation 0.520
COST AND TUITION FEES
Cost and Tuition Fees 0.915
Eigenvalue 3.386 1.468 1.156 1.020 0.944 0.903
Cumulative % of Variance explained 24.20 34.70 42.90 50.20 57.00 63.40
Cronbach’s Alpha 0.89 0.74 0.68 0.75 0.77 0.87
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) 0.787

Figure 1. Error sum of squares for different clusters.

solution had the highest rate of correct classification among all run clustered
solutions. Additionally, one-way ANOVA was used to test for differences (a
¼ 0.05) among segments. The Student-Newman-Keuls (SNK) procedure was
 10 F. Angulo et al.

used for multiple comparisons of the rational factors, emotional attributes, and
emotional goals (see Mitchell & Olson, 1981, for detailed explanation), as
was the Bonferroni test for analyzing differences among clusters based on
gender and type of high school (private or public). The results of the cluster
analysis and the subsequent tests can be seen in Table 4.
Interpretation of SNK multicomparison test is as follows. The subscripts A,
B, C, and D indicate homogeneous subgroups. The mean of subgroup D is
statistically greater than C, C is greater than B, and B is greater than A.1 For
example, the score of strategic alliances shows statistical differences among
the clusters. The test of SNK suggests that strategic alliances are most valued
by cluster 2 (having subscript C) and least valued by clusters 5 and 6 (both
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have subscript A; no statistical difference between clusters 5 and 6 on this

factor). There are other cases where the difference between subgroups is not
clear-cut. For instance, for the variable ‘longing for improving oneself,’ SNK
test reveals that cluster 4 (subscript C) is clearly statistically greater than
cluster 6 (subscript A); however, clusters 3, 4, and 5 are not significantly differ-
ent among them (since they share subscript C). The interpretation of the Bonfer-
roni-test follows the same rationale as SNK. If no subscript is shown, there is no
statistically significant difference among the clusters on the attribute.
Table 5 summarizes the main results of this study. The characterization of
clusters is elaborated based on the results of variables that reveal statistically
significant differences among clusters. We found six distinct segments (clusters)
that we called ‘the independent,’ ‘the entrepreneur,’ ‘the rational,’ ‘the
dreamer,’ ‘the hard worker’ and ‘the emotional,’ respectively, each one charac-
terized by specific rational and emotional factors, and some of them have
distinct emotional goals. Individuals in cluster 1 are independent and self-
confident, looking for a university with a good image. Cluster 2 is composed
of students with a strong entrepreneurial intention, predominantly male.
Cluster 3 represents the rational individuals seeking a high quality standard
and looking for a professional career. Students in cluster 3 did not differ signifi-
cantly in their emotional goals. These rational students were driven by quality
and high standards, and the emotional factors that matter to them are related to
the material well-being and commonplace factors (i.e., they look for improved
quality of life and professionalism). ‘The dreamer’ (cluster 4) looks for image
and high quality, but at low cost. Students in cluster 4 did not differentiate sig-
nificantly in their emotional goals, probably because of the lack of fit between
their aspirations and the reality. ‘The dreamer’ tends to pursue a university
career because he or she longs for personal development but at the same time
is least focused on being able to manage on one’s own. Cluster 5 represents
the hard working (majority female) students striving for improving their
welfare and achieving their professional goals. Finally, cluster 6 comprises
highly emotional students, attending public, low-cost schools, looking for
recognition in their community and wishing to help their parents economically
and to achieve personal goals.
 Journal of Marketing for Higher Education 11

Table 4. Cluster results.

CLUSTERS (C)
C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6
n ¼ 57 n ¼ 97 n ¼ 189 n ¼ 182 n ¼ 90 n ¼ 62
ATTRIBUTES (8.4%) (14.3%) (27.9%) (26.9%) (13.3%) (9.2%)

RATIONAL (Factors Scores)

Strategic alliances∗∗∗ 0.22B 0.46C 0.04B 0.11B –0.62A –0.45A
Quality and high standards∗∗∗ –0.56B – 0.08C 0.22D 0.38D 0.16D –1.39A
Image∗∗∗ 0.15C – 0.04BC –0.18B 0.47D –1.00A 0.55D
Infrastructure and physical facilities∗∗∗ –0.06B – 1.40A 0.15B 0.12B 0.54C 0.66C
Academic and career opportunities∗∗∗ –1.90A 0.40C 0.11B 0.05B 0.17B 0.41C
Cost and tuition fees∗∗∗ –0.09B 0.07B –0.87A 0.55C 0.71C 0.00B
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EMOTIONAL: Why studying in C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6

a university (%)
Longing for improving oneself∗∗∗ 67%AB 69%AB 79%BC 87%C 78%BC 63%A
Enhance economic status∗∗∗ 14%AB 18%B 4%A 9%AB 4%AB 10%AB
Improve economic welfare∗∗∗ 16%A 45%C 27%AB 29%AB 37%BC 21%A
Independency∗∗ 35%B 20%A 20%A 16%A 14%A 19%A
Be able to manage on one’s own∗∗ 60%B 58%AB 51%AB 41%A 48%AB 52%AB
Be respected by peoplens 11% 6% 10% 8% 4% 8%
Great professional∗∗∗ 32%A 40%AB 59%C 43%ABC 43%ABC 50%BC
Achieve personal goals∗∗∗ 60%AB 53%A 63%ABC 63%ABC 78%C 74%BC
Help parents out∗∗∗ 37%A 30%A 32%A 47%AB 47%AB 58%B
Enjoy oneself∗∗∗ 18%B 12%AB 5%A 6%A 4%A 3%A
Improve quality of life∗∗∗ 18%A 27%AB 34%B 27%AB 17%A 18%A
EMOTIONAL GOALS: How do C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6
you see yourself in six years/when
you finish at university? (%)
Workingns 72% 70% 79% 76% 82% 81%
Supporting personal expensesns 19% 30% 23% 32% 20% 26%
Maturens 30% 27% 27% 26% 32% 29%
Self-confident∗ 51%B 42%AB 38%AB 36%AB 43%AB 26%A
Focused on self development∗∗∗ 5%A 26%B 14%A 13%A 9%A 5%A
Professional∗ 63%A 66%AB 76%AB 75%AB 81%B 73%AB
Recognized∗ 12%A 20%AB 20%AB 18%AB 13%A 27%B
Experiencedns 33% 34% 33% 27% 40% 45%
Searching for a jobns 4% 6% 8% 9% 4% 2%
Living abroadns 40% 24% 28% 32% 23% 24%
Entrepreneur∗∗∗ 19%A 32%B 19%A 15%A 11%A 23%A
SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC: Gender
and status of high school
Female∗ 53%AB 44%A 52%AB 56%AB 64%B 50%AB
Male∗ 47%AB 56%B 48%AB 44%AB 36%A 50%AB
Public high school∗ 70%A 69%A 74%AB 73%AB 72%AB 89%B
Private high school∗ 30%B 31%B 26%AB 27%AB 28%AB 11%A
Note: Row means that do not share subscripts are significantly different. The percentages of the variables reflecting
emotional attributes and emotional goals should be read as the percentage of prospective students in each cluster
that consider the respective variable as an emotional reason/goal.
∗∗∗
p , 0.01; ∗∗ p , 0.05; ∗ p , 0.10; ns nonsignificant difference.
 12 F. Angulo et al.

Table 5. Characterization of the segments.

Segment/Cluster Rational Factors Emotional Factors Emotional Goals

‘The independent’ Strategic alliances Independent Self-confident

(cluster 1) Image Be able to manage on one’s own
Enjoy oneself
‘The Strategic alliances Enhance economic status and Entrepreneur
entrepreneur’ Academic and career welfare Focused on self
(cluster 2) opportunities development
‘The rational’ Quality and high Be great professional —
(cluster 3) standard Improve quality of life
‘The dreamer’ Image quality and Long for improving oneself —
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(cluster 4) high standard cost Least focused on being able to

manage on one’s own
‘The hard worker’ Infrastructure and Improve economic welfare Professional
(cluster 5) physical facilities/ Achieve personal goals
cost
‘The emotional’ Infrastructure and Help parents out Recognized
(cluster 6) physical facilities Achieve personal goals
Academic and career
opportunities
Image

Note: The characterization of clusters is elaborated based on significant evidence summarized in Table 4.

Discussion and conclusion

Our work contributes to integrating rational and emotional factors in HE
segmentation, following a call for a broader framework that could better
account for the diversity of attributes that prospective students value in their
selection of a university (e.g., Menon et al., 2007). In line with the extant litera-
ture, we found that quality and high standards, image of the university, infrastruc-
ture and physical facilities, academic and career opportunities, and cost and
tuition fees are relevant rational factors that prospective Peruvian HE students
take into account in the stage of search behavior. However, new important
attributes appeared during the initial stage of instrumental development. Our
focus groups revealed that international academic alliances of the universities
and opportunities for part-time jobs during the undergraduate studies are key
attributes that students value highly. The principal component analysis confirmed
that these attributes can be grouped into one factor, which had the highest
eigenvalue. Whether this is particular for Peru or can be extended to other
Latin American and non-Latin countries is an opportunity for future research.
Importantly, the high school students in our sample also placed strong
emphasis on emotional factors. When jointly considered, the rational and
emotional factors gave rise to a unique classification of the segments in the
market under investigation. Within the six segments identified, three were com-
prised by factors that can be characterized as familiar and expected at both a
 Journal of Marketing for Higher Education 13

rational and emotional level. Thus, the ‘rational’ students look for quality and
high standards and have professional goals that would improve their quality
of life. Similarly, the ‘independent’ and the ‘hard worker’ are driven by com-
monplace factors, such as being independent and improving economic
welfare. On the contrary, the other three segments were highly singular. The
‘entrepreneurs’ focus on their development and look for a university as a
means of network formation through international alliances and links with
local entrepreneurs. This finding is interesting and calls for further research,
since Peru is considered the country with the second highest level of entrepre-
neurial activity in the world according to the General Entrepreneurship Monitor
(GEM, 2007). The ‘dreamers,’ on the other hand, are less practical, more
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inclined to the psychological aspects of personal development, and least able

to fend for themselves. Perhaps the most interesting finding of the study is
the ‘emotional’ segment. The individuals in this segment are unique in their
emotional reason for going to a university: a desire to support their families
economically. We could speculate that the emotional goal of being recognized
in their community is linked to their wish to develop as individuals and to
improve the economic conditions of their family. However, further research is
needed in order to understand the hidden psychological factors. In this
respect it would be useful to take advantage of theoretical advances in sociology
and psychology. Furthermore, it is necessary to understand to what extent the
rational and emotional attributes discussed in this paper are relevant at the
time of actually choosing a university (stages 4 and 5 of Chapman’s [1986]
model). To determine this, an explanatory model that integrates different rational
and emotional factors can be designed. An important variable that can be included
in such a model is the type of university (public or private), since researchers have
suggested that there might be differences in the factors that explain the choice of
public or private university (Menon et al., 1998). Another potentially fruitful
opportunity for future research is studying the cross-cultural differences and
similarities of the influence of rational and emotional factors on the selection of
a university. Following Hofstede (1980, 1991) we could expect that our results
can be valid for other Latin American countries; however, further research is
needed in order to understand the validity of the findings in other cultures.
The rational and emotional attributes discussed in this research can be used
as a guide for HE managers to develop segmentation and communication plans.
While rational factors can be employed for the selection of the target markets,
the emotional ones can be used for approaching them. We discuss in turn how
an HE institution can decide which segments are more attractive and how to find
and reach those segments.
To define whether certain segments can be more attractive to a particular
school versus another, it is important to take a strategic analysis point of
view with respect to the matching of resources and/or strategy and the target
segment(s). For example, if a university possesses superior quality and high
standards (in terms of teaching staff and resources for research), then
 14 F. Angulo et al.

segment 3 (the rational) might be more attractive, since this is the segment more
interested in quality and high standards, the resources and capabilities associ-
ated with that particular university. If, on the other hand, a university has a
strong focus on international alliances, then segments 1 and 2 would be the
most aligned with this focus. HE institutions that follow a strategy based on
cost leadership might be more interested in segments 4 and 5 as they consider
explicitly the cost as an important rational factor for selecting a university. A
school interested in developing an image as a socially responsible institution
could focus on segment 6 (the emotional) and support prospective students
from economically marginalized areas.
We observe two potential ways a HE institution could identify prospective
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students of the interested segment(s). On the one hand, HE institutions can

identify prospective students based on the type of high school. Our results
suggest that certain segments are more likely to be found in certain types of
high schools. For instance, prospective students from segment 6 can be
found largely in public high schools, while prospects from segments 1 and 2
are more likely to be found in private schools. On the other hand, if HE insti-
tutions are interested in more specific identification of prospective students,
they could look for information at an individual level regarding the rational
and emotional factors. In this case a school should follow the methodological
process of this study and apply the field research to the population of prospec-
tive students from the high schools previously identified. For example, if an
institution has identified some private high schools in which potential target stu-
dents are enrolled, this institution can apply the field research to the population
of students of those high schools.
Additionally, HE managers should think about mechanisms for taking
advantage of emotional factors with the aim of reaching the selected target seg-
ments. The possibility of establishing deep social networks through alumni and
ex-alumni associations as well as the effects of celebrity endorsements on the
beliefs of the future students and their relatives can be interesting tools to be
considered at this level (e.g., McCracken, 1989; Penrose, 2002). Alumni as
well as ex-alumni associations could help universities to be aware of, maintain,
and reinforce the emotional bonds among the people who have been students in
a higher education institution, and they constitute a signal of belonging to some-
thing special for possible future students. Following the resources/strategy and
the target segment framework discussed, if an HE institution has decided to
focus on, for example, segment 2, it can invite ex-alumni who are currently
successful entrepreneurs and develop a strategy that associates the university
with entrepreneurial success. On the other hand, an HE institution that wants
to attract, for example, segment 1 could plan a strategy around a celebrity
projecting an image of independence and self-confidence, as those are the
emotional factors important for that segment.
Finally, we suggest that the segmentation approach based on rational and
emotional factors is potentially more effective than purely focusing on
 Journal of Marketing for Higher Education 15

sociodemographic segmentation (Arellano, 2000). Besides, the insights of our

research can be used to better understand the prospective students’ needs and
expectations and thus serve them better. For HE institutions that want to
expand to the Latin American market, our research can serve as a point of
departure for understanding university characteristics that students value.

Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Commissioner for Research and Universities of the Departament
d’Innovaciò, Universitat i Empresa de la Generalitat de Catalunya and the European Social Fund
for the financial support that permitted the completion of this research. The authors are also grateful
to the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, project number
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SEJ2007-67895-C04-02) for financial support. The authors also thank the financial support of Cesar
Vallejo University (Trujillo, Peru) and the professionals who collaborated in the focus groups and the
survey collection. This paper has been awarded the Best Paper in Track in Marketing of Higher
Education of the Academy of Marketing Annual Conference 2008 hosted by Aberdeen Business
School, UK.

Note
1. Other authors have used similar procedures. For an example see Conard & Conard, 2001,
pp. 7–8.

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