Identification and emotional attachment in higher education: antecedents and consequences

Identification and attachment are topics comprehensively investigated in consumer–brand and person–non-business institution relationships. However, little is known about the antecedents and consequences of these concepts in the university–student relationship. We investigate the attachment–identification connection with the student–university relationship viewpoint. Therefore, we first researched the effects of trust, faculty image, perceived quality, and value congruence on student–university identification. Second, we assessed emotional attachment and student satisfaction as identification’s consequences. Finally, we considered positive word-of-mouth as the outputs of attachment and satisfaction. We found that perceived quality, faculty image, trust, and value congruence reinforce student–school identification. Also, identification is the emotional glue that cements the bond between students and school to ensure satisfaction. Besides, attachment and satisfaction lead to positive word-of-mouth. Additionally, serial mediation analyses showed that identification, attachment, and satisfaction create the links between the identification’s antecedents and positive WOM. We also found differences between students and graduates in some relationships.