Explaining the unsuccessful relationships between brand awareness and behavioral intention: a serial mediation study

Purpose - This paper aims to explain the unsuccessful relationship between the awareness of prominent international education brands and enrollment intention. Design/methodology/approach - A serial mediation model encompassing perceived congruity and brand attitude was developed and tested using the PLS-SEM technique, involving 132 respondents. Findings - The results revealed that the awareness of international education brands, subsequently perceived as internally congruent with the prospective students’ self-image in terms of resource sufficiency, will yield enrollment intention by forming the desired brand attitude. Research limitations/implications - This paper includes generalizability as its limitation, with suggestions to undertake the broader scope of studies. Future research could examine other variables to enhance the model. Practical implications - This paper presents theoretical and managerial implications for higher education branding and marketing. Originality/value - To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study could be the first to discuss the international university landscape in Indonesia. In addition, the proposed model could be a plausible framework for explaining the intention to accept not only international education brands but also other brands of goods and services, thereby benefiting both educational and consumer research.