Higher education brand alliances: Investigating consumers' dual-degree purchase intentions

Extant research lacks insight into the nature, dynamics, and outcomes characterizing brand alliances in higher education. This research aims to bridge this gap by examining prospective students' purchase intention for dual degrees - a particular brand alliance type deployed in higher education. Findings indicate that prospective students' attitude toward the alliance (H1), their level of familiarity with the individual constituent brands (H2), brand trust (H3a), the interaction between brand familiarity and trust (H3b), as well as perceived fit between the constituent brands (H4) positively and significantly influence consumer purchase intention for particular dual degree offerings. Overall, these findings extend scholarly insights in brand alliancing research, with a particular focus on higher education dual-degree offerings. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.