Conceptualising Brand Trust in E-Tertiary Education : A Tri-Nation Study

A brand is firm’s promise to their customers and it tells them what they can expect from their services or products and it often acts as a differentiator of service quality. In addition, trust decreases the perceived risk of using a service. Since e-learners have no direct contact with the education providers, brand trust can contributes to a reduction of uncertainty in an e-tertiary setting. Survey in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei using mall-intercept method revealed that the attributes of brand trust in e-tertiary education is related to risk aversion, contingent on institutional and courseware design assurance factors. This tri-nation study also revealed that public opinion (friends/family’s opinion about e-tertiary education, industry support, mouth-to-mouth communication via alumni networks) and Website quality enhanced learners’ experience and trust in an e-tertiary brand. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of trust within the context of consumer-brand relationship in e-tertiary education