Abstract:

The higher education service in Peru faces increasing competition in attracting and retaining students. The choice of an educational institution has become a complex process, influenced by multiple factors that go beyond the academic offer. In this sense, loyalty, image and brand value emerge as crucial components that can significantly impact students' purchase intention when selecting a university. The objective of this study is to analyze to what extent loyalty, brand image and brand value influence the purchase intention in private universities in Peru. The study has a quantitative approach, a non-experimental cross-sectional design and an explanatory level using SEM equations. The study sample is made up of 381 students from 3 private universities in the capital of Peru. The results of the theoretical model were accepted because the RMSEA and SRMR values are very close to zero, the CFI =0.974, Chi-square (X^2)= 268 and (df)=144. It was found that brand loyalty influences purchase intention (β=0.39), brand equity influences purchase intention(β=0.24) and brand image influences purchase intention(β=0.38). It is concluded that significant brand loyalty, coupled with strong brand image and positive brand equity explain a significant part of purchase intention in Peruvian private universities.