Abstract:
In a service-providing organisation like universities, the development and sustenance of a strong brand is usually seen as the principal function of the marketing /sales department and corporate Affairs unit in institutions, relegating the employees of other departments in the drive for competitive advantage and corporate reputation. It is against this background that this study looked at selected drivers of Employee-Based Brand Equity and perceived corporate reputation in selected private universities in the Southern region of Nigeria. The study adopted the quantitative research method, using the questionnaire as the research instrument. 700 questionnaires (soft and hard copies) were administered to both academic and non-academic staff of six private universities in the nation’s southern region. The randomly selected respondents returned only 594 copies of the questionnaires. Data collected were analysed using the Structural Equation Model (SEM), specifically the Partial Least Square. The results of the tested hypotheses revealed that information generation has a significant effect on financial performance at (β = 0.604, R2 = 0.365, t-statistics = 8.623 > 1.96, P-value = < 0.001). Also, Knowledge dissemination has a significant effect on financial performance at (β = 0.647, R2 = 0.418, t-statistics =10.362 > 1.96, P-value = < 0.001). The findings reveal that the perceived corporate reputation of the universities by the employees affects their relationship with the institutions' external customers. It was recommended that the Managers of private universities should establish a feedback mechanism that enables employees to report their experiences on the field with the universities external customers, utilise the feedbacks generated in the decision–making processes, ensure employees are educated on the brand promise of the institution and individual knowledge should be institutionalised,
