Testing the Moderating Effect of Customer Characteristics on the Relationship between Brand Management Attributes and Customer Satisfaction among University Students in Kenya

Abstract

The general objective of this study was to establish the moderating effect of customer characteristics on the relationship between brand management attributes and customer satisfaction among university students in Kenya. The study adopted descriptive research design, the target population comprised students from all 70 universities registered and accredited to operate in Kenya, with a population of 443,783 students enrolled for various undergraduate degree programmes from which a random sample of 384 students was drawn from 21 universities. Questionnaires were administered using intercept approach. Through systematic random sampling, the researcher selected every 5th student entering the main gate of the selected university. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis. The study revealed that brand management attributes had statistically significant influence on customer satisfaction among university students in Kenya (R2=0.238; p-value = 0.000). The study also revealed that customer characteristics had a statistically significant moderating influence on the relationship between brand management attributes and customer satisfaction (R2=0.085; p-value= 0.000). The study recommends that, when developing and designing different university programs, universities should consider the students’ personal characteristics such as age, gender and income levels as well as their situational characteristics.