The roles of the country’s cognitive, affective, and personality aspects in international students’ decision-making

Abstract

A significant number of studies on country image tend to overemphasize the cognitive country image as a determinant of purchase decision. A country also has an affective image and personality that may surpass the influence of cognitive image in a consumer’s decision-making process. However, marketing scholars are apt to disregard these elements when they examine a consumer’s purchase decision-making, which results in an incomplete understanding of the country image’s roles in consumer’s purchase decision. This study aims to bridge the gap by examining the effects of country image and country personality on international students’ decisions for study destinations. Samples of middle- and upper-class high school students in Indonesia were selected using a multistage cluster sampling technique. From over 1,000 questionnaires distributed in eight provinces, 888 responses have been used in data analysis. Structural equation modeling using PLS-SEM was used to analyze the data due to the normal distribution issue. The findings showed that both cognitive and affective country images affected students’ intention to study in foreign destinations, either directly or indirectly through country personality and institution image. Based on these findings, the host country's government should focus on creating both positive cognitive and affective country images to attract Indonesian students.