The Relationship Between Brand Personality and Customer Service Delivery:Perspectives from Public Universities in Kenya

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to establish the relationship between brand personality and customer service delivery of public universities in Kenya. The variables of this study were anchored on brand personality and SERVQUAL models. Data was collected using positivist and cross-sectional approaches. Data was obtained from respondents using multi-sampling and random sampling techniques. The total population of the study involved 31 public universities comprising a total of 84,931respondents. Random sampling method was used to determine the sample from of 15 public universities that comprised of 61,541 respondents from which the sample size of this study was obtained. The ideal sample size of 398 respondents was determined using Israel scientific formula. Self-developed questionnaire comprising closed and open questions was adopted in collecting data. Items of the questionnaire were measured using a Likert scale. Linear mixed effect models were used to analyse data. The findings revealed that brand personality have a significant positive impact on customer service delivery of public universities in Kenya. The overlapping metrics of brand personality which limited the study were minimized by adoption factor analysis method before conducting linear mixed effect tests. The findings imply that managers of public universities can enhance customer service delivery by adoption of brand personality strategy. Further, the findings shed more light to policy makers, marketing practitioners and scholars on how brand personality can be used to enhance customer service delivery. This study is one of the novel studies that has deviated from the conventional approaches of data analysis. Multi-level approach of data analysis facilitated by mixed effect model tests disobeys the Ordinary Least Square statistical assumptions thus revealing the impact of brand personality within and between students of the universities in relation to service delivery.