How can student's attitude impact education supply chain

Abstract

Since students regard education as a passport to the working force, where and what students study can shape their attitude and ultimately determine their future. This research aimed to fill the gap found in the literature related to educational supply chain management by interviewing four students and utilising the attitude towards objects model in order to answer the research question 'How can student's attitude impact educational supply chain?'. Additionally, the study adopted an interpretive phenomenology analysis to examine their answers and draw the necessary conclusions. Several factors such as recommendations, value for money, what the university offered, entry requirements and the city itself among other factors impacted students' attitude as well as their choice of the host country, university, and degree - thus creating a pull in demand on the university's education supply chain that universities aimed to fulfil in order to gain competitive advantage. Moreover, seasonality in terms of the university's ability to offer several cohorts in addition to the traditional September cohort was found to have a significant impact on the student's attitude and choice, thus also creating a demand-pull on the university's supply chain.