An Empirical Study on Consumption of Educational Products in Chinese Universities

Citation

Wang, Zijun. (2017). An empirical study on consumption of educational products in Chinese Universities. (Independent study, Master of Business Administration). Bangkok: Siam University.

Abstract

In recent years, the problem of education consumption, especially the problems of higher education consumption have not only become the focus of public attention, but also become a research highlight of education and economics. But due to the different understanding in consumption of education, most scholars generally, based on the macro environment of higher education consumption, from the perspective of economics and sociology, explore its impact on social development and national economic growth, as well as under the current level of income, the crowding effects to the consumption of residents’ daily life brought by high consumer spending on higher education. This paper is bases on university, the microcosmic educational consumption environment, references the research methods of consumption economics, starts from a few of basic elements in consumption activities, takes the educational products as the consumption object, takes the college students as the main body of the consumer, researches the current consumption status of educational products in our country’s university education, and the status of consumer satisfaction; and starting from the view of universities, puts forward some strategies for improving the current consumption situation, opposing the threat of competition, and guarantee the sustainable development of education products consumption.

In view of the debate in academic circles about the question of what the educational products, this paper put forward the overall concept of educational products from the object of consumption — the education products, and describes the composition level of content and the characteristics of product. On the research of consuming subject, this paper highlights the demands hierarchy of student consumers and identity characteristics different from the general consumers. After establishing what is the education product and who is the consumer, this paper highlights the bad consumption status of China’s higher education products at present through the aspects of the consumption level, consumption structure and consumption utility, and impels the students changes the concept of study abroad to experience campus life. In other words, with the high level of consumption and the trend of its rising year by year, the consumption structure, especially the structure of consumption content is not reasonable with low consumption utility. By using of questionnaires and interviews, this paper investigates the consumption satisfaction of college student educational product of a few of different types of colleges and universities in Beijing areas. The result of the investigation shows that the college students’ current satisfaction is generally low. This paper analyzes the threat of competition in the end which the colleges and universities face, puts forward the consuming object strategy, consuming subject strategy and consumer environment strategy to maintain sustainable consumption of consumer products in universities.

This paper adopts the research method integrating normative analysis and empirical analysis, quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis, focuses on study for consuming object, consuming subject and consuming status in micro field. It emphasizes use of the theoretical tools of consumer economics, takes the help of some theory judgments in marketing, and is combined with some statistical data and data from questionnaire survey, analyzes consumption problems of student education products in university to remedy the weakness of the research framework in educational consumption theory, promote integration between consumption economics, marketing theory and the theory of education economics, and improve the consumption quality of education product in colleges and universities, ensure the sustainable consumption of educational products, so that it provides some reference and basis for the survival and development in the increasingly fierce competition in the education market.

Keywords:  Educational products; College students; Consumer satisfaction.

An Empirical Study on Consumption of Educational Products in Chinese Universities

International Master in Business Administration (IMBA), Siam University, Bangkok, Thailand