An in-depth analysis of the pivotal social factors of higher educational marketing in Tehran IAUs

A meticulous analysis of the influential factors in Higher education marketing and the provision of a framework can be beneficial. The present study aimed at the identification and the analysis of the social factors influential in higher education marketing according to which a model was developed. The study was practical in terms of the aim and employed field research and a mixed-method approach (i.e., both quantitative and qualitative analyses). The participants in the qualitative phase included the knowledgeable authorities and experts in marketing and those in the quantitative phase encompassed the marketing professors and beneficiaries of IAU, the deans of Tehran branches and their assistants. The instruments were a semi-structural interview and a questionnaire for the qualitative and quantitative data collection respectively. In order to analyze the obtained qualitative data, grounded theory was employed and axial and selective open coding formed the foundation of quantitative analysis. The findings revealed the most significant social factors as 1) personal factors, 2) organizational factors, 3) financial and expense factors, and 4) higher educational factors. As a result, the mechanisms of expanding marketing along with the dynamicity of the scientific context formed the instructional marketing strategies in different branches of Tehran IAU.