Negative Customer Engagement Behavior Intention in Higher Education Under the Lens of Theory of Planned Behavior: A Structural Equation Model

The current literature focuses mainly on the positive valence of customer engagement (CE), hence it still lacks studies on negative CE. Studies from a marketing perspective in higher education also pay attention to promoting students’ satisfaction and keeping them positively engaged with their higher education institute (HEI). This study aims to examine the negative CE behavior intention of students within the HEI community under the impact of academic aspect quality, which is one of the core elements in HE service quality. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) is used as a new lens to measure the effects of the attitudinal components of negative CE behavior. The empirical results confirm the negative impact of academic aspect quality on student intention to negatively engage with school. It also reveals the positive impact of dissatisfaction on negative CE behavior intention within HEIs. It suggests that dissatisfaction derived from perceived academic aspect quality is a remarkable predictor of student negative engagement behavior intention within HEIs. Some practical implications for practitioners are also presented in this paper.