Effects of geographical university names on users’ perceptions

Corporate (re-)naming is a way to (re-)brand a company, and it still represents an under-researched area of inquiry, especially in the higher education industry. Universities may use (re-)naming strategies to (re-)brand themselves and face the increasing global competition in the marketplace. The present article focuses on two widespread naming options: a city-of-location naming strategy, referring to a university name that integrates the city where the institution is located, and a region-of-location naming strategy, referring to a name that incorporates the corresponding geographical region where the university is located. The research aims to examine and compare the effects of these two strategies on users’ perceptions. Results of two distinct studies show that a city-of-location naming strategy is superior to a region-of-location one in promoting a university's brand, in terms of users’ acceptance of, and preference for, the university's name and in terms of perceived recognizability, memorability, distinctiveness, credibility and personality profiles of the (re-)named university as well. Managerial implications suggest the necessity for university managers to undertake name change strategies carefully, especially when these strategies entail a shift from a city-of-location-based name to a region-of-location-based one.