Analyzing reputation of Swiss universities on Twitter–The role of stakeholders, content and sources

Abstract

Purpose This study investigated the reputation of Swiss universities on Twitter. It gives detailed insights on how the reputation of universities was constituted in a digitized media environment. Design/methodology/approach The reputation of universities was conceptualized as a multidimensional construct with an overarching scientific and corporate dimension. It was measured for academic and societal stakeholders as well as for the media. Tweets about Swiss universities were collected through the Twitter application programming interface (API) and analyzed with a manual content analysis. Findings Academic stakeholders had a stronger focus on the scientific dimension of reputation and evaluated universities more positively than societal stakeholders or the news media. The news media were the main source of negative evaluations of universities on Twitter. Research limitations/implications The study showed a dichotomy between the scientific dimension on the one hand, and the corporate dimensions of reputation on the other hand, and thus implies a decoupling of scientific and corporate reputation. However, the findings should be explored beyond Twitter to be more generalizable. Practical implications The news media play an important role in the constitution of the scientific and corporate reputation of universities on Twitter. An orientation toward the news media, therefore, remains a promising strategy to manage reputation. Social implications The news media are an important source of information for academic and societal stakeholders. Thus, they can contribute to integrating academic and societal stakeholder groups by producing a common base of knowledge of higher education and its organizations. Originality/value This is the first study to comprehensively measure the reputation of universities on Twitter.

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