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Brand choice has historically played an important role in a wide range of industries, particularly in the private sector, where billions of Rands are invested to entice potential customers. Taking this into consideration, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of brand awareness and brand image on first-year student selection of a University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal. The objectives of the study were to establish and identify the brand preference and image attributes that entice first-year students’ selection of a University of Technology (UoT). The study also examined the biographic variables of those students. To accomplish these objectives, an exploratory study using a quantitative research approach was conducted, in which questionnaires were administered to 500 first-year students at the selected Universities of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal. The study revealed that topics such as investments in brand awareness and brand image, safety and security, the caliber of staff, delays in academic programmes, student-lecturer relationships, and service delivery were identified as factors that influenced the participants' selection and willingness to recommend their institutions to potential students. Thus, the study recommends that UoTs should pay more attention to branding strategies as an agendum to ensuring institutional profitability and viability, relationship management, and human resource.  Finally, the findings of this study are limited to KwaZulu-Natal and should not be extrapolated outside this region.

The study aims to evaluate the moderating role of service innovation on the relationship between corporate reputation and the performance of hotels in Kenya. The study design used was cross-sectional descriptive utilizing the mixed approach. The target that served as the study population, was General Managers of all the 4-star hotels in Kenya. Primary data was collected by the use of a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire and secondary data from hotel records, journals, and government publications. Data analysis involved qualitative and quantitative techniques, analyses of variance (ANOVA), and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) which tested the hypothesized relationship in this study. Statistical software such as Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21, MS-Excel for Windows 8, Analysis of Moment Structures version 17, and SmartPLS version 2.0 was used for analysis. The theoretical models and hypotheses were tested based on empirical data gathered from 43 General Managers. The study findings indicate that corporate reputation positively and significantly influences performance (C.R = 5.907 at 5% ?-level) and service innovation moderates (R2 change = 0.054) the relationship between corporate reputation and performance. The study results are meant to benefit hotel industry policymakers, academicians, and other opportunistic entrepreneurs. The recommendation is that the hotel industry should invest seriously in corporate reputation so as to influence customer purchase behavior and improved performance.

Due to the issues brought about by the current Information Age, such as rapid development of technology, easy and fast access to information, increases in international relations and global market perception, companies were compelled to seek for sustainable competitive advantage, and in this sense, the concept of "corporate reputation", which is powered by unique and original values of a corporation and which cannot be "imitated", has started to draw attention. In our day when markets are gradually reaching the point of saturation and consumers are getting the chance to evaluate more and more options, the efforts to create a convincing difference in minds have become prominent, and subsequently, reputation management has become an important field which a company needs to effectively manage. Corporate reputation management and the communication types the company will adopt in this sense have gained importance in all areas related to strategic management elements, from market positioning of products to shaping of intellectual perception maps. Corporate reputation management, wherein integrated marketing communication and public relation activities extremely important roles, needs to be strategically managed. Management of the concept of corporate reputation, which is a product of tangible and intangible corporate components, have transformed into a strategic requirement and become an field of its own as "corporate reputation management" within modern business administration.  The fact that corporate reputation management, which has a relation with almost all activity fields of a company, is in contact with elements such as corporate social responsibility, management based on ethical principles, performance assessment studies in human resources management and the of phenomenon of governance, the recent agenda, which all affect the field of sustainable competition, indicates that this concept should be evaluated in terms of business management strategy.

The use of social media in organisations can assist in the creation and maintenance of a good brand, reputation and image largely due to the potential of developing interactive relationships with various stakeholders. This not only aids in building stakeholder relationships, but also in increasing an organisation’s visibility. The aim of this research was to assess how a higher education institution, specifically the Durban University of Technology (DUT) in South Africa, uses social media platforms to build and maintain a positive corporate reputation. Additionally, the research examined how the institution actively engages with their target audience on social media platforms. A quantitative methodology was adopted with a sample population of 180 students from the DUT. Data was collected through the distribution of questionnaires to students and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. Findings revealed that social media plays an important role for organisations as a vital tool to build and maintain corporate reputation online, as well as communicating effectively and actively with various target audiences. The research recommends that organisations prioritise investing in social media platforms and communicate effectively and actively with their audiences online.

The Efficient Market Hypothesis, developed by Fama, is a market in which prices reflect the current information and where abnormal returns are not possible. In case the securities value reflects the information fully, the existence of the efficient market is mentioned. Within the framework of market mechanism, if these concepts are not sufficient, behavioral finance has emerged focusing on the effect on stock prices. A brand is a symbol, a name or a combination of a merchandise for distinguishing it from the like.Owning a brand is more than a logo or symbol.The brand covers the entire business and affects the perception of customers. Brand value is the value of the brand's name, symbol and reputation.. Thus, the arrangements within the company that can be useful within the company could be done in a timely manner. Creating a brand and brand value has been a powerful competitive tool for businesses.Brand Finance, covers Turkey's most valuable 100 brands. To measure the strength and value of these brands, it annually determines the value of the world's largest brands and publishes its ranking. In this research, the effects of the increase, decrease and constant brand power on the share prices of companies listed in the BIST 100 index in the list of Brand Finance Turkey 100 in the years 2012-2017 were analyzed. According to the findings, it is seen that the changes in brand ranking have an effect on market performance of firms.
  

The use of social media in organisations can assist in the creation and maintenance of a good brand, reputation and image largely due to the potential of developing interactive relationships with various stakeholders. This not only aids in building stakeholder relationships, but also in increasing an organisation’s visibility. The aim of this research was to assess how a higher education institution, specifically the Durban University of Technology (DUT) in South Africa, uses social media platforms to build and maintain a positive corporate reputation. Additionally, the research examined how the institution actively engages with their target audience on social media platforms. A quantitative methodology was adopted with a sample population of 180 students from the DUT. Data was collected through the distribution of questionnaires to students and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. Findings revealed that social media plays an important role for organisations as a vital tool to build and maintain corporate reputation online, as well as communicating effectively and actively with various target audiences. The research recommends that organisations prioritise investing in social media platforms and communicate effectively and actively with their audiences online.

This research explores how Corporate Accounting Disclosure (CAD) affects the corporate reputation (CR) of publicly traded Taiwan companies, with special emphasis on the moderating influence of social learning (SL). While Corporate Accounting Disclosure and social learning serve as the independent and moderating variables, respectively, corporate reputation is the study's dependent variable. A sample of 125 companies, listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation (TWSE), was selected for this study. Our findings suggest that Corporate Accounting Disclosure positively correlates with corporate reputation, as does social learning. Interestingly, the anticipated moderating effect of Social Learning on the association between Corporate Accounting Disclosure and Corporate Reputation was not observed. Future research endeavors may delve deeper into the underlying reasons for this phenomenon by adopting a multifaceted approach of longitudinal studies and cross-cultural analysis. The study also offers in-depth discussions of its findings and clearly outlines its theoretical and practical implications. It concludes by offering recommendations and charting potential avenues for subsequent research.

Brand choice has historically played an important role in a wide range of industries, particularly in the private sector, where billions of Rands are invested to entice potential customers. Taking this into consideration, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of brand awareness and brand image on first-year student selection of a University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal. The objectives of the study were to establish and identify the brand preference and image attributes that entice first-year students’ selection of a University of Technology (UoT). The study also examined the biographic variables of those students. To accomplish these objectives, an exploratory study using a quantitative research approach was conducted, in which questionnaires were administered to 500 first-year students at the selected Universities of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal. The study revealed that topics such as investments in brand awareness and brand image, safety and security, the caliber of staff, delays in academic programmes, student-lecturer relationships, and service delivery were identified as factors that influenced the participants' selection and willingness to recommend their institutions to potential students. Thus, the study recommends that UoTs should pay more attention to branding strategies as an agendum to ensuring institutional profitability and viability, relationship management, and human resource.  Finally, the findings of this study are limited to KwaZulu-Natal and should not be extrapolated outside this region.

The study aims to evaluate the moderating role of service innovation on the relationship between corporate reputation and the performance of hotels in Kenya. The study design used was cross-sectional descriptive utilizing the mixed approach. The target that served as the study population, was General Managers of all the 4-star hotels in Kenya. Primary data was collected by the use of a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire and secondary data from hotel records, journals, and government publications. Data analysis involved qualitative and quantitative techniques, analyses of variance (ANOVA), and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) which tested the hypothesized relationship in this study. Statistical software such as Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21, MS-Excel for Windows 8, Analysis of Moment Structures version 17, and SmartPLS version 2.0 was used for analysis. The theoretical models and hypotheses were tested based on empirical data gathered from 43 General Managers. The study findings indicate that corporate reputation positively and significantly influences performance (C.R = 5.907 at 5% ?-level) and service innovation moderates (R2 change = 0.054) the relationship between corporate reputation and performance. The study results are meant to benefit hotel industry policymakers, academicians, and other opportunistic entrepreneurs. The recommendation is that the hotel industry should invest seriously in corporate reputation so as to influence customer purchase behavior and improved performance.

The Efficient Market Hypothesis, developed by Fama, is a market in which prices reflect the current information and where abnormal returns are not possible. In case the securities value reflects the information fully, the existence of the efficient market is mentioned. Within the framework of market mechanism, if these concepts are not sufficient, behavioral finance has emerged focusing on the effect on stock prices. A brand is a symbol, a name or a combination of a merchandise for distinguishing it from the like.Owning a brand is more than a logo or symbol.The brand covers the entire business and affects the perception of customers. Brand value is the value of the brand's name, symbol and reputation.. Thus, the arrangements within the company that can be useful within the company could be done in a timely manner. Creating a brand and brand value has been a powerful competitive tool for businesses.Brand Finance, covers Turkey's most valuable 100 brands. To measure the strength and value of these brands, it annually determines the value of the world's largest brands and publishes its ranking. In this research, the effects of the increase, decrease and constant brand power on the share prices of companies listed in the BIST 100 index in the list of Brand Finance Turkey 100 in the years 2012-2017 were analyzed. According to the findings, it is seen that the changes in brand ranking have an effect on market performance of firms.