SOCIAL MEDIA RESPONSIVENESS AND INSTITUTIONAL REPUTATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN AZERBAIJAN:DOES THE TYPE OF RESPONSE MATTER?

Abstract

The primary aim of the research is to explore the mediating role social media responsiveness plays in relationship between SMM and institutional reputation in higher education institutions of Azerbaijan. Specifically, the study examines whether public engagement strategy and digital trust serve as sequential mediating mechanisms. Method The research was based on a quasi-experimental design via an online survey among 412 public and private university students in Azerbaijan (cross-sectional). The data were analyzed with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with 5000 bootstrap resamples. Findings of the study reveal that social media responsiveness is not shown to have significant direct influence on institutional reputation. Nevertheless, a complete serial mediating effect was found for the following: social media responsiveness indirectly influence on CR through improvements in public engagement strategies (PES) and subsequently increasing digital trust ($\beta$ = 0.36, p < 0.001). The model accounts for $58\%$ of the variance in institution reputation. The findings have practical implications: namely, that universities ought not place all of their social media eggs in the basket of speed of response, but instead train staff to engage in authentic dialogue, show empathy and resolve issues effectively on social media. The originality of the study lies in that it extends Dynamic Capabilities Theory to Dialogic Public Relations cues, and points out digital trust as a critical serial mediator in an emerging countries context.