**5. Discussion and Conclusions**

This study presents empirical findings in the field of higher education branding, where studies are mainly limited to business schools (Balmer and Liao 2007; Priporas and Kamenidou 2011; Suomi 2014; Vidaver-Cohen 2007). It contributes to filling a gap in the literature regarding the relationships among brands, as well as their influence on brand identity management and reputation. Students' perceptions of relationships among their higher education institutions indicate that the concept of brand relationships is formed by three dimensions: trust, commitment, and motivation. Trust and commitment are also considered relevant variables in the car industry (Morgan and Hunt 1994), as well as in a branding context: development of a scale to brand confidence (Gurviez and Korchia 2002).

The relationships concept has been traditionally positioned in the theory of networks among companies (Ford et al. 2003; Hakansson and Ford 2002; Hakansson and Snehota 1989, 1995); however, although the literature may acknowledge corporate brand identity's influence on the organizational identity (Hakansson and Snehota 1989, 1995), empirical research on this topic is scarce. An initial step is to further examine the relationships and clients' experience (Keller and Lehmann 2006). This study empirically supports the statements of Hakansson and Snehota (1989, 1995), by connecting brand relationships with the corporate brand identity construct.

This finding empirically proves that brand identity can also be managed by issues considered external to identity.

Previous researchers have established links between corporate brand and reputation (de Chernatony 1999), as well as between brand identity and reputation (de Chernatony and Harris 2000); and between reputation, satisfaction, and loyalty (Helm 2007). But few authors have examined the links among brand relationships and the impact of those relationships on corporate brands' identity or reputation. Our research establishes these missing links by empirically testing this impact. It is important to analyze brands in the services sector, because of its particular characteristics, especially the intangibility of the relationships that allow services to materialize. We particularly selected higher education because of its higher consumer involvement. In the higher education context, students are internal stakeholders and consumers at the same time. It is our own view that students' base part of their appreciation of the university/institution they attend on the relationships it has with other recognized brands, by means of trust, commitment and motivation. Such features improve the visibility of the reflected consumer and their image in society.

We measured the external corporate brand identity in line with the proposed definition of external brand identity by Kapferer (1986, 2008). We concluded quantitatively that the three dimensions: relation, reflected consumer and tangible physical, make sense together and that there is a higher external dimension formed by these three factors. This a very important input for academics and also for brand managers in order to adapt the external dimensions of the corporate brand identity to their publics. Moreover, the use of quantitative methods allowed us to find a higher dimension called corporate brand identity, formed by five of the six factors proposed by Kapferer (1986, 2008): self-image, personality, relation, reflected consumer and tangible physical. The brand identity prism of the mentioned author also includes the culture dimension. We also included it in this research by using the findings revealed by Deshpande et al. (1993). We were able to identify the perceived culture by each student regarding their university/institution. In line with this, we demonstrated that cultures perceived as being performance oriented develop more salient corporate brand identities (measured by the model fit). We divided the sample into two groups in accordance with Deshpande et al. (1993) and verified that the sample compound by the students that perceived their university/institution as being performance oriented revealed better identity salience than the other sample. We consider this of great importance to the management of brand identity in universities/higher education institutions. It reveals the power of the students' perceptions and its influence in the corporate brand identity dimensions. The perceptions regarding brand culture must be managed by the brand managers so as to create the desired perceptions in the students making the desired corporate brand identity coincident with the existing one. This finding also reveals the influence of the culture dimension in the other dimensions of the corporate brand identity, something that we have not found in previous studies.

This research also revealed the importance of joining qualitative and quantitative methodologies and proved that the latter is also applicable to a field of studies where quantitative studies are scarce.

As far as our knowledge is concerned, it is the first time that the brand identity prism developed by Kapferer (1986, 2008) is measured in the mentioned context.

#### **6. Limitations of the Research, Future Directions and Contributions**

Even though the sample of engineering students was adequate for the purposes of this research, it would be extremely useful to compare these findings with those of other samples, consisting of students with other characteristics. Such studies would confirm our findings and improve generalizability. A new perspective of the physical dimension in the brand identity prism was revealed. We named it "Intangible Physical". This dimension is present in the physical dimension defined by Kapferer (1986, 2008). Yet, taking in account the used sample, the research revealed that this dimension, although valid and reliable, did not show enough discriminant validity to be considered a single differentiated factor. Therefore, we consider that other samples with different characteristics should be studied. Furthermore, other services with high levels of consumer involvement should be tested for generalization purposes, such as insurance or medical services.

Regarding the contributions to the literature and to brand management, the conclusions of this research highlight the importance of designing, choosing, and investing in relationships with brands. These relationships should be coherent with the desired brand identity and reputation, in such a way that they cocreate value for stakeholders. The brand managers of higher education corporate brands should pay more attention to the process of engaging with other brands that are perceived by students and stakeholders as providing value to their institution.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization and methodology, T.B., P.R., and N.D.; writing—original draft preparation, T.B., P.R., and N.D.; writing—review and editing, F.V.M., H.B.-K., X.-G.Y. and X.-F.S.; funding acquisition, X.-F.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Acknowledgments:** The authors are grateful to anonymous MDPI referees and editors.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
