The role of brand trust, brand love and brand loyalty in brand defence at public universities in Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

Brand defence has recently been recognised as a distinct construct in consumer-brand relationship research; however, its application in higher education remains limited. This study examines how students respond to negative information about their university brand and investigates the roles of brand trust, brand love, and brand loyalty in shaping such behaviours. Using a quantitative approach, data were collected from 283 valid responses from students and alumni of public universities in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. The data were analysed using SmartPLS 3 with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), following a two-stage procedure consisting of measurement model assessment and structural path testing via bootstrapping. The results confirm that brand trust, brand love, and brand loyalty all have significant positive effects on brand defence behaviour. These findings extend consumer-brand relationship theory to the higher education context and provide practical insights for universities seeking to strengthen brand resilience in increasingly competitive and digitally driven environments.