The e-Learning of Students and University’s Brand Image (Post COVID-19): How Successfully Al-Ain University Have Embraced the Paradigm Shift in Digital Learning

Abstract

The COVID-19 has caused a state of emergency not only in the UAE but also around the globe. Following the preventive measures, the government of UAE has closed temporarily all types of educational institutes, replacing them by other institutes, thus shifting to e-learning. Therefore, this study aims at examining the role of information and communication technology, e-service quality, and e-information quality towards the brand image of universities by concentrating on students’ e-learning. More specifically, this study investigates the impact of the information and communication ethnobiology post COVID-19 on the university’s brand image of Alain University in UAE as one of the leading universities. The contribution of the study is twofold. First, the study is among the pioneering studies that have proposed a framework to develop an excellent online learning system, which can promote the university’s brand image. Second, this study fills the gap by investigating the subject in the context of a Gulf country, which is among the most affected thirty countries due to COVID-19. It is, therefore, a critical contemporary issue for governments, higher education commissions, and universities to understand the antecedents of the online learning system and their relationships with the university's brand image.