Does forced-shift to online learning affect university brand image in South Korea? Role of perceived harm and international students’ learning engagement

University brand marketing leaders are reimagining their brand response to the global crisis, as COVID-19 pandemic continues to raise fears, especially due to the recent spike of the ‘delta variant’ outbreaks. Addressing this serious and immediate concern, the present study made the initial attempt to investigate the effects of forced-shift to online learning (FSOL), international students’ learning engagement (ISLE) and perceived harm (PHRM) of COVID-19 on university brand image (UBI) in South Korea. Drawing on survey data of 245 international students, the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique provided empirical evidence on the significant positive effects of FSOL on ISLE and UBI. The findings also confirmed that PHRM significantly and positively moderates FSOL and ISLE, whereas the results supported that ISLE partially mediates FSOL and UBI. Finally, this study developed and validated two new scales to measure FSOL and PHRM. The study findings signal innovative ways of marketing university brand image, while university leaders, faculties and students eagerly wait to switch back to a safer offline learning environment.