Jimma City Community's Perception towards Jimma University’s Corporate Image and Reputation

The purpose of this research was to assess the perceived image and reputation of Jimma University by the community in Jimma city from four dimensions, namely corporate social responsibility (CSR), community involvement activities (CIA), the commitment of environmental protection (CEP) and external communication system with the community (ECS). The researchers used descriptive research design, as we are solely interested in describing the situation under our research study. Therefore, this research was conducted by hosting a questionnaire which was sent to a combined total of 400 respondents from Jimma city and 380 community members who participated in the research. After initial analysis of the questionnaires‟ results was completed, 30 respondents from nearby and far away Kebeles were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Thus, findings from this research are grounded in empirical pieces of evidence promoting and recognizing community perceptions about corporate image and reputation. In general, the results revealed that community expectations, organizational behaviour and experience/relationship had a strong direct impact on the image and reputation of the university. In light of these findings valuable, practical and theoretical implications are derived in order to define a more effective way to manage these two concepts: corporate image and reputation.

Keywords: Perceived Corporate Image, Perceived Corporate Reputation, Community‟ Background of the Study.