DEVELOPING A STUDENT-CENTRIC MARKETING FRAMEWORK FOR PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN TASHKENT

Private higher education sector in Uzbekistan is a transitional status quoi and faces challenges related to trust, legitimacy, and alignment with socio-cultural expectations in Uzbek society. While existing higher education institutions and private universities’ marketing models emphasize branding, digital promotion, and employability, but they often overlook the collective nature of enrollment decision-making in a family-oriented context such as Tashkent. This research paper presents the student-Centric Marketing Framework for Tashkent (SCMF-Tashkent), developed from a mixed-methods study of 275 students enrolled in private universities in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, by integrating socio-cultural influence, perceived value, marketing communication, and moderating factors, this framework reflects how enrollment decisions are negotiated in practice rather than assumed only in theory. The paper argues that student-centric marketing in private higher education must be grounded in family-mediated decision processes to be effective in similar socio-cultural settings.