Communicative Power and Reputation: The Moderating Role of University Managerial Intelligence in Private Universities of East Java

Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia

Abstract

The significant decline in the number of new student enrollments at several private universities in Indonesia, as reported by PDDIKTI and LLDIKTI in 2025, poses a major challenge to the sustainability of institutional reputation and existence. Amid increasingly intense competition especially with the growing number of State Universities with Legal Entity Status (PTNBH) organizational reputation has become a strategic asset that must be carefully managed. This study aims to examine the influence of organizational communication competence on the reputation of private universities, while also investigating the moderating role of University Managerial Intelligence (UMI) in strengthening this relationship. A quantitative approach was employed using a survey method to 178 institutions, involving managerial staff and university leaders from selected private universities in East Java. Data analysis was conducted using Stuctural Equation Models (PLS-SEM) to assess whether UMI enhances the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The results indicate that organizational communication competence has a significant effect on institutional reputation. Moreover, UMI not only directly influences reputation but also positively moderates the relationship between communication competence and reputation. This means that the higher the managerial intelligence of university leaders, the stronger the influence of organizational communication on public perceptions of the institution. These findings offer important implications for strategic management within private higher education institutions, particularly in improving leadership capacity and organizational communication effectiveness. The study also underscores the importance of developing managerial competencies rooted in strategic intelligence to enhance competitiveness and ensure the sustainability of private university reputations in the evolving landscape of higher education in Indonesia.