In recent year, the growth of globalization phenomenon and the world economy has posed a challenge to the education system which also has led to an increasing the number of students studying abroad. In Thailand, there are over 80,000 Thai students studying overseas in 2010 and the number tends to be increasing dramatically each year. Therefore, this thesis is to deal a question that “what is the key word that makes Thai students intent to go abroad”?
The hypotheses were tested in the context based the correlation between the Motivation Opportunity and Ability (MOA) toward the intention of Thai student to study abroad. The survey was conducted among 200 Thai students. The survey instrument used in this study consisted of a questionnaire which ask to indicate on a 7-point scale – 1= Strongly Disagree and at the other end by 7=Strongly Agree.
The results clarify that the strongest relationship exists between motivation and intention to study abroad, while the weakest relationship is between ability and intention to study abroad. The motivation and ability, and the path between opportunity and intention were not significant. The WOM is a good channel for communicating the positive program image among students. In marketing term, this proposes the education business provider an opportunity to build up a strong customer loyalty show that the finest promotion strategies are based on student networks.
