Int. J. Management in Education, Vol. 12, No. 4, 2018 351 Copyright © 2018 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Factors and information sources influencing students’ consumer behaviour: a case study at an Italian public university Mariella Pinna* and Giacomo Del Chiappa Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Aziendali, Università di Sassari, Via Muroni, 25 - 07100 Sassari, Italy Email: mapinna@uniss.it Email: gdelchiappa@uniss.it *Corresponding author Martina G. Gallarza Departamento de Comercialización e Investigación de Mercados, Universitat de Valéncia, Avda. de los Naranjos S/N - 46022 Valencia, Spain Email: martina.gallarza@uv.es Abstract: This article examines the factors and the preferred sources of information that influence prospective Italian students’ choice of a Department of Business and Economics at a public university. Results, based on quantitative survey data, show that both future undergraduate and future postgraduate students value the reputation of the university, the guidance services offered by the institution and the degree of specialisation as important factors that drive their choice, and peers’ suggestions are the most relevant information source for both groups. The paper provides insights on how traditional elements are combined with more contemporary ones in domestic Students’ Consumer Behaviour. Findings provide several implications for policy makers and managers in Higher Education. Keywords: higher education; student choice; student consumer behaviour; motivation; information sources; domestic recruitment; public university; future undergraduates; future postgraduates; Italy; University of Sassari. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Pinna, M., Del Chiappa, G. and Gallarza M.G. (2018) ‘Factors and information sources influencing students’ consumer behaviour: a case study at an Italian public university’, Int. J. Management in Education, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp.351–374. Biographical notes: Mariella Pinna is a Post-Doc Research Fellow at the Department of Economics and Business, University of Sassari, Italy. Her research interests include Consumer Behaviour and Sustainable Marketing. She has conducted research on tourism and education from both the consumer and firm viewpoint. She teaches courses on Business Ethics at the undergraduate at postgraduate levels.