University campuses’ location-allocation: a case study of Egypt with insights from the Japanese context
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the most suitable location for a university campus in Egypt based on governorates’ social needs by employing the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The paper, then, reflects the findings retrieved from the Egyptian context on the Japanese context to reveal how different countries deal with the location-allocation decision problem for university campuses.
Design/methodology/approach
The AHP is employed to evaluate and rank Egyptian governorates based on 13 distinct criteria obtained from governmental open-source databases. These criteria measure the social needs of each governorate, guiding the decision on the location of new university campuses.
Findings
The results expose a disparity between Egypt's current campus development plan and recommendations derived from AHP analysis. The location-allocation decision for new university campuses appears to be influenced by subjective assessments, indicating a gap between planned developments and identified social needs. Additionally, contextual social and cultural differences between developing and developed countries impact the identification and fulfilment of the demand for a new university campus.
Originality/value
This paper contributes by offering decision-makers a robust location-allocation framework. It serves as a valuable tool for policy formulation in establishing new public universities in both developing and developed countries. Comparative analysis with the Japanese context enriches the understanding of how countries address the location-allocation decision problem for university campuses, emphasising the significance of context-specific considerations in such decisions.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research paper is part of the PhD thesis of the first author who is a recipient of a scholarship from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).
Citation
Mohammed, A.M.S. and Ukai, T. (2024), "University campuses’ location-allocation: a case study of Egypt with insights from the Japanese context", Open House International, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/OHI-01-2024-0022
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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