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Article
Publication date: 11 April 2023

Aneta Kucińska-Landwójtowicz, Izabela Dagmara Czabak-Górska, Marcin Lorenc, Pedro Domingues and Paulo Sampaio

The main purpose of this paper is twofold: to present a proposal for a model of educational quality management system within a process approach context for technical universities…

Abstract

Purpose

The main purpose of this paper is twofold: to present a proposal for a model of educational quality management system within a process approach context for technical universities, and a conceptual model of a performance measurement system (PMS) towards the assessment of the quality level of management, core and support processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper encompasses two main parts: a theoretical portion and a case study. Within the theoretical background, the authors discuss the issue of educational quality management supported on a process approach perspective as well as performance measurement system in high education (HE). The case study reports the development of the concept of performance measurement system for technical universities.

Findings

The proposed system of educational quality management supported on a process approach, together with a conceptual model of the performance measurement system, can be implemented in every technical university. The identification of processes in the education quality management system permitted the development of the PMS. The model covers 32 key performance indicators (KPIs) for management processes, 39 for core processes and 19 for supporting ones.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed performance measurement system is limited in its focus on educational processes and support of these processes. The evaluation of scientific and research activity and aspects related to financial resources is not pursued.

Originality/value

Elaboration of a conceptual model of a performance measurement system towards the assessment of the quality level of management, core and support processes is dedicated to technical universities.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 40 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 February 2024

Yones Romiani, Maryam Sadat Ghoraishi Khorasgani and Saeid Norollahee

Nowadays, universities increasingly consider reputation as a key component for improving quality and rankings. A positive reputation opens doors to added value and diverse…

Abstract

Purpose

Nowadays, universities increasingly consider reputation as a key component for improving quality and rankings. A positive reputation opens doors to added value and diverse opportunities. This paper aims to explore Middle Eastern higher education managers' perceptions of university reputation components.

Design/methodology/approach

Given the significance of this concept in Middle Eastern universities, a descriptive phenomenological qualitative approach is adopted to identify these key components. The study includes interviews with university managers, and data are collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically.

Findings

The findings reveal that, from the perspective of higher education managers, university reputation is influenced by four main components: university management and leadership, quality and performance, identity and image and social responsibility. These components are tailored to the context of Middle Eastern countries.

Practical implications

Practical implications are clearly laid out in the form of four key themes for higher education managers in Middle Eastern countries to manage reputation.

Originality/value

The study’s outcomes can be used as a guide for university managers in developing countries to change the situation in their favor and achieve great success in the competitive condition of universities by planning and making policies in this direction. Also, the managers of higher education in the Middle Eastern countries can take advantage of the components of this study to improve the quality and quantity of their universities and take an important step towards increasing the university’s reputation at the international level.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 38 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 February 2024

Li Genqiang, Tao Yueying, Meng Yong and Lu Min

Based on cognitive appraisal theory of stress, this study develops an integrated model to examine the double-edged sword effect and boundary conditions of the impact of…

Abstract

Purpose

Based on cognitive appraisal theory of stress, this study develops an integrated model to examine the double-edged sword effect and boundary conditions of the impact of organizational crisis on employee behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

This study collected 672 employees’ data through three stages of longitudinal follow-up. Hierarchical regression analysis and SPSS macro process were used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The paper finds that organizational crisis induces unethical pro-organizational behavior through enhanced job insecurity and foster taking charge by stimulating career calling. Employee resilience negatively moderates the relationship between organizational crisis and job insecurity as well as the indirect effects of organizational crisis on unethical pro-organizational behavior through job insecurity. Conversely, it positively moderates the association between organizational crisis and career calling and the indirect effects on taking charge through career calling.

Research limitations/implications

This study not only expands the research on the mechanisms of organizational crisis' effects on employees' behaviors but also provides practical guidance for corporate managers on how to respond to organizational crisis.

Practical implications

The following insights are available to organizations and managers: first, this study confirms that organizational crisis can be perceived as threatening stressors that create job insecurity, which in turn leads to pro-organizational unethical behavior. Therefore, managers in organizational crisis should focus on stress regulation and guidance, pay timely attention to changes in the mindset of employees to reduce job insecurity, and strictly prohibit unethical pro-organizational behavior. They should promptly calm and control the atmosphere of panic and anxiety in the organization, do a good job of coordinating the division of labor, reduce personnel conflicts and contradictions, create a good organizational climate and reduce employees' sense of stress and negative perceptions of organizational crisis, thus reducing job insecurity and being able to meet the challenges in a better state. Secondly, this study confirms that employees also perceive organizational crisis as challenges and develop career calling, which in turn inspires proactive change behaviors. This suggests that managers in organizational crisis should promote the positive perception of organizational crisis as challenge, stimulate the career calling of employees in organizational crisis and call on and encourage employees to actively adopt taking charge. Therefore, managers should promptly give employees work affirmation, rewards and punishments, enhance the sense of participation and intrinsic motivation of subordinates, improve self-efficacy and self-confidence levels, effectively reduce the negative perception of organizational crisis, awaken positive psychological energy within individuals, increase their sense of belonging to the organization and thus, increase employees' awareness of the positive challenges of organizational crisis, stimulate employees' career calling through positive and optimistic beneficial pressure drive them to lead the corresponding changes in the crisis. Finally, this study confirms that employees' own resilience can change the double-edged sword effect of organizational crisis. Employees with high resilience are more likely to see organizational crisis as challenge and are thus more likely to develop career calling and are more inclined to initiate change, while employees with low resilience are more likely to see organizational crisis as threat, are more negatively affected by them, develop greater job insecurity and are, thus, more inclined to commit unethical pro-organizational behaviors. This reflects the fact that organizations should constantly cultivate employees' resilience and enhance their cognitive toughness at the same time. For instance, the organization can regularly use promotional lectures and scenarios to help leaders and employees establish corporate ethics, strengthen moral beliefs and correctly understand the nature of unethical affinity behavior. Managers should encourage and advocate positive and correct behaviors such as overcoming difficulties, positive innovation and positive suggestions to promote the sustainable and healthy development of the organization.

Social implications

The results of this study can increase the organization’s understanding of the negative effects of crisis, help the organization take measures to manage and guide the employees in organizational crisis, more effective and targeted functional changes within the organization, reduce stress damage and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of crisis management. It is also beneficial to improve competitiveness and foresight in the organization’s industry and enhance organizations and employees’ resilience.

Originality/value

This study explores the double-edged sword effect of organizational crisis on employees’ behavior from the perspective of the cognitive appraisal theory of stress, which theoretically opens up a new research perspective, enriches the research in the fields of organizational crisis and taking charge, pro-organizational unethical behavior relationship and practically provides theoretical guidance for enterprises and managers on how to effectively respond to organizational crisis from the employees, which is of great practical significance.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 37 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 February 2024

Davood Ghorbanzadeh, Atena Rahehagh and Mohammad Najarzadeh

A university’s brand is a key competitive advantage in higher education (HE). This study examines the university's reputation’s intermediary impact on core services (emotional…

Abstract

Purpose

A university’s brand is a key competitive advantage in higher education (HE). This study examines the university's reputation’s intermediary impact on core services (emotional environment, perceived faculty and course suitability) and brand loyalty in private universities in Iran.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative method was used to achieve research objectives. The data collected from students enrolled in major private universities in the capital of Iran were analyzed to test the proposed model, both directly and indirectly, using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings

The findings confirmed all of the hypothesized relationships. Prominently, the core service construct (emotional environment, perceived faculty and course suitability) was found to be significantly affecting the university brand reputation. The study found evidence for the impact of university reputation on students' loyalty. Findings also indicated the presence of several indirect relationships among the considered dimensions.

Research limitations/implications

Current research offers implications for universities that are met with the perpetual challenge of survival in the competitive HE marketplace. Findings from the study not only help build theory on university brand loyalty but also make an essential contribution towards guiding managers in developing effective strategies by building reputation and loyalty by concentrating on the most crucial determinants.

Originality/value

Although research in HE marketing is growing, the effects of university core services on building loyalty have not garnered attention, which is theoretically a vital construct. The paper presents a new framework to realize university brand loyalty with the help of integrated relationships among select dimensions in the setting of an emerging HE market.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 July 2023

B.F. Giannetti, Feni Agostinho, C.M.V.B. Almeida, Marcos José Alves Pinto Jr, Maritza Chirinos Marroquín and Medardo Delgado Paredes

The study of sustainability within universities is recognized as essential for debates and research; in the long term, the “sustainable university” concepts can contribute to…

Abstract

Purpose

The study of sustainability within universities is recognized as essential for debates and research; in the long term, the “sustainable university” concepts can contribute to sustainability from a larger perspective. This study aims to propose a conceptual model for evaluating the students’ sustainability considering their interactions with the university and the environment. The proposed model is titled Sunshine model. It is applied to students of the La Salle University, Peru.

Design/methodology/approach

The model combines academic performance, happiness and the ecological footprint to quantify university students’ sustainability. A structured questionnaire survey was elaborated and applied to get the raw data that feeds the three methods. The students’ average grades evaluate academic performance. Happiness is quantified by the happiness index method, and the ecological footprint is measured by the demand for food, paper, electricity, transport and built-up areas. Results are evaluated under both approaches, overall group performance and clusters.

Findings

The proposed model avoids misleading interpretations of a single indicator or discussions on sustainability that lack a conceptual model, bringing robustness in assessing students’ sustainability in universities. To have a low ecological footprint, the student needs to need up to 1 planet for their lifestyle, be considered happy with at least 0.8 (of 1) for happiness index, and have good academic performance with at least a grade of 7 (of 10) in their course. Regarding the case study, La Salle students show a high academic grade degree of 7, a high level for happiness index of 0.8 and low performance for ecological footprint by demanding 1.8 Earth planets, resulting in an “environmentally distracted” overall classification for students with 2019 data. From a cluster approach, 81% of evaluated students (n = 603) have low performance for ecological footprint, whereas 31% have low performance for indicators of recreational activities of happiness. Changing lifestyles and making more recreational activities available play crucial roles in achieving higher sustainability for the La Salle students.

Research limitations/implications

The happiness assessment questionnaire can be subject to criticism, as it was created as a specific method for this type of audience based on existing questionnaires in the literature. Although it can be seen as an important approach for diagnoses, the proposed model does not consider the cause–effect aspect. The decision-maker must consider the sociocultural aspects before implementing plan actions.

Practical implications

University managers can better understand why university students have high or low sustainability performance and provide more effective actions toward higher levels of students’ sustainability.

Originality/value

The proposed model, Sunshine model, overcomes the single-criteria existing tools that access the sustainability of universities. Rather than focusing on university infrastructure, the proposed model focuses on the students and their relationship with the university.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 24 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 30 November 2023

Lisa-Maria Gerhardt, Jan Goldenstein, Simon Oertel, Philipp Poschmann and Peter Walgenbach

Higher education institutions have undergone a transformation over the past few decades, from loosely coupled systems to more centrally managed organizations. Central to this…

Abstract

Higher education institutions have undergone a transformation over the past few decades, from loosely coupled systems to more centrally managed organizations. Central to this ongoing development is the increasing competition for resources and reputation, driving higher education institutions to rationalize their structures and practices. In our study, we focused on changes in job advertisements for professorships in Germany from 1990 to 2010. Findings showed that the requirements stipulated by universities for professorial positions have become increasingly differentiated (and measurable) over time. In this context, competitive aspects, such as third-party funding, international orientation, or publications, have particularly come to the fore and grown significantly in importance. We discuss these findings in light of an increasing managerialization of higher education institutions, which has a direct effect on collegiality. We argue that the differentiation of professorial job profiles leads to even more formalized appointment processes and may push collegial governance into the background.

Details

University Collegiality and the Erosion of Faculty Authority
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-814-0

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 May 2023

Dan-Cristian Dabija, Veronica Campian, Liana Stanca and Adriana Tiron-Tudor

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought tremendous changes in society. Universities were among the few organisations with some previous knowledge of online education, being able to…

Abstract

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought tremendous changes in society. Universities were among the few organisations with some previous knowledge of online education, being able to rapidly adapt by transferring already known best practices to the new context. As teaching moved to online, students encountered less sustainable implementation by their universities. This allowed the development of previously planned sustainable strategies so that when face-to-face teaching resumed, universities could be even more sustainable. This paper aims to explore loyalty to the sustainable university during the later COVID-19 pandemic based on the university’s efforts to manage a green campus.

Design/methodology/approach

To investigate loyalty towards the sustainable university during the later COVID-19 pandemic, a conceptual model is proposed. This research is grounded in an empirical investigation using a quantitative online survey implemented with online interviews, the relations between all latent constructs being analysed with SmartPLS.

Findings

The results show that university sustainability reflects student loyalty, outlining the image developed under the influence of green campus management. The results show that universities must intensify their efforts to support the sustainable agenda and create a sustainable academic brand, inducing student loyalty. The findings may attract the attention of other universities wishing to gain knowledge about the factors that students consider important in generating their loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

As this research was carried out in the later COVID-19 pandemic context from 2021, the students already had experience of online teaching, so their assessment of the sustainability strategies implemented could be quite different from their perceptions in the first months of the pandemic. This research provides a comprehensive insight into the overall strategy that a sustainable university might apply in a crisis context.

Social implications

Research has shown that green campus management has a positive impact on the sustainability of a university’s image, on how students perceive the university at which they study and on the university’s efforts to ensure efficient campus management. These factors contribute to the development of a strong and sustainable image of the university within the community.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper lies in the research questions designed to conceptualise and operationalise the generation of students' loyalty towards their university by encouraging and implementing sustainable strategies on campus. This paper highlights a structural model that combines strategic practices to determine students' loyalty towards a sustainable university during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 24 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 11 December 2023

Bavly Hanna and Andrew Hanna

In light of Egypt’s expanding flow of online learning (OL), quality assurance (QA) has undoubtedly become a strategic priority. In the near future, QA strategy is anticipated to…

Abstract

In light of Egypt’s expanding flow of online learning (OL), quality assurance (QA) has undoubtedly become a strategic priority. In the near future, QA strategy is anticipated to be a major topic of discussion in educational policy talks. Critical policy concerns must be addressed, like sustaining globally acceptable QA standards and responding to the government’s and other stakeholders’ goals and objectives for OL. Our chapter aspires to offer a contribution to current literature in this regard. This chapter aims to investigate the aspects of QA in maintaining OL, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Particularly, we analyze internal QA of OL in the Egyptian higher education (HE) sector through quality assurance and accreditation project (QAAP) and program of continuous improvement and qualifying for accreditation (PCIQA). We discuss the external quality assurance and accreditation of Egyptian HE institutions with a special focus on the national authority for quality assurance and accreditation of education (NAQAAE). We investigate the policies, practices, and quality standards that are employed by HE institutions to ensure the quality of online courses and programs through document analysis.

Details

Quality Assurance in Higher Education in the Middle East: Practices and Perspectives
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-556-1

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 October 2023

Shahab Alam Malik, Taqdees Fatima, Yong Jia and Hina Pannu

One of the organization's main goals is to maintain their customers' loyalty, as this can give them a competitive advantage. Therefore, this study is intended to look into the…

Abstract

Purpose

One of the organization's main goals is to maintain their customers' loyalty, as this can give them a competitive advantage. Therefore, this study is intended to look into the impact of library service quality using LibQUAL + TM dimensions (library service effect, personal control and library as a place), library image and trust on users’ loyalty with the mediating effect of perceived service value and satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for hypotheses testing were gathered from Minhaj University Lahore (MUL), a private sector university's staff, administration and students, using a survey questionnaire. About 500 questionnaires were randomly distributed, and 407 were utilized as the final sample for analysis. Structural equation modelling (SEM), using SmartPLS 4 and SPSS 25, were used to analyze the empirical data.

Findings

First, research reveals that library image, users’ trust, library service effect and personal control significantly influence user satisfaction. Second, the library as a place and personal control are not a significant indicator of perceived service value. Third, perceived service value and satisfaction have a direct positive relationship with users' loyalty. Fourth, trust and library service effect is indirectly related to loyalty via perceived service value. Fifth, satisfaction does not mediate the relationship between library as a place and loyalty.

Practical implications

Customer satisfaction must be guaranteed by library administration if it hopes to win users’ loyalty. In light of the fact that a variety of factors can affect customer satisfaction, their perception and loyalty, library management should enhance not just the quality of library services along with other factors such as library image and users’ trust.

Originality/value

The study examined the independent impact of library image and users’ trust on satisfaction, perceived service value and users’ loyalty, which, within the framework of the library, has never been addressed in literature.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 41 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 April 2023

Giustina Secundo, Rosa Lombardi, Johannes Dumay and James Guthrie A.M.

This paper aims to critically review intellectual capital (IC) accounting research and practices in European public universities, specifically in Spain, Austria and Italy. These…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to critically review intellectual capital (IC) accounting research and practices in European public universities, specifically in Spain, Austria and Italy. These three countries represent the majority of IC accounting research related to universities.

Design/methodology/approach

This study critically reviews a selection of university-based IC accounting research, applying Alvesson and Deetz’s (2000) critical perspectives of insight, critique and transformative redefinition.

Findings

The analysis reveals that European public universities follow the Humboldtian model of higher education, integrating a third mission to society into their traditional roles as teaching and research institutions. This study explored how the emergence of a third mission for the university was conceptualised. This study also provided insights, critique and a transformative redefinition to advance IC as a strategic resource in European public universities.

Originality/value

The findings provide academics and policymakers with insights, critique and a transformative redefinition of IC as a strategic resource for European public universities to meet future challenges in an ever-changing world.

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