Higher education-Industry supply chain management: Using ICT and hybrid strategy to bridge the gap between HR supply and demand in an emerging market

Abstract

Purpose – The focus of this paper is on higher education-industry supply chain management. The objective of this research was to study the effect of information and communication technology (ICT), directly and indirectly, on hybrid supply chain performance (HSCP) ‒in terms of leanness, agility and leagility‒ of the higher education institutions (HEIs) in an emerging market. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual framework was proposed based on a conducted thematic literature review and then it was tested using questionnaires, which were filled via face-to-face in-depth interviews. A mixed methods triangulation approach was applied to obtain deeper understanding of the current research relationships. The researcher in this paper developed and used a multi-item measurement scale to measure, and suggest for improvement, the hybridized performance ‒in terms of leanness, agility and leagility– of the higher educational supply chains (HESC) in Egypt (as an example of emerging service sector). A total of 63 HEIs ‒universities and academies‒ were contacted, of which 41 accepted to participate (i.e., 65.08% response rate) via using probability random sampling technique. The research proposed relationships were examined by using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Different software packages (SmartPLS, LISREL, and SPSS software) were used in the research quantitative analysis. Besides the 41 questionnaires (quantitative approach), 71 direct interviews (qualitative approach) were conducted with subject-matter- experts (SMEs) working in 43 organizations from the higher education sector at different governorates in Egypt. Findings – Results revealed that information and communication technology (ICT) employment has a positive and significant effect on supply chain integration (SCI). In addition, SCI has a positive and significant effect on supply chain information sharing (SCIS). Further, ICT employment has a positive and significant effect on education hybrid supply chain performance (HSCP). Regarding the moderation effect of technology intelligence (TI) on the ICT-SCI relationship, after adding the university-industry partnership (UIP) dimension to SCI, results indicated that TI positively and significantly affects SCI. Moreover, the interaction between ICT and TI is also significant, suggesting that the effect of ICT on SCI depends on the level of TI. Originality/value – Despite the abundance of studies which have focused on applying SCM practices to different manufacturing industries, few researches were concerned about its application to the service sector; particularly the education market in spite of the fact that its SC affects many other different sectors. Furthermore, as far as the literature has been investigated, there is a lack of studies that empirically assessed the ICT/TI-SCM-HSCP relationship ‒in terms of leanness, agility and leagility‒ in the context of higher education; especially in Egypt. Thus, this paper conceptually and empirically adds to the few detected attempts in the contemporary management research, which considers education management (EMgt), supply chain management (SCM) and technology management (TM) as interdependent fields. Managerial implications – A new higher education-industry SCM model was suggested by the findings of this research, which have different implications for HEIs that help them in bridging the gap between HR/research supply and demand (academia-industry partnership in Egypt). Based on the quantitative and qualitative research data analysis, the researcher recommends applying the hybrid lean-agile SCM approach to the Egyptian higher education sector (concept/philosophy of educational hybrid supply chain) for improving the performance of HEIs integrated with other industries. Also, this paper pinpoints the importance of investing in ICT that improves educational inter-/intra-SCIS between different stakeholders; thus, bridging the education-labor markets gap. In this way, it gives the higher- educational strategic managers and policy makers better insights on how to create and manage a positive change via interdisciplinary SCM perspective.