Strategic Management and Digital Transformation in Higher Education Institutions for Sustainable Growth and Competitive Advantage in Modern Academic Environment

Abstract

While digital transformation in higher education is frequently referred to as a technology-acquisition programme, the success of digital change relies on the strategic direction, institutional support, human capability and readiness to change. This paper examines the link between these enablers and academic and administrative digital transformation and implications for sustainable growth and competitive advantage. The authors have chosen a cross sectional survey study of students, academic staff and administrative staff of Algerian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). A simple random sampling method was used for a structured questionnaire and 320 valid responses were obtained. The following 5 composites on 6 variables were analysed: Strategic management support, Digital infrastructure, Digital skills, Change readiness, Academic digital transformation and Administrative digital transformation. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, ordinary least-squares regression with HC3 robust standard errors, and nonparametric bootstrap mediation (with 5,000 resamples) were all performed. The average (M) and standard deviation (SD) for each dimension were: Change readiness (M = 3.60, SD = 0.90); Strategic management support (M = 2.73, SD = 0.80); Digital infrastructure (M = 2.73, SD = 0.76). Overall digital transformation (standardised beta = .585, p < .001; R-squared = .342) was positively related with strategic management support. The infrastructure and skills were found to account for 37.7% of the variance, with skills being a weaker predictor (beta = .119, p = .006) and infrastructure being a stronger predictor (beta = .565, p < .001). There was an indirect relationship between management-support and readiness, with change going through this mediator (indirect effect = .052, 95% bootstrap CI [.026, .081]). The results indicate that institutional support or infrastructure is not even and therefore the degree of transformation is limited less by the willingness of stakeholders to transform, than by the level of institutional support or infrastructure. Portfolios that align to leadership commitment, include resilient infrastructure, identify capability development, and have routines of adoption, are most likely to create a pathway for sustainable growth and competitive positioning. In this paper, these strategic outcomes which are not measured directly are taken to be implications of good evidence.