The relationship between quality management practices, organizational innovation, and technical innovation in higher education

• Published in: Quality assurance in education Vol. 28; no. 3; pp. 137 - 150
• Main Authors: Sciarelli, Mauro, Gheith, Mohamed Hani, Tani, Mario
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Publishing Limited 16-07-2020; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Administrative Policy; College Administration; College Faculty; Data Analysis; Educational Change; Educational Innovation; Educational innovations; Educational Quality; Foreign Countries; Higher education; Innovation; Literature Reviews; Management Systems; Manufacturing; Organizational Culture; Program Design; Public Colleges; Quality management; Quality of education; Research Methodology; Stakeholders; Strategic Planning; Structural equation modeling; Italy; Organizational innovation; Technical innovation; Higher education; Structural equation modeling; Quality management practices
• ISSN: 0968-4883; 1758-7662
• DOI: 10.1108/QAE-10-2019-0102

Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the effects of quality management practices (QMPs) on innovation in higher education (HE), and how organizational innovation (OI) may influence technical innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypotheses were tested with partial least squares structural equation modeling on a sample of 449 valid responses by faculty members in Naples (Italy) public universities.
Findings
The findings support the interdependent relationships between QMPs and their positive impact on innovation. It was found that some QMPs impact on innovation through people and process management, and that OI predicts the technical one.
Practical implications
Directors should recognize the differences between QMPs to implement effective quality management (QM) strategy. Furthermore, they should combine technical and OIs.
Originality/value
Despite the existence of several studies on QM and innovation in manufacturing and services, there are only a few in HE. Based on a multi-dimensional QM approach, this paper investigates the different effects each QMP has on both the other QMPs and innovation in HE.