The Impact of University Ecosystem Indicators on Good Governance in Higher Education
Keywords:
Higher education, good governance, university ecosystemAbstract
This study aimed to investigate the impact of university ecosystem indicators on good governance in the higher education system of Iran and to explain the role of internal and external ecosystem factors in strengthening university governance. This study was conducted using a quantitative approach and a descriptive-correlational design. The statistical population consisted of faculty members of Islamic Azad Universities in Tehran. Using stratified random sampling and Cochran’s formula, 340 participants were selected as the study sample. Data collection instruments included the standard OPM and CIPFA Good Governance Questionnaire and the standardized University Ecosystem Questionnaire developed by Salari et al. The university ecosystem dimensions were categorized into internal factors, including human resources, financial resources, organizational structure, and infrastructure, and external factors, including policy-making institutions, industry and market, society and culture, scientific networks, and technology. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26 through correlation and multiple regression analyses. The findings revealed a positive and statistically significant relationship at the 95% confidence level between all university ecosystem components and good governance. Among the internal factors, human resources demonstrated the strongest correlation with good governance (r = 0.70), followed by financial resources, infrastructure, and organizational structure. Regarding external factors, policy-making institutions showed the strongest relationship with good governance (r = 0.75), followed by technology, industry and market, scientific networks, and society and culture. Multiple regression analysis further indicated that policy-making institutions, human resources, financial resources, and technology had the highest explanatory power for predicting good governance and collectively explained between 16% and 35% of the variance in governance performance. The results indicate that improving university ecosystem components at both internal and external levels plays a crucial role in strengthening good governance structures in higher education. Enhancing human resources, developing technological infrastructure, strengthening scientific networks, and supporting policy-making institutions can improve transparency, accountability, stakeholder participation, and sustainable university development. Furthermore, establishing an efficient university ecosystem can enhance educational quality, research productivity, innovation capacity, and the international competitiveness of universities.
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