Strategy-making at higher education institutions: faculty member’s academic engagement with industry and strategy participation

Most existing studies on academic engagement with industry and strategy-making in higher education institutions (HEIs) have been conducted separately, lacking a holistic view. Studies now recognize that academic engagement with industry positively contributes to the strategy-making process. Nevertheless, no studies have shown how faculty member’s academic engagement with industry affects their strategy participation affects the level of their strategy participation in the university strategy-making process. Hence, through a cross-sectional survey questionnaire administered to 146 faculty members, this study aims to explore the effect of a faculty member’s intensity of academic engagement with industry on their level of strategy participation at a large public university. It also examines the factors that motivate academic engagement with industry and influence the relationship between academic engagement and strategy participation. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), we find that the faculty member’s intensive academic engagement with industry positively affects their level of strategy participation. Further, our findings reveal that motivation to engage in industry learning significantly affects academic engagement with industry. This study suggests that university leaders, managers and policymakers should recognize the impact of academic engagement on strategy-making and encourage such engagement to promote inclusive and informed governance.