Do quality assurance mechanisms work through quality culture or directly? Evidence on higher education performance from Indonesia

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between internal quality assurance (IQA), external quality assurance (EQA) and quality culture (QC) in enhancing higher education performance (HEP) at Indonesian universities. Specifically, the study explores how these factors influence teaching, research and community service outcomes through a higher-order formative model. Design/methodology/approach The study hypothesizes that IQA and EQA positively influence HEP, with QC acting as a potential mediator in these relationships. Specifically, the hypotheses tested include (1) EQA → HEP, (2) IQA → HEP, (3) QC → HEP, (4) EQA → QC and (5) IQA → QC. A partial least square-structural equation modeling model was employed to analyze the collected data. We model HEP as a formative higher-order construct formed by three reflective lower-order constructs: teaching, research and community service performance. Findings The study finds that both IQA and EQA have significant direct effects on HEP. Although IQA and EQA significantly strengthen QC, QC has no significant effect on HEP and does not mediate the relationships between QA mechanisms and performance. Instead, QC acts primarily as an antecedent or enabling condition shaped by QA routines, while performance gains are realized mainly through direct procedural pathways. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by (1) jointly modeling IQA, EQA, QC and HEP in a single framework, comparing direct and indirect paths to performance and testing if QC mediates or complements QA mechanisms; (2) extending accreditation-QC-performance studies by modeling HEP as a reflective-formative higher-order construct, offering a sharper comparison of procedural and cultural pathways and (3) providing practical guidance on prioritizing QA investments, addressing prior research limitations.