Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how resource recombination (RR) may be conceptualized with special reference to the competitiveness of Higher Education Institutions (HEI). Design/methodology/approach The paper consists of two main studies. Building on pertinent available literature on the subject area, a qualitative investigation was conducted with the help of a semi-structured interview guide. Findings of study one were systematically analysed against a literature derived template. Study two presents a quantitative survey investigation that follows from the codes and themes derived from study one. In study two, findings were validated and analysed with the help of structural equation modelling. Findings Study one findings identified a total of 64 individual themes representing resources (21 themes), business processes (29 themes) and complementary factors (14 themes), as elements of RR in HEI competitiveness. In study two, the measurement model for RR was found to contain five main factors, namely, asset, research and affiliation processes, automated technology management, financial support for HR and departmental initiatives mainstream staff rewards and retention and institutional brand image appeal. Practical implications A significant contribution is made to theory development in the area of RR. Other implications to HEI competitiveness in contribution to national development were offered. Originality/value The area of RR remains largely uncovered in strategic management. Conceptualizing RR in the context of HEI competitiveness is new and in the right direction to jumpstart interest in this area by proposing a validated measurement model of HEI.

Purpose To cope with the existing pandemic situation and to be organizationally responsive, firms need to be strategically flexible, where they need to develop dynamic capabilities (DCs) by continuously reconfiguring their resource base. To address such challenges, firms heavily rely on information and communication technologies (ICT) because of advancement in disruptive technologies. This study aims to explore techniques used by higher education institutional (HEI) leaders to successfully address challenges posed by global disruption, i.e. COVID-19 with the help of advanced ICT software such as Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach was adopted to explore strategic factors such as strategic flexibility (SF) and DC that disclose shortcomings in the current extant literature. A total of 15 interviews were conducted with heads of departments of HEIs in the United Arab Emirates. Data were analyzed using NVivo software. Findings The findings suggested three dimensions of SF (resources, operational and collaborative) and four dimensions of DC (strategic planning, innovative, adaptability and technological) for firms to adopt to be strategically flexible, where DC serves as building blocks of SF. Originality/value This research provides a framework as an avenue for future researchers and practitioners on how to strategically manage their resources and be strategically flexible in turbulent environment such as pandemics. Theory-based investigations on strategic capabilities and DC from resource-based perspective are still under-researched, emphasizing the need for theoretically based research on strategic responsiveness, especially during the times of environmental complexities such as COVID-19 pandemics. This research enriches strategic management research by exploring the important antecedents of organizational responsiveness, including SF and DC together with the support of human factor, i.e. leadership qualities of HEIs managers. This study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, is among the first to systematically explore main dimensions of DC and SF based on the resource-based theory of strategic management in the Middle Eastern context.

PurposeThis study investigated the impact of servant leadership on project success in nongovernment organizations (NGOs) working in a developing country like Pakistan. A moderated mediation design was employed, and the mediating role of employees' emotional intelligence (EI) and job stress (JS) was tested between servant leadership on project success. Moreover, the study also examined the moderating role of team effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 441 project team members working on different developed projects. Data were analyzed using partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique.FindingsResults revealed that servant leadership exerts a significant positive impact on project success. Also, it is noted that servant leadership significantly increases the employee's emotional intelligence that contributes to project success although it does not reduce JS. However, JS was found to be a significant mediator in the association between servant leadership on project success. The findings also revealed that team effect plays an imperative moderating role in ensuring project success.Originality/valueThe study is one of the very few studies conducted to assess the impact of servant leadership on project success in not-for-profit organizations. The study contributes to the literature and methodology by adopting a holistic approach to investigate the mediation of EI and JS along with the moderation of team effectiveness in the nexus of servant leadership and project success.

Purpose This study aims to examine the publishing and citation trends on library service quality (LSQ) in the past five decades (1972–2020). Additionally, this bibliometric study investigates the top authors, countries, organizations, journals, nature of collaboration, highly cited articles and LSQ sub-areas. Design/methodology/approach Bibliometric analysis has been used to extract data from the Scopus and Web of Science (WOS) databases. A comprehensive search strategy was devised to extract relevant data from both data sources. Finally, 341 Scopus and 212 WOS records were selected. Data analysis has been performed using VOS viewer software, Biblioshiny, Cite Space and Excel. Findings It was found that a total of 443 items were published in Scopus (n = 341) and WOS (n = 212) during this period. The largest number of studies were published in the year 2019 (n = 29), and the USA was found to be the most productive country, with the most productive organizations, authors and author collaborations. The Texas A&M University in Texas, USA, had the top three most productive authors (Cook C, Thompson B and Heath F) and was the most productive organization. The Performance Measurement and Metrics Journal is on the top of the list. The single author was the prevailing authorship pattern, followed by the two-authors pattern. The most collaborating countries were identified as the UK, Japan, Spain and Bangladesh. The keyword analysis informed that the published literature on LSQ mainly concentrated on academic libraries, Therefore, there is a need further to examine other types of libraries including public, national, special libraries. Originality/value To the best of the knowledge, this seems to be the first comprehensive bibliometric study that combined productivity and citations, citation impact to present a holistic picture of the LSQ literature.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the overarching role of learning capabilities by presenting a framework to describe how learning capability development is captured by combining the three main elements of internal marketing orientation, exploratory capabilities and resource recombination. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper building upon the theoretical integration approach of Mayer and Sparrowe (2013) to establish competitive empowerment through learning capability development, effective internal response and resources recombination. Findings The competitive learning capability model provides a firm’s foundation for theorizing organizational competitive models from an internal perspective, by mastering learning capability development at the centre of the model. Research limitations/implications The paper emphasizes the competitive connotation of learning capabilities as a construct in strategic management. It shows the underlying role of learning across organizational processes; hence, its theoretical significance through the learning capabilities model. Practical implications This paper argues that learning is at the centre of organizational competitiveness. Firms can achieve more fruitful results by continuously implementing resource integration strategies built on their learned experiences. Originality/value The principal significance of this paper lies in the achievement of conceptualizing learning from a strategic management perspective. Insight in this area helps bridge organizational efforts in pursuit of competitive advantage by exploiting key core learning competencies embedded in a firm’s resources and capabilities.