Student relationship management factors for higher education sustainability using novel multi-method approach

Abstract

The importance of sustainable development in the university systems has specifically been clarified during the United Nations Decade (2005 to 2014), under the banner of Education for Sustainable Development. Universities are at the forefront of accomplishing the transitions to truly sustainable societal development, but in need of new holistic approaches to succeed. In pursuit of this aim, the research for this study was built upon the discussion concerning the student relationship management strategy, which aligned with the strategic practices of the customer relationship management system. Despite its significance and capability, there has been little theoretical and empirical research on this matter. In an attempt to address the lack of research on the clarification and operationalization of this strategy, a novel multi-method approach was implemented in three sections. The first section led to identifying an initial six-factor structure based on factor analysis of a study with 382 respondents from the students of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Next, interpretive structural modeling was performed using a survey of experts’ judgment to develop the initial structure. Finally, structural equation modeling was applied to test the developed model. Upon validation of the proposed model, the results revealed a six-factor interpretive structural equation model with five levels. The analyses indicated that there were strong relationships between the identified factors throughout the model. ‘Knowledge management’ was found as an infrastructure with a high driving power. The critical factors of ‘student relationship management technology’, ‘knowledge diffusion’, and ‘knowledge acquisition and application’, which constitute the fundamental triangle for implementation of the application were strongly correlated. The research findings highlighted the importance of this strategy in making the effective transition; there can be a better university on the right track to becoming sustainable through the proper implementation of this holistic approach.