The effect of critical success factors of quality management to excellence in Iraqi Universities

The purpose of this paper to measuring the effect of critical success factors to excellence in Iraqi universities. The empirical data was drawn from the head of departments in six Iraqi universities, the number of respondents was 174. The research model was tested by using the partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. The findings of the empirical study revealed that critical success factors have a positive effect on excellence. Theoretically, the practices of critical success factors have contributed to understanding the different roles in excellence in Iraqi universities. From another side, this study shows practical implications, where increasing the attention of the factors to help the head of department in Iraqi universities to improve the performance. Corresponding author: Ahmed Hani Mohammed Email addresses for the corresponding author: ahmed_hani@uomosul.edu.iq First submission received: 22nd April 2018 Revised submission received: 19th July 2018 Accepted: 21st August 2018 Introduction The higher education sector is recognized globally as being a crucial service sector in meeting students’ needs and requirements. This is supported by the introduction of appropriate factors being employed to excellence in higher education (HE). Several studies have shown that enhancing the education will lead to increased satisfaction among students in supporting their entry towards realizing increased opportunities for employment and obtaining a higher life standard (Hussain & Birol, 2011; Policy & Education, 2000). As a part of the continued academic study of improvement programs, researchers have recently explored critical success factors (CSFs) (Antony, Leung, Knowles, & Gosh, 2002; Chan, Lau, Ip, Chan, & Kong, 2005; Farris, Van Aken, Doolen, & Worley, 2009; Glover, Farris, Van Aken, & Doolen, 2011; Shieh, Wu, & Huang, 2010; Stock, McFadden, & Gowen, 2007). Much effort is needed in developing a model for excellence since many CSFs should be considered for it (Ahmad, Francis, & Zairi, 2007), whether for public universities or for private universities. CSFs considered as an aid to universities to make their action plan and successful system (Yeoh & Koronios, 2010). According to the framework developed by the Iraqi Higher Education regarding quality programs, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Iraqi (MOHESR) aimed to extend the quality among the universities in Iraq. Both entities also aimed to revise the plans laid out for excellence (UNESCO, 2013). Therefore, an investigation of CSFs for excellence implementation in Iraqi universities was worthwhile to carry out. Background The need for excellence, especially in light of the intense competition among the developed countries, requires developed and integrated systems in the quality measure. To meet the obligations terms of quality, speed, and efficiency, and by giving a specific definition expresses excellence through quality, but it is important to identify a group of CSFs to suit with university's needs of achieving a success and excellence. It stated CSFs as a concept was introduced by Daniel (1961). The purpose of examining critical success factors for improving the overall quality services, and it can be identified to Journal of Business and Retail Management Research (JBRMR), Vol. 13 Issue 4 July 2019 www.jbrmr.com A Journal of the Academy of Business and Retail Management (ABRM) 186 improvement by observing the causal relationships of these critical success factors (Shieh et al., 2010). In this period a system was issued that helps universities to achieve excellence through improving critical success factors. Based on the literature review this paper has identified a total of six critical factors for quality as referrer as CSFs (Top management commitment, Human resource development, Customer focus, Management of process quality, Information & Analysis, and Strategic planning), as shown in Table 1, and Table 2. To further understanding of the relationship between the CSFs and higher education excellence as shown in the model figure 1. For that, the hypothesis is: H1: There is direct effects of critical success factors on higher education excellence. Table 1: Critical Success factors in higher education Authors Critical Success Factors* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 (Badri et al., 2006) x x x x x x (Bozbura, Bayraktar, & Tatoglu, 2011) x x x x x (Islam, 2007) x x x x x x (Sondari, 2013) x x x x x x (Seth et al., 2016) x x x x x x (Koo, Chung, & Ryoo, 2014; Mishra, Pundir, & Ganapathy, 2016) x x x x (Awheda, Ab Rahman, Ramli, & Arshad, 2016; Chuang & Yang, 2014) x x x x x x (Honnutagi, Sonar, & Babu, 2011) x x x x x x (Talib & Rahman, 2010) x x x x x x x * Note: 1. Top management commitment 2. Management of process quality 3. Customer focus 4. Information & Analysis 5. Strategic planning 6. Human resource development 7. Vision 8. Program design 9. Organizational culture 10. Green product 11. Organizational practices 12. Technology management 13. Employee involvement & encouragement 14. Benchmarking Table 2: Prioritization of CSFs No. Critical Success Factors Frequency of Occurrence Prioritized Rank 1 Top management commitment 11 1 2 Human resource development 10 2 3 Customer focus 9 3 4 Management of process quality 7 4 5 Information & Analysis 6 5 6 Strategic planning 3 6