Business-oriented university governance and perceived institutional performance in Vietnamese private higher education: A PLS-SEM study

Abstract

Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractPrivate higher education in Vietnam is under pressure to combine academic quality, market responsiveness, financial sustainability, and social accountability. This study examines how business-oriented university governance is associated with perceived institutional performance in Vietnamese private higher education. A quantitative survey was conducted in 2025 with 400 valid responses from administrators, lecturers, and professional staff working at ten private universities. Because the empirical data were collected from individual respondents clustered within institutions, the unit of analysis is defined as respondent-level perceptions of governance and institutional performance rather than objective university-level performance. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to test a model linking governance quality, perceived institutional autonomy, stakeholder participation, perceived innovation capability, entrepreneurial culture, and the external environment. The results indicate that governance quality is positively associated with perceived institutional performance, while perceived institutional autonomy is positively related to perceived innovation capability and entrepreneurial culture. Stakeholder participation is associated with governance quality and innovation capability. Entrepreneurial culture transmits the association between innovation capability and perceived institutional performance, and a supportive external environment strengthens the autonomy-innovation relationship. The study contributes a cautious, perception-based governance framework for understanding private higher education reform in Vietnam. It also shows that private universities should not be managed as commercial firms, but as hybrid academic enterprises in which autonomy, accountability, innovation, and stakeholder engagement are aligned.AcknowledgmentThe authors gratefully acknowledge all respondents who participated in the survey and the private higher education institutions that supported the data collection process.