Scholarship Programs and University Performance: A Systematic Literature Review of the Mediating Role of Employee Development

الملخص

The establishment of higher education institutions as an increasing strategic investment to improve the competitiveness of institutions, human resources, and long-term performance of the organization has been carried out by means of scholarship programs. Higher education institutions as an investment that is carried out to make an institution more competitive, improve human resources, and improve the long-term performance of an organization have been increasingly implemented through scholarship programs. Although there has been a growing literature on Scholarships and Educational outcomes, research is not yet synthesised and limited attention is given to the organizational mechanisms that engage in the impact scholarship initiatives could have on the performance of the university. In particular, little has been researched on the mediators in the context of reforms in higher education that are linked to the Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, and employee development is one of these mediators that has received inadequate scholarly attention. The aim of the present study is to make a systematic literature review and synthesize the available evidence on the relationship between scholarship programs and employee development and university performance. Relevant studies published in peer-reviewed journals were identified, screened and analyzed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to explore the current patterns, theoretical frameworks, methodologies, and research trends in the literature. From the review, it can be said that scholarship programs can not only improve academic qualifications and professional skills, but also work towards the enhancement of institutional abilities through continuous development of employees. But there is evidence in the literature that there are no integrated conceptual models that explain the relationship between scholarship investments and organizational performance, filtered through employee development. Moreover, empirical evidence from the developing world as well as from the Gulf region is limited, with a corresponding gap in research. This review suggests that employee development serves as an important mediating variable between the scholarship programs and the university performance, and that the following conceptual framework should be developed and tested in practice. The study adds to the higher education management literature by synthesizing the scattered evidence, highlighting critical gaps, and offering directions for future empirical studies in order to meet the goals of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030.