Journal of Research Administration

Prof. Jose M. Frantz, (PhD); Pearl Erasmus; Carin Hector; Dr Lumka Magidigidi-Mathiso, (PhD); Kago Moganane; Jamie Saulse PDF

At higher education institutions, research administration has become a strategic function. It has been found to contribute to research productivity and impact, institutional sustainability, compliance, postgraduate development and funding competitiveness. In the context of African universities, historical inequities, resource constraints and capacity gaps remain a challenge. Aligned to the increased demand for research excellence, strengthening the leadership capacity of research administrators becomes critical. Existing research administration scholarship tends to highlight the importance of institutional policies, research management infrastructure and capacity building initiatives. However, there has been less focus on interpersonal and behavioural dimensions of leadership within research administration teams. This article presents a personality-informed institutional case study conducted within the research administration environment of a South African higher education institution.The study used the Insights Discovery model, grounded in Jungian personality theory, to profile forty research administration staff members across four personality colour energies, namely Green, Blue, Red and Yellow. A mixed-methods case study design was adopted, combining the descriptive personality profile with qualitative analysis of participants’ reflections on the colour profile. The findings revealed Green and Blue traits as being dominant, which indicated a team culture strongly oriented toward collaboration, relational support, empathy, quality assurance, process rigour, and analytical decision-making. Six cross-cutting themes emerged: self-awareness in leadership roles, communication preferences, team contribution and value, leadership development needs, decision-making approaches, and adaptability and flexibility. The findings suggest that personality-informed leadership development may offer a useful approach to strengthening research administration capacity. The study contributes to research administration scholarship by extending existing work on research productivity, research units, and institutional research cultures toward the internal leadership capabilities of research administration teams. The findings have implications for staff development, succession planning, team composition, communication strategy, and the professionalisation of research administration in African higher education institutions.

Dr. Ahmed Khalaf Hussain PDF

The bank letter of guarantee is one of the most important pillars of banking work at the present time, as it is a legal innovation for a modern means within the framework of protecting trust and credit in the field of commercial work at the local and international levels. This study has dealt with the details of the nature of that letter, by stating what is meant by it and the goals for which it was legislated to achieve, as well as distinguishing between its different types and determining the legal nature that characterizes it, in addition to detailing the legal problems that the creation of such a guarantee was a reason for falling into, especially in terms of its independence as a legal system from the legal system of the basic contracts for which the letter itself exists in order to enhance guarantees for its implementation, which leads to the emergence of a network of legal relations that involve mutual obligations that may appear to the observer to be overlapping obligations in reality despite the independence of their sources. Therefore, the study has dealt with the details of those relations and the obligations resulting from each of them, in addition to addressing the cases of expiry of the bank letter of guarantee.  

Marwan Taher Abdo Saif Al-mekhlafi & Abdulaziz Mohammed Ahmed Al-mekhlafi PDF

 The study aimed to know the impact of organizational factors in its dimensions (administrative leadership, organizational culture, human resources) in achieving sustainable institutional excellence in Yemeni private universities. The descriptive analytical approach was adopted, and the questionnaire was a study tool. The study community consisted of (10) Yemeni private universities that were established more than (10) years ago and whose main center is the capital, Sana’a, and they represent more than 50% of the community, which is (18) universities. They were selected using a simple random sample method. The study targeted (321) individuals working in these universities, and they were selected using a regular random method from the study community, which numbered (660) individuals. Key findings: The effectiveness of organizational factors and the level of achieving sustainable institutional excellence in Yemeni private universities are high. The results also revealed a statistically significant positive impact of organizational factors and their dimensions on achieving sustainable institutional excellence in Yemeni private universities, with the most influential being the Leadership dimension. The results also revealed that there were no statistically significant differences between the average responses of the study sample regarding (organizational factors, sustainable institutional excellence) in Yemeni private universities attributable to the variable of university age. Recommendations: Enhancing the sustainability of the effectiveness of organizational factors (administrative leadership, organizational culture, human resources), and paying attention to achieving sustainable institutional excellence in Yemeni private universities, given its importance in providing added value, ensuring their continued survival, and increasing their clientele.

Hilal Mohammed Mohammed Al-Bahri, Dr. Mohammed Abdullah AL-Ashwal PDF

Introduction: In light of the increasing competition in the healthcare sector, particularly within the private hospital environment in the Republic of Yemen, this study was conducted to examine the role of strategic orientation in achieving competitive advantage through the mediation of organizational capabilities. Methods: A cross-sectional, quantitative study design was adopted using a descriptive analytical approach. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire distributed to a convenience sample of 354 individuals across various administrative levels in private hospitals (including hospital directors, deputy directors, heads of technical and administrative departments). Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS, involving descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Results: The findings demonstrated that both strategic orientation and organizational capabilities significantly contribute to enhancing competitive advantage in private hospitals. A strong positive correlation was observed between the study variables, with organizational capabilities mediating the relationship between strategic orientation and competitive advantage. Conclusion: Strategic orientation indirectly influences competitive advantage through its impact on organizational capabilities. Strengthening these capabilities, especially in material and human resources, and enhancing responsiveness to patient needs are essential for sustaining a competitive edge.  

Oboro, Emmanuel David; Oluwalana, Feyisayo Abosede; Usman, Baba Isah; Esinone, Stanley Oghenechovwere; Ogere, Osu Mathias PDF

Research capacity is increasingly recognized as a critical driver of sustainable development through its role in innovation, technological advancement, and evidence-based policymaking. However, empirical evidence on its contribution to human development in Africa remains limited. This study examines the effect of research capacity building on human development in 30 African countries from 2000 to 2025 using a balanced panel of 780 observations. A multidimensional Research Capacity Building Index (RCBI) is constructed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based on research and development expenditure, researchers in R&D, scientific publications, patent applications, doctoral education, tertiary enrolment, and internet infrastructure. The analysis employs the Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag Pooled Mean Group (ARDL-PMG) estimator, with robustness assessed using Fixed Effects, Driscoll–Kraay, Dynamic Fixed Effects, FMOLS, DOLS, and Two-Step System GMM. The findings show that research capacity significantly enhances human development in both the short and long run. Financial inclusion and governance quality exert positive effects, whereas inflation negatively affects development, while foreign direct investment has a modest positive influence. Robustness tests confirm that the results are resilient to alternative estimators and endogeneity. The study extends Endogenous Growth Theory by demonstrating that strengthened national research systems promote human development through knowledge creation, innovation, and institutional effectiveness, highlighting the need for sustained investment in research ecosystems across Africa.