Middle Management, Higher Education and Open Innovation: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Literature

The growing relationships between Higher Education and Open Innovation highlight the importance of middle management, the challenges and opportunities in university education, as well as the role of open innovation in the advancement of these educational institutions. This research aims to determine the relationships between middle management, universities and open innovation through a systematic literature review of qualitative studies. A quali-quantitative research approach and the PRISMA 2020 guidelines in the four phases of Systematic Literature Reviews (identification, screening, eligibility and inclusion) are used to select relevant studies. The results, from an initial set of 177 studies, identified 48 eligible studies, of which only 8 showed a direct relationship between the three categories. Due to the scarcity of binding literature, we conclude the importance of understanding the interactions and implications of middle management in promoting open innovation in higher education. It also highlights the need for further research to explore the role of middle managers in higher education and to understand how open innovation can influence these academic institutions.