This study aims to design and validate a balance-oriented ambidexterity model for Iranian public comprehensive universities, addressing the gap between exploitation of existing capacities and exploration of future opportunities in higher education.
A sequential exploratory mixed-methods design was employed. The qualitative phase involved 14 semi-structured interviews with experts in Iranian higher education, selected through purposive snowball sampling. The quantitative phase surveyed 256 presidents, vice presidents and faculty members from top Iranian comprehensive universities, selected via stratified random sampling. Thematic analysis and structural equation modeling were used for data analysis.
Six exploitation components (policies, structures, industry interaction, education/research development, budgeting and academic culture) and six exploration components (needs assessment, future-oriented technologies, financial resources, innovation policy, strategic management and foresight) were identified, along with balancing strategies under two themes: policy/evaluation and resources/structure. Quantitative analyses confirmed the validity of components, with fit indices (CFI = 0.91, RMSEA = 0.074, GOF = 0.68).
The study relies on self-reported importance ratings and is limited to top Iranian public comprehensive universities, which may affect generalizability. Future research should adopt longitudinal, outcome-based measures and extend the model to industrial and technical universities.
The model offers university leaders’ actionable strategies, including dual-weight policy frameworks, dual resource allocation, soft structure reform and comprehensive evaluation systems, with clear curriculum and societal implications.
This study offers the first validated, balance-oriented ambidextrous university model for Iranian higher education. It extends March's balance theory to universities and provides an integrated meta-framework beyond entrepreneurial and third-mission approaches.
