Driving Sustainable Asset Performance in Higher Education: The Roles of Governance, Digitalization, and Partnership Capabilities in Indonesia

Effective asset management is critical for university sustainability, yet the mechanisms linking governance and digitalization to asset performance remain unclear, particularly in developing-country higher education. This study investigates how governance and digitalization influence sustainable asset performance in Indonesian public universities, focusing on the mediating role of partnership capabilities and the moderating roles of organizational readiness and environmental dynamism. Survey data were collected from 113 staff involved in asset management, governance, and partnerships across three Indonesian universities. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test the hypothesized relationships. The results show that partnership capabilities fully mediate the effects of both governance and digitalization on sustainable asset performance. Neither governance nor digitalization exhibits significant direct effects. Organizational readiness moderates the governance-partnership capabilities relationship, while environmental dynamism does not significantly moderate the digitalization-partnership capabilities link. These findings extend dynamic capabilities theory to public university asset management and suggest that universities should prioritize building partnership capabilities, align digitalization investments with collaborative needs, and assess organizational readiness before implementing governance reforms.