A tale of two stakeholders: achieving excellence by merging quality expectations in Higher Education institutions

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) interact with a multiplicity of stakeholders, whose value expectations significantly affect their functioning. Students and academics represent the primary stakeholders of HEIs, directly contributing in their organizational success. Although they inherently perform as service co-producers, students and academics may hold diverging perspectives and expectations. Such a discrepancy may hamper the HEIs' ability to produce value. The article focuses on the experiences of students and academics affiliated to a medium-sized university established in Northern Italy. A case study approach was undertaken to illuminate their value expectations and perceptions. Students and academics were found to agree on several value drivers, such as inter-organizational relationships of HEIs, internationalization, and experiential learning. However, they remarked potentially diverging value expectations that put the HEIs' ability to provide high-quality services under stress. Tailored policy and management interventions are required to address the interplay between students and academics' value expectations.