Employee Skills, Leadership, and Organisational Transformation: A Mixed-Methods Case Study of a South African Higher Education Institution

Abstract

This case study examines how employee skills and leadership styles interact with organisational culture during institutional transformation at a South African Higher Education Institution, contributing empirical evidence to the resource-based view of strategic human resource management in the higher education context. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was employed, collecting quantitative survey data from 272 employees across academic and professional services, followed by in-depth semi-structured interviews with four purposively selected participants. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic coding of open-ended responses, while qualitative data underwent systematic thematic analysis using NVivo 12. Quantitative analysis revealed that 78% of respondents (n = 212) perceived an alignment between employee skills and institutional culture, although significant variations emerged across job categories. Qualitative findings identified three key mechanisms supporting transformation: institutional culture alignment with managerial systems, capacity-building infrastructure enabling skill deployment, and leadership styles facilitating knowledge transfer. However, findings also revealed critical gaps in HR efficiency, particularly concerning perceived partiality in employee treatment, which may undermine transformation efforts. This study advances RBV theory in HEI contexts by demonstrating how contextual factors such as institutional culture, leadership approaches, and perceived fairness moderate the relationship between human resource capabilities and transformation outcomes.