UNLEARNING AS A MECHANISM TO TRANSFORM HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: A CASE OF CENTRALLY FUNDED TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS IN INDIA

Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to ascertain the impact of transformational leadership on organizational unlearning through knowledge sharing, transparent internal communication, and intrapreneurship to facilitate the transformation of the Indian higher education system. Taking cues from path-dependence and imprinting theory, we argue that organizations persist with proven success formulas and find it challenging to adopt new practices, irrespective of changes in the environment due to certain inhibitions and fear of changing the status quo. This thesis argues that unlearning can help higher educational institutions (HEIs) to discard obsolete practices (like the emphasis on rote learning, the gap between existing curriculum and industry standards, instructor centered pedagogy, etc.) and renew organizational knowledge base with new practices (e.g., learner-centered pedagogy, imparting soft skills training, emphasize critical and reflexive thinking among students to make them ready for Industry 4.0). The proposed linkage between unlearning and HEIs will help to realize the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which aspires to ensure quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for every individual (Goal 4). To identify the research gaps and focal constructs which help to catalyze unlearning, a systematic review of extant literature and bibliometric analysis was carried out. Using co occurrence of keyword analysis, eight themes were identified, which were used as a reference point to articulate constructs of interest—transformational leadership, knowledge sharing, exploratory learning, transparent internal communication, and intrapreneurship. To analyze the hypothesized relationship between these constructs, data was collected from 452 faculties working in Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs) in India. Subsequently, data analysis was conducted on IBM SPSS 23, AMOS 20, and Process macro v4.1. Initial tests of univariate normality, outliers, and reliability and validity of individual measurement models were conducted on AMOS. Subsequently, the structural ii relationship among constructs was performed through Process macro, which employs the ordinary least square estimation technique, does not assume multivariate normality, and provides bootstrap estimates to test hypothesized relationships. The results show a significant effect of transformational leadership on organizational unlearning (Hypothesis 1). This effect is partially mediated by transparent internal communication (Hypothesis 3) and intrapreneurship (Hypothesis 4). However, the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational unlearning was not mediated through knowledge sharing (Hypothesis 2). Lastly, the interaction effect of exploratory learning with transformational leadership on organizational unlearning was not statistically significant (Hypothesis 5). This thesis contributes to the unlearning literature by articulating the role of transformational leadership to stimulate questioning and displacement of obsolete practices that impede the ability of HEIs to compete with world-class institutions. Moreover, path dependence theorists advocate the role of an intervening mechanism to break away from rigid and inefficient routines. Hence, this thesis argues that it is not always the external crisis that facilitates unlearning, but developing transformational leaders can also help in path-breaking changes. To stimulate unlearning, HEIs need to incentivize knowledge sharing efforts to create new knowledge, maintain the highest standards of transparent communication, and foster intrapreneurial behavior and creativity among stakeholders. This thesis has limitations like (a.) scope is restricted to CFTIs in India, (b.) data collection procedures did not involve opinions of other stakeholders like students and non-teaching staff, and (c.) cross-sectional research design cannot establish causality claims. Future studies can (a.) the role of the primary education sector in the ambit of transforming higher education, (b.) examine the role of unlearning in private institutions and central and state universities, and (c.) study other leadership models relevant in education context to facilitate unlearning. Keywords: organizational unlearning, higher education, co-occurrence of keyword analysis, transformational leadership, knowledge sharing, intrapreneurship, transparent internal communication, exploratory learning, path-dependence theory, imprinting theory.