The Impacts of the Black Swan COVID-19 in the Perspectives of Higher Education: Survey Research and Applicable Leadership Strategies for the Private Education Ecosystem

Abstract

As imposed lockdowns take place in the whole world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, business ecosystems are being hit severely. The private higher education business ecosystem is no exception to this rule. The inability to respond to these subtle changes brought by the crisis in an agile, resilient way, is leaving a bitter taste in the mouth of leaders all over the world. Previous health-related black swans from the 21st century like SARS, H5N1 and H1N1 taught diverse lessons derived from their unpredictable aspect, both economically and politically. In order to navigate amidst the complexity and uncertainty brought by crises, leaders must acknowledge an enhanced perception on sustainability as an essential capability. In natural ecosystems, living organisms interact with each other to thrive and survive, representing the reference for the pursued resilience and elasticity of business ecosystems. This research aims to assess the impacts of COVID-19 in the perspectives of private higher education. For this purpose, an online survey questionnaire was developed, where almost one thousand students from European private universities participated. Through the presented students’ sentiments, data found the crisis affected students negatively, both financially and mentally. However, universities—their essential partners—are missing precious opportunities for improved collaboration due to traditional, short-sighted strategies. Therefore, applicable leadership strategies are delineated in the last chapter, aspiring more elasticity and resilience for a thriving higher education ecosystem—with an ultimate goal of providing a reliable, understandable source of reflection and applicable knowledge for education, as well as diverse business ecosystems.