Evaluating Strategic Efficiency: A DEA Approach to Comparing Higher Education Prioiritization Across Contexts

Higher education institutions (HEIs) operate in increasingly complex environments where strategic prioritization plays a crucial role in institutional effectiveness, resource management, and long-term competitiveness. However, the efficiency with which HEIs set and execute strategic priorities varies across different economic, cultural, and institutional landscapes. Identifying the factors that contribute to or hinder efficient prioritization is essential for improving decision-making processes and ensuring sustainable development in higher education. This study applies Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to evaluate the efficiency of strategic prioritization across HEIs in diverse global contexts. Focusing on institutions from Chile, Estonia, Ireland, Kenya, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovenia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, we assess how external factors, cultural dimensions (power distance, individualism/collectivism), economic indicators (GDP per capita, economic freedom), and institutional characteristics (regulatory quality, digital infrastructure quality) influence strategic alignment. Composite prioritization scores, based on two expert focus groups (n = 24), serve as outputs, enabling a comparative efficiency analysis. Findings indicate that Ireland, the UK, and Slovenia demonstrate the highest efficiency in strategic prioritization, while other regions show varying degrees of inefficiency. Benchmarking and slack analysis provide insights into prioritization gaps and highlight opportunities for improving strategic decision-making in HEIs. The results of this study are particularly relevant to higher education leaders, policymakers, and researchers in operational and strategic management, offering data-driven insights to refine governance and optimize institutional performance. Furthermore, the research contributes to the analytics field by showcasing DEA’s applicability in evaluating and improving strategic efficiency in complex, multi-context environments.