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Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of Shariah governance (SG) and Islamic leadership (IL) on organizational performance (OP) in public higher education institutions, while also investigating the moderating role of organizational culture (OC) within an Islamic institutional context. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a quantitative research design using survey data collected from 119 public higher education institutions in Indonesia between March and June 2024. An ordered logit model is used to estimate the relationships among SG, IL and OP. Interaction terms are incorporated to assess the moderating role of OC. Robustness checks are conducted using ordered probit and multilevel ordered probit models to ensure the stability of the findings. Findings The results show that both SG and IL exert positive and statistically significant effects on OP. More importantly, OC significantly strengthens these relationships, highlighting its pivotal role in translating ethical governance and leadership into tangible performance outcomes. Comparative analyses further indicates that SG has a stronger impact in Shariah-compliant institutions, whereas IL plays a more prominent role in non-Shariah-compliant institutions. Practical implications The findings suggest that policymakers and university leaders should integrate SG frameworks with IL development and culture-building initiatives to enhance institutional performance. Embedding Islamic values into organizational routines is essential to avoid symbolic compliance and achieve sustainable performance improvements. Originality/value This study extends institutional theory by empirically demonstrating OC as a legitimacy-enhancing moderator in the governance–performance nexus within public higher education, offering novel insights into Islamic governance beyond the financial sector.
Islamiyah et al. (Thu,) studied this question.