Competitiveness in ODL from stakeholders’ perspective: A review and research agenda

Abstract

Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in higher education has gained momentum in previous decades. ODL institutions too require competitiveness in the market place of educational products/ services through their capabilities and core competencies by adopting cost and/or differentiation strategy, especially due to the increasing competition arising from the existence of large number of institutions with similar objectives. The competition has further increased due to Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization, virtually collapsing the boundaries to access education being offered from any other country; technological developments; changes in demographics, societal & economic structures; and most importantly emergence of online institutions with different nomenclatures. ODL institutions in India are in dire need of making strategic efforts to create and maintain sustainability in competitiveness by reaching out to larger sections of different stakeholders to satisfy their needs/ expectations in view of the huge untapped potential in India and abroad. All stakeholders are not equally important and influential and their identification is a critical step in selecting appropriate strategy for achieving competitiveness. This study sets the research agenda on the topic of competitiveness in ODL in higher education from the perspective of the relevant stakeholders and not learners only, with the help of Systematic Literature Review (SLR), showcasing the findings to provide the future research framework with a deeper understanding of ODL, Competitiveness, stakeholders and their interrelations in the Indian context.