Financial sustainability in Turkish foundation universities: Officers' perceptions

This doctoral thesis evaluates the financial sustainability of Turkish Foundation (Vakıf) Universities through the perspectives of experienced senior administrators. It investigates how higher education institutions can achieve financial sustainability amid structural pressures such as declining public funding, heavy reliance on tuition revenue, rising operational costs, demographic shifts, and crises including pandemics. The study examines the effects of revenue diversification and cost management strategies on financial sustainability (FS), while assessing the mediating role of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). The conceptual framework integrates Resource Dependence Theory (RDT) and the Resource-Based View (RBV). Furthermore, a convergent mixedmethods design was employed. Qualitative data were collected through 12 semistructured interviews with senior officers from foundation universities, primarily in Istanbul, and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis (RTA). Quantitative data were obtained from a survey of 119 participants from foundation universities in Istanbul and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings from both strands were integrated to identify convergence, complementarity, and divergence. Moreover, quantitative results indicate that revenue diversification is the strongest direct predictor of financial sustainability. ERM significantly mediates the relationships between both revenue diversification and cost management and FS. Cost management alone does not directly sustain financial stability; rather, it functions as a supportive mechanism when embedded within a robust ERM framework that maintains vii financial equilibrium. Qualitative findings emphasize external and internal financial risks, governance quality, digital transformation, funding and endowment development, internationalization, and strong financial management practices. Finally, the integrated findings suggest that long-term financial sustainability in Turkish foundation universities depends on strategically aligning diversified revenue streams, disciplined cost management, and comprehensive risk management within institutional planning and operations. This thesis makes a significant empirical contribution as the first comprehensive study of senior administrators' perceptions in the Turkish context and offers practical strategies to strengthen the financial resilience of the foundation university ecosystem.