Higher education response to institutional upheaval: Outcomes of industry collaborations during the COVID-19 pandemic

Institutional upheaval spurred by the COVID-19 crisis suddenly and dramatically transformed the rules of the game for higher education organizations. The global pandemic thrust colleges and universities into ambiguous institutional environments. Disruption of established routines and supply networks resulted in the near collapse of global supply chains providing personal protective equipment (PPE), particularly N95 masks, needed by healthcare workers on the medical frontlines. This study describes and analyzes higher education and industry (HEI) partnership collaborations that adapted rapidly and responded effectively to meet the critical PPE need. The Citadel, Military College of South Carolina (The Citadel), along with the Tommy and Victoria Baker School of Business (BSB) and its Innovation Lab., engaged in a partnership with medical professionals at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). This partnership successfully manufactured, assembled, and distributed one thousand 3D-printed N95 masks in a crucial 16-week period. The study also shows how organizations in both institutional fields were able to expand dynamic capabilities enabling them to sense opportunities and to seize them by engaging and supporting each other in rapid and effective resource reconfigurations. This HEI collaboration culminated in a memorandum of understanding for ongoing collaboration to develop innovations for future responses to healthcare challenges.