This study investigates the relationship between subcultures in a Saudi higher education institution and the achievement of academic quality criteria. Using a qualitative ethnographic approach (interviews, observations, document analysis), the study identifies a "quality subgroup" positively impacting academic quality and other subgroups negatively impacting it. The findings have theoretical implications for organizational culture, subcultures, and culture-quality theory, and practical implications for improving higher education policies and management, particularly in the context of recent social and legal changes in Saudi Arabia.

Meshal Abdulaziz Aldhobaib