Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer an application of a system model for Senge's five disciplines in higher education (HE) institutions.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper utilizes a conceptual framework for the analysis of antecedents and outcomes of Senge's five disciplines, focusing on specific factors unique to the HE sector.

Findings – The explication of the model manifests its relevance and applicability for the HE sector: it represent how universities operate as learning organizations and posits the anticipated interactions among specific constructs associated with Senge's five disciplines within the HE sector.

Practical implications – The paper manifests a causal model that links variables in the learning organization, a perspective that would be instrumental for HE institutions to achieve competitive advantage.

Originality/value – The paper provides added value both for academics and executives interested in the analysis of the complexity of Senge's five disciplines for HE institutions

Volume 17

Numbers 2-3