The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Strategic Decision-Making of Private Universities: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Purpose – This systematic review examines how artificial intelligence (AI) can support strategic decision-making in private universities, the organizational conditions shaping its value, and the governance and implementation risks that constrain responsible use.Methodology – Searches were conducted in the Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, and Google Scholar between March and May 2026, with the final update on May 31, 2026. After duplicate removal, screening, full-text assessment, and evidence appraisal, 46 substantive sources published between 1955 and 2025 were included in this review. Four additional methodological references supported the review reporting and synthesis. Because the evidence base was heterogeneous, narrative thematic synthesis was applied while distinguishing direct private university evidence from evidence transferred from general higher education, organizational decision research, and AI governance.Findings – The synthesis identifies four interconnected roles of AI: environmental intelligence, decision augmentation, strategic execution, and governance infrastructure. AI can strengthen institutional sensing, the comparison of strategic alternatives, implementation coordination, and decision traceability. However, direct empirical evidence specific to private universities is limited. Strategic value depends on data quality, organizational learning, analytical capability, decision ownership, auditability, governance capacity, strategic fit, and alignment with the institutional mission. Therefore, AI is best understood as a human-led decision-support capability rather than a substitute for institutional judgment.Research limitations – The heterogeneous corpus prevents statistical estimation of a common institutional effect, while the review is restricted to English-language sources from three search platforms. Therefore, the four-part architecture should be treated as an evidence-organizing framework rather than a validated causal model.Originality – This review integrates higher education, organizational decision-making, strategic management, and AI governance evidence into an institution-level capability architecture for responsible AI-supported strategic decision-making.