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During the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of digital infrastructure in higher education surged. This study aims to analyze how a country’s digital capabilities influence pedagogical transitions in business schools and compare the impacts between digitally advanced and advancing countries.

The authors applied the job demands–resources model and the IMD World Digital Competition Ranking 2021 to analyze the impact of nations’ digital capabilities on the pedagogical transitions experienced by 121 business faculty members from 20 nations. The countries were categorized into digitally advanced countries and advancing countries. The snowball sampling method was used to gather data through an online survey consisting of 24 items. SPSS was used to statistically analyze the data in two stages using paired t-test and group comparison.

Significant shifts between face-to-face and online lectures occurred in both groups. Advanced countries witnessed positive shifts in discussions, presentations, oral assessment, independent learning opportunities, online teaching methods, technical support and faculties’ readiness, whereas advancing countries mainly noted alterations in professional development and communication technologies.

This study offers insights into optimizing digital capabilities and enhancing business schools’ readiness for effective pedagogical shifts during crises. Both the theoretical contribution and the findings will benefit national education policies, higher education institution leaders, scholars and educators.

Linkages play a strategic role in improving actor disposition and resource density in university–industry ecosystems. Due to the importance of interconnected ecosystems for the development of engaged universities, applying the service-dominant logic (SDL) perspective, the authors aim at developing theory on linkages that lead to a higher level of actor commitment and in turn result in increased actor disposition and greater resource density.

Data from semistructured interviews from four in depth case studies, known internationally as successful cases of university linkages development (Columbia Lab-to-Market Accelerator Network, Oxford University Innovation, Auckland Uniservices and the Münster Center for Interdisciplinarity), undergo qualitative analysis according to the Gioia methodology.

The results represent a contribution to the theory, as they highlight the strategic role of linkages in improving actor disposition and increasing resource density. Due to its shown importance, linkage is an element to be considered on its own in the innovation ecosystems configurations in the context of universities.

The results of the research have implications for university management, since they focus on how resources are mobilized and linked. The interactive roles of actors in ecosystems imply that the locus of value creation moves beyond the borders of the organization toward the linkages. Strategies for managing university–industry linkages (UIL) are presented.

To date there has not been sufficient theoretical or empirical contribution in the university–industry ecosystem context about the role of linkages to improve resource density through increased actor disposition.