Abstract: This study develops and empirically validates a conceptual model explaining how inspection activities influence self-assessment outcomes in higher education institutions, with particular emphasis on the mediating role of feedback quality and the moderating role of quality culture. A quantitative design using PLS-SEM was employed on a dataset of 377 respondents directly involved in quality assurance processes across Vietnamese higher education institutions. Inspection was operationalized as a multidimensional construct, while self-assessment outcomes were measured across three domains. Moderation and moderated mediation were further examined using regression-based approaches. The results reveal a highly asymmetric causal structure. Feedback quality emerges as a dominant amplification mechanism, exerting substantially stronger effects on outcomes than inspection variables. Mediation is selective rather than uniform, with only specific inspection dimensions operating through feedback. Contrary to theoretical expectations, quality culture does not exhibit significant moderating effects, indicating that its influence is structural rather than conditional. This study contributes to the literature by (i) reconceptualizing the inspection–feedback–improvement relationship as a mechanistic system, (ii) identifying feedback as an amplification mechanism rather than a passive mediator, and (iii) challenging the conventional treatment of quality culture as a moderating variable. The findings provide both theoretical refinement and practical implications for transitioning toward feedback-centered, learning-oriented quality assurance systems aligned with ESG 2015.

Keywords: Inspection, Self-Assessment, Internal Quality Assurance (IQA), Quality Culture, PLS-SEM, ESG 2015

Pages: 548-562