Based on key governance and organisational characteristics from the 1970s universities have been conceptualised as organised anarchies and loosely coupled systems. More recently, a number of studies have argued that universities have been changing their internal governance and organisational structures leading to tighter vertical steering and the…

Through analysis of the strategic ambitions of China's top universities, this article studies the relationship between governance structures at the system level and strategic institutional adaptations. In China, some top universities are governed directly by the national authorities while others have regional affiliations. By analyzing the…

The European Union (EU) has repeatedly underlined the importance of higher education, research and innovation as drivers in the further development of Europe--economically, socially and culturally. One of the latest policy initiatives by the European Commission (EC) intended to promote this agenda is the European Universities Initiative (EUI)…

Globalizing forces have both transformed the higher education sector and made it increasingly homogenous. Growing similarities among universities have been attributed to isomorphic pressures to ensure and/or enhance legitimacy by imitating higher education institutions that are perceived as successful internationally, particularly universities…

It has been argued that universities are changing into becoming more professional as organizations, and this paper investigates this claim by exploring the emergence and tasks of communication departments in modern universities. Examination of universities in six Baltic and Nordic countries shows that communication departments are working closely…

Several university alliances have been established in Europe in an attempt to influence the development of policies in research and education. As such, these alliances can be seen as being new players in the increasingly complex multi-actor, multi-level governance in this policy domain. The paper compares two key university alliances in Europe; in…

Burton R. Clark's 1998 book, "Creating Entrepreneurial Universities," has had a major impact on the field of higher education, especially internationally. In this paper, key aspects of Clark's conceptualisation of organisational pathways of transformation are identified, speaking to its theoretical and empirical contributions to higher…

Modern universities are increasingly fragmented due to increased professionalization and specialisation, which add to the complexity of academic development work. This situation warrants initiatives and actions that can facilitate a more collective, collaborative orientation among staff and students. Consequently, this article reflects on the…

Universities are often portrayed as, and have been found to be, quite stable organizational forms where it is difficult to initiate and implement change. However, numerous empirical studies have also found that universities are undoubtedly changing both due to internal developments and external dynamics. The paper explores this seemingly…

This study examined how hierarchical positions within the global field of higher education influence the selection of strategic priorities by universities in different parts of the world. The study particularly focused on universities' commitment to third missions as reflected in their strategic plans and compared to their global rankings. The…

Globally, universities are currently facing increased external demands to strengthen and develop their learning environments. The article examines how a sample of Norwegian universities responds to governmental demands concerning establishing good learning environments. Based on document analysis and interviews, the article demonstrates that the…

While the establishment of quality assurance has been seen for decades as the most significant instrument to secure and enhance the quality of teaching and learning in higher education, the concept of developing more specific learning outcomes has in recent years attracted much interest, not least due to the creation of national qualification…

Universities worldwide are facing enormous strains as a result of increased external expectations where global visibility should be mixed with local and regional utility. In debates on the future of higher education, becoming an entrepreneurial university has been highlighted as a novel--although perhaps a more hybrid--way to deal with this…

Much research has been undertaken to investigate the cultural, structural and, to some extent, the economic effects of mergers in higher education. However, surprisingly little research has been done on why higher education institutions decide to merge. This article identifies and discusses a number of structural factors that may play a role when…

One common way of conceptualising recent changes in university governance is by stating that the universities are being pushed towards a market-like setting where the uniqueness of each university's strategy and capacity for introducing organizational change is seen as necessary to improve the functioning of the university. We argue that the…