We analyse the creation of European university alliances as an effort to build learning networks between universities in light of newly perceived needs in Europe. The rationales for such alliance formation include cultural integration, grand societal challenges and reforms in the European innovation ecosystem. We consider how alliance formation…

Leadership in higher can influence the structurally embedding of educational technologies in higher education institutions. However, HEIs are complex pluralistic organizational environments with loosely coupled systems, diffused power and goal ambiguity which makes governance of educational innovations a wicked problem in which they have to…

The European University Initiative (EUI) -- launched by the European Commission in 2018 has been received with considerable interest from higher education institutions in Europe with hundreds of institutions forming new alliances. While the EUI-initiative in many ways is a continuation of a long history of collaboration across national borders in…

The European Commission recently incentivized universities to establish alliances in order to institutionalise regional collaboration through the European Universities Initiative (EUI). Alliances are envisioned to maintain Europe's global position and enhance regional integration. Their mission statements are ways of signalling identity and…

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the recent body of research exploring strategic positioning, and the processes and factors which influence the development and content of university strategies and plans, with lessons then applied to open questions of institutional diversity and its determinants. Following a sector level analysis of…

Despite its roots in environmental discussions, sustainability has become a critical term influencing every aspect of organisations. As human-oriented institutions, universities have also embraced the 'sustainable development' concept on the quality of their internal and external services. Two overarching questions are most important for…

How can a new generation of students be equipped to take up positions of responsibility in a dynamic global environment, serving as leaders and citizens who will further the good of societies around the world? As the institutions responsible for educating the next generation of citizens and leaders at a formative time in their intellectual and…

Rising levels of external research funding represent not only an asset but also a challenge for universities. Academic leaders play a central role in managing the finances of their institutions, yet little is known about how they respond to the growing importance of external research funding. Through the lens of resource dependency theory, we…

The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced nearly every aspect of people's lives, and has set new conditions for universities to operate their internationalisation practices. Together with the rapidly changing global environment, higher education internationalisation has reached a crossroads. Through a constructivist grounded theory design, this study…

Tacit knowledge flows can be facilitated by employment transitions, such as for example the transitions of PhDs from university employment to industry. There are however barriers to transitions into and out of university employment, and as a consequence, such transitions are relatively rare. PhDs can circumvent the barriers to permanent…

Evaluation of research performance has significantly increased in importance, particularly in many emerging higher education systems. In Malaysia, the Malaysian Research Assessment (MyRA) was developed to evaluate the research performance of universities and Research Centres of Excellence (RCoEs). This paper reports on a participatory action…

The International Association of Universities (IAU) is the only inclusive global university association, its membership barriers are low, yet few universities are members despite considerable benefits. What determines membership in this long-standing international university alliance? Reviewing recent trends toward a more networked, stratified and…

The study focuses on the discussion of how universities middle managers perceive the effects of strategic plan's elaboration and implementation. The paper presents the institutional context of strategic thinking in the Russian higher education system, and the analysis of changes in universities' activities with the influence of the strategy…

China's phenomenal growth in higher education has received increasing scholarly attention, particularly its initiative to build world-class universities. Though a crucial contributor to its rapid development, the changing hiring practices of mainland Chinese university employers remain largely underexposed. This study presents qualitative evidence…

In the contemporary science and higher education system, national and supranational governments fund and foster universities to collaborate through specific funding lines and competition in World University Rankings, making it indispensable for universities to demonstrate collaboration at the organizational level. Thus, universities strive to…