Hochschulleitung und Hochschulmanagement

Beyond the News Media Logic? Analyzing the Social Media Orientation of University Leadership

“…Second, universities have moved from being collegiate to more strongly managed institutions, manifested in a move toward new public management (NPM) reforms and, with it, a strengthening of internal leadership, growing competition and goal orientation, and increased expectations addressed to the university as a whole (de Boer et al 2007;Friedrichsmeier and Fürst 2012;Kiener 2013;Krücken 2014;Marcinkowski et al 2014;Blümel 2016;Krücken 2021;Fürst et al 2022a). This "transformation of universities into organizational actors, which are able to act strategically and position themselves with regard to their competitors" (Krücken and Meier 2006, 242) also impacts HEI communication efforts.…”

“…In the wake of NPM reforms, university leaders have also become more powerful and important for managing and representing their organizations (de Boer et al 2007;Blümel 2016;Meier 2019). Traditionally, universities were characterized by "strong state authority and an equally strong academic oligarchy" (Hasse and Krücken 2013, 189), with professors dominating decision making, departments and schools being highly influential, and centralized management having very limited power (Clark 1983).…”

“…Traditionally, universities were characterized by "strong state authority and an equally strong academic oligarchy" (Hasse and Krücken 2013, 189), with professors dominating decision making, departments and schools being highly influential, and centralized management having very limited power (Clark 1983). This governance has been transformed since the 1990s with NPM reforms, albeit to varying degrees across regions and countries (Braun 1999;de Boer et al 2007;Fumasoli and Lepori 2011;Blümel 2016;Meier 2019). Overall, the above-mentioned features and consequences of NPM -a strengthened university leadership; increased competition between HEIs; greater accountability for the actions, decisions, and performances of the university as a whole; the multiplication of organizational objectives and societal expectations; and the growing importance of public communication and reputation building -can be conceptualized as a "transformation of universities into organizational actors" (Krücken and Meier 2006, 242).…”