Legitimacy Dynamics of Professional Support Staff at Higher Education Institutions

Ryttberg, Malin

doi:10.1057/s41307-020-00206-w

Cited by 7 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This is more important than whether the support is centralised or decentralised. Another assumption is indications in previous research of the professional support staffs´consciousness about having to tread carefully in the shaping of the support to gain legitimacy in relation to academics (Ryttberg 2020;Ryttberg and Geschwind 2017). This study contributes to the organisational analysis of HEIs by asking the professional support staff themselves how a well-functioning support may be organised.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Organising professional support staff at higher education institutions: a multidimensional, continuous balancing act

Ryttberg

Geschwind

2021

Tert Educ Manag

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Centralisation is a recurrent theme when the organisational structure of contemporary higher education institutions is on the agenda. This may be in large part because of the unsolicited effects of decentralised organisational structures. The aim of this study is to explore how professional support staff at higher education institutions perceive the organisational structure of support and the rationales for this organising. An analytical framework based on the dichotomy of centralisation/decentralisation was applied in 18 interviews with professional support staff at one Dutch university and one Norwegian university. A common theme in the findings was the consciousness among the professional support staff that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for the organising of efficient and effective support. The issue of centralisation and standardisation was clearly on the agenda, but their focus was on the elements of a well-functioning support structure, not the specific organisational solution. The study also highlights the objection to the trend towards centralisation, and that some organisational changes may be too short sighted to be sustainable. From the perspective of the professional support staff, it can be concluded that organisational structure is a continuous balancing act based on dialogue between the academic and support staff.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Organising professional support staff at higher education institutions: a multidimensional, continuous balancing act

Ryttberg

Geschwind

2021

Tert Educ Manag

Self Cite

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“…Regarding the definitions and descriptions of the remaining terms, 'allied staff' simply describes PS as non-academic staff (Wohlmuther, 2008). My analysis of more elaborate definitions and descriptions identifies identity (Ryttberg, 2020; Ryttberg & Geschwind, 2017, academic degree (Ryttberg, 2020;Ryttberg & Geschwind, 2017), organisational roles (Gibbs & Kharouf, 2020; Kallenberg,…”

Section: Definition or Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to this research, they may also be viewed as actors in a third space. This is a concept used when exploring groups of staff at HEIs who do not fit the conventional binary descriptors of "academics" or "non-academics" […]' (Ryttberg, 2020) • 'Their functions typically require highly educated specialists and experts in specific areas of administration […]. Furthermore, they do not identify themselves with the term administrator […], which refers to functions that are more clerical or secretarial […]' (Ryttberg & Geschwind, 2019) • Not explicitly defined or described in reviewed document (Ryttberg & Geschwind, 2017) Third space professional…”

Section: Professional Support Staffmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Continued ) 2016), nature of the work (Berman & Pitman, 2010;Gornitzka & Larsen, 2004;Henkin & Persson, 1992;Hockey & Allen-Collinson, 2009;Kallenberg, 2020;Kehm, 2015aKehm, , 2015bKrücken et al, 2013;Szekeres, 2011;Whitchurch, 2008cWhitchurch, , 2010cWilkins & Leckie, 1997) or even specific jobs (Karlsson & Ryttberg, 2016;Krücken et al, 2013) as elements of definitions. Still, some of these definitions and descriptions also include 'othering' elements, by referring to non-academic employment statuses (Berman & Pitman, 2010;Henkin & Persson, 1992;Ryttberg, 2020;Ryttberg & Geschwind, 2017Whitchurch, 2008c).…”

Section: Professional Support Staffmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the one hand, the primary responsibilities of these employees are not in teaching and education, distinguishing them from academics. On the other hand, in general, they hold higher education degrees (Acker et al, 2019;Allen-Collinson, 2007;Berman & Pitman, 2010;Gornitzka & Larsen, 2004;Harman & Stone, 2006;Krücken et al, 2013;Ryttberg & Geschwind, 2017;Shelley, 2010;Szekeres, 2011), possess highly specialised knowledge (Karlsson & Ryttberg, 2016;Qu, 2021;Ryttberg, 2020), experience considerable levels of autonomy (Aarrevaara & Dobson, 2016;Karlsson & Ryttberg, 2016;Qu, 2021;Ryttberg, 2020;Ryttberg & Geschwind, 2017), and hold strategic positions in networks both within and beyond the university (Cox et al, 2017;Daly, 2013;De Jong et al, 2016;Harman & Stone, 2006;Ryttberg, 2020), which sets them apart from the clerical, technical and manual staff, such as secretaries, laboratory analysts and animal caretakers. I refer to this group of employees as PS, as this term is most commonly used in the literature (Whitchurch, 2020) and preferred by these employees themselves (Sebalj et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A Novel Definition of Professional Staff

de Jong

2023

The Emerald Handbook of Research Management and Administration Around the World

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Based on a review of professional staff (PS), which includes research managers and administrators, in 54 academic publications, I propose a novel definition for this category of staff: 'degree holding university employees who are primarily responsible for developing, maintaining and changing the social, digital and physical infrastructures that enable education, research and knowledge exchange'. The proposed definition facilitates the development of new research questions that target the level of the organisational fields of higher education and science, to complement research on the university and individual levels. This view supports the study of the contributions of PS to higher education and science. I anticipate that such a broader focus will help to counter and nuance accounts of 'administrative bloat' by focusing on how PS as a group shape and are shaped by the organisational fields of higher education and science, rather than dismissing them as superfluous or parasitic.

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Do professional staff in universities really challenge academic norms? A perspective from the Netherlands

de Jong,

Kantimm

2024

High Educ

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Traditionally, universities stand for independent, high-quality, and curiosity-driven research and education. Yet, since neoliberal reforms in the 1980s, they have been increasingly exposed to external pressures towards more efficiency and economic value orientation. To manage the tasks corresponding to these market-based values, a new and fast-growing group of professional staff has emerged. Some authors argue that they challenge academic norms, or academic professional logics, while importing market norms, or market logics, through previous employment in and current relationships with the private sector. We empirically test this assumption based on original survey data of three groups of professional staff of universities and associated medical centers in the Netherlands: business developers, grant advisers, and research policy officers. We asked them about their ideas about universities to capture their institutional logics. Respondents also indicated previous employment and the strength of their professional relationships. Using multiple linear regression models, we find that professional staff with private sector experience indeed have stronger market logics. We find the same for those with stronger relationships with private sector companies. Yet, on average, the academic professional logic of professional staff is considerably higher than their market logic. Additionally, the effect of private sector experience and stronger relationships with private sector companies on the market logic is moderate. Thus, our data suggests that professional staff do not challenge academic norms. Therefore, there seems to be little need for meeting them with skepticism regarding their role in unwanted organizational change.

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Legitimacy Dynamics of Professional Support Staff at Higher Education Institutions

Cited by 7 publications

References 27 publications

Organising professional support staff at higher education institutions: a multidimensional, continuous balancing act

Organising professional support staff at higher education institutions: a multidimensional, continuous balancing act

A Novel Definition of Professional Staff

Do professional staff in universities really challenge academic norms? A perspective from the Netherlands

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