Organizational Identity in Higher Education: Conceptual and Empirical Perspectives

Abstract

The American higher education system is extraordinarily diverse, with US colleges and universities varying signifi cantly by historical and legal foundations, size, reputation, values, culture, processes, and programs (Birnbaum 1983 ). As Trow ( 1989 ) summarized, a combination of legal and cultural factors "constituted a kind of license for unrestrained individual and group initiative in the creation of colleges of all sizes, shapes, and creeds" (Cohen and Kisker 2010 ). The unique character of US colleges and universities was also shaped by the distinctive and sometimes competing visions of academic leaders, industrialists, and clergy vying to defi ne the purposes of higher education (Cohen and Kisker 2010 ). Most noteworthy, the German university model emphasizing research and the production of scholars began to supercede the English model adopted by the early colonial colleges. This shift elevated knowledge creation as a salient purpose of higher education in addition to preserving culture (Rudolph 1962 ).The massifi cation of higher education in the USA-which occurred earlier than in other developed countries-and the diversity of the American population also played powerful roles in promoting distinctive organizational identities for colleges and universities. Women's colleges, for example, gained prominence during the progressive era in the early twentieth century, while black colleges were

What Does it Mean to be Latinx-serving? Testing the Utility of the Typology of HSI Organizational Identities

“…Less effort has been spent trying to understand the organizational identity of postsecondary institutions, with Weerts, Freed, and Morphew (2014) concluding that "literature on this topic has produced a fragmented set of studies only loosely connected to the broad concept of organizational identity" (p. 230). While organizational theorists have spent over three decades conceptualizing, defining, and testing the concept of organizational identity, the extensive body of literature on the topic complicates any endeavor to understand the concept.…”

“…Gonzales (2013) contends that organizational identities of postsecondary institutions are constructed along "institutionalized ways of knowing," or based on measures that the field of higher education recognizes as "legitimate." Other researchers suggest an organizational identity is embedded within the culture (Hatch & Schultz, 1997), or rooted in historical legacies and institutional sagas (MacDonald, 2013;Weerts et al, 2014).…”

Faculty responses to business school branding: a discursive approach

“…Finally, our third contribution relates to our research objective of advancing the debate on the issues surrounding branding of higher education, by further unpacking the important, yet ambiguous role, of faculty members (Aspara et al, 2014;Chapleo, 2011;Idris and Whitfield, 2014;Weerts et al, 2014;Waeraas and Solbakk, 2008). Branding may be seen as a logic, that on the one hand carves out a discursive position for the faculty, yet on the other hand the faculty also re-construct and negotiate this position in their local branding discourses.…”

“…Branding has, thus, often been portrayed as a 'dirty word' in university settings, mirroring a push towards marketization and commercialism, which are at odds with the traditional conception of universities as institutions in pursuit of the greater good (Weerts et al, 2014). …”

“…Preliminary insights have depicted branding within universities as a contested practice Weerts et al, 2014;Waeraas and Solbakk, 2008). From the faculty's viewpoint, most studies propose that branding is fraught with resistance, ambiguity and uncertainty (e.g.…”