The determinants of university strategic positioning: a reappraisal of the organisation

Abstract

This paper makes a contribution to the debate on university organisational actorhood by theorising the determinants of institutional strategic positioning. It argues that besides environmental forces and managerial rationality, the organisational dimension needs to be accounted for. Addressing the mixed empirical evidence in the relevant literature, we conceptualise the organisational dimension as a meso-level intervening variable mediating both external influences (outside-inside) and organisational action (inside-outside). We operationalise the organisational dimension along three components: organisational structure, identity and centrality, which are further elaborated in sub-components and indicators. A set of hypotheses to be tested in empirical research is provided. The paper offers new perspectives on the dynamics of change in higher education and on strategic agency of organisational actors.

Positioning universities based on the preference network of economics department students

“…Here, closeness centrality corresponds to the social centrality as mentioned by the literature. Fumasoli et al (2020) emphasised that social centrality characterizes closeness to other universities and actors related to the university. Accordingly, universities with a high closeness centrality in the network analysis face more competitive environments, but they nevertheless possess collaboration opportunities.…”

“…More generally, universities may activate relations based on the collaboration with other universities through typical education and project-based networks that obtain resources, status, and critical mass from embedded universities (Fumasoli et al, 2020, p. 327). Fumasoli et al (2020) claimed that the more central the university's location in geographical, political, economic, and social terms, the more access it has over symbolic resources over finance and reputation and that they, therefore, have a strategic position proportionally efficient. Moreover, if a university is more centrically located in social terms, it will have a competitive level that affects its strategic position, and this situation offers an opportunity for collaboration with rivals and other actors that affect its strategic position.…”

“…155-169). Fumasoli et al (2020) stated that hypothesizing the determinants of corporate strategic positioning has contributed to discussions on the status of a university as an organizational actor. The research asserts that in addition to environmental forces and the rationalism of the management, the organizational dimension should also be taken into account.…”

Purposive design or ecology? A critique of teleological perspectives on internationalisation in higher education

“…This special issue contributes to ongoing research on developments in the field of higher education; notably, research focusing on how organisational actors influence changes and the stability of the field (Fumasoli & Huisman, 2013; Fumasoli et al., 2018, 2020; Lepori & Fumasoli, 2010). The higher education field is broadly conceptualised as a latticework of links between actors that look at each other while they move to the centre of the field and seek to eventually control its rules (Fligstein & McAdam, 2012).…”

Internationalization of higher education in Brazil: advances, obstacles, and challenges

“…More and more, it is expected from universities, besides providing international academic mobility experiences, the responsibility, and the challenge of integrating international, intercultural, and comparative perspectives into students' experiences through virtual and campusbased activities. All these activities can be understood as part of the institutional positioning process within an ever more competitive and internationalized higher education system (Fumasoli et al, 2019). The goal of internationalization of higher education that has attracted the most attention has been the globalized competition for greater prestige, for more significant economic returns, and even for economic growth (Slaughter;Cantwell, 2012).…”