scholarly journals Strategic Use of Innovation in High Research Universities: Mission-Driven or Mission Drift? A Comparative Review of the Top 100 International Universities Recognized for Innovation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kate Montgomery ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Institutional Theory ◽  
Mission Statement ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Mission Statements ◽  
Mission Drift ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Strategic Plans ◽  
Comparative Review ◽  
Content Review

This research supports some of the mounting pressures higher education practitioners face in approaching innovation strategically while recognizing the mission-driven needs of the institution. Two research questions were examined. First, how do highly innovative universities communicate traditional missions and innovation in their mission statements? Second, to what extent do innovation strategies align as stated in their strategic plans with their mission statements? This research was grounded in institutional theory given the breadth of literature linking this theory to institutional rhetoric such as mission statements. In addition, the theory provided relevancy to assessing the debate over legitimizing tendencies, such as symbolism and signaling, versus more meaningful utilitarian prose. For the research design, the unit of analysis focused on the institutional level, specifically, the Top 100 international universities recognized for innovation by Reuters. Two phases were examined. Before moving into each phase, an interdisciplinary contextual overview was provided to examine geographic, historical, and financial factors on a macro basis. For Phase I, a content review of mission statements was examined for the Top 100 universities as publicly available. Concept and In Vivo Coding was conducted using ATLAS.ti software. In Phase II, a content review examined alignment of mission statements and strategic plans to assess mission-driven or mission drift evidence for select universities identified. Four key findings ensued. First, the trifecta of university missions (teaching, research, and service) dominated mission statement incidence relative to innovation rhetoric. Second, innovation language within mission statements was largely comprised of general phraseology or reference to mission, not beyond mission (or drift). Third, the service component of mission tied to innovation beyond teaching and research was driven by societal influences. Fourth, societally-driven innovation provided the greatest potential for mission drift based on stakeholder perspectives. This research filled several gaps in the literature related to international higher education studies, the intersections of traditional university missions with innovation, and the critical use of ranking systems. It provided a vantage on interdisciplinary uses for ATLAS.ti software beyond the robust coding features, such as geospatial mapping. Resulting recommendations for practitioners focused on mission statement optimization at student, program, and institutional levels, and alignment of strategic innovation with institutional missions. Recommendations for future research addressed the limitations identified as the use of the Reuters ranking system, macro-level analysis, and researcher positionality creating a U.S.-centric interpretation. Specifically, opportunities exist for expanded research studies such as qualitative interviews with stakeholders, longitudinal studies, explorations of additional institutional types through the lenses of other relevant theories (e.g., neo-institutional theory, resource dependency theory, and population ecology theory), and social network analyses given the extent of external actors involved. In conclusion, innovation continues to be hotly contested in the higher education sphere as a mechanism for “high hopes or broken promises” (Chronicle, 2019, p. 59). In the current worldwide climate of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is witnessing higher education institutions rapidly innovate programming and policies in real time as a means to adapt to pressing challenges, and in some cases, to maintain existentiality. It is also at this time, that great emphasis is placed on focusing precious resources on initiatives supporting mission – the intersection of mission and innovation challenges higher education today and will continue to for years to come. Keywords: Higher education institutions, mission, vision, innovation, strategic planning, mission statements, strategic plans, international, interdisciplinary, institutional theory, content analysis, comparative analysis.

scholarly journals Changes in Internationalization at Home in Arab Higher Education Institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-112
Author(s):  
Rosine Zgheib ◽  
Amira Van Loan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Mission Statements ◽  
Global Marketplace ◽  
Global Citizens ◽  
Strategic Plans ◽  
Internationalization Strategies ◽  
Internationalization At Home ◽  
At Home

As global marketplace competition increases, higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Arab world purposefully integrate international and intercultural dimensions into their curriculum, known as internationalization at home (IaH), to empower graduates with the tools necessary to strengthen their economies and be productive global citizens. The purpose of this research is to report changes in the internationalization strategies of fourteen randomly selected Arab world HEIs by looking at six IaH indicators in their mission statements, course descriptions, and strategic plans. The results prioritize internationalization in the HEIs’ mission statements with a twenty per cent increase in the number of indicators between academic years 2014–15 and 2019–20. Additionally, through course descriptions/titles, we found some universities were offering up to 350 courses promoted per indicator, with others offering as few as one course per indicator. We also found sixty-five per cent of the HEIs do not have explicit strategic plans, or rather no or implicit strategic plans incorporating internationalization. As the Arab world attempts to strengthen its economies, HEIs should continue to increase IaH efforts by infusing more of the indicators in their mission statements, courses, and strategic plans.

scholarly journals A Bibliometric Review of Institutional Theory on Higher Education Institutions

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-401
Author(s):  
Pang Lien Hsu ◽  
Emerson Antonio Maccari ◽  
Marcos Rogério Mazieri ◽  
José Eduardo Storopoli
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Institutional Theory ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Institutional Pressures ◽  
Leadership In Higher Education ◽  
Bibliometric Review

In this study, we explore how institutional theory and its many subareas contributes, are utilized and applied to the area of higher education management’s research by their scholars. For this purpose, we performed a bibliometric analysis on 659 papers extracted from Web of Science database. As results we indicate five main clusters as foundation to the field: institutional theory; economic impact of entrepreneurship and universities; competitiveness of universities as businesses; service quality and; measurement and development of models for higher education. And 7 main clusters as subfields of research: Institutional Multiplicity; Institutional pressures on Higher Education; Higher Education Efficiency; Leadership in Higher Education; Entrepreneurial Higher Education; Academy & Professional relations and; Quality and Satisfaction in Higher Education.

Cause of a Crisis

2020 ◽  
pp. 235-252
Author(s):  
Jonathan J. Felix
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Trinidad And Tobago ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Mission Statements ◽  
The Self ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Commercial Activity ◽  
21St Century Education ◽  
Current State ◽  
Preliminary Study

From the 1990s until the present, there has been a growing movement in the higher education sector worldwide, emphasizing the primacy of the natural sciences and commercial activity as an important part of 21st century education and workforce preparation. Since then, the ongoing discourse on higher education has also systematically led to the marginalization of humanities. This chapter explores the ways in which the statements of purpose of higher education institutions, and their subsequent activities, might contribute toward the current state of the humanities. The author argues that the self-perception of these entities is related to their organizational identity, values, and actions. Using discourse analysis, this work will also attempt to explore the mission statements of 15 major higher education institutions in Trinidad and Tobago, and how statements regarding their core work are related to the current crisis with the humanities. From this preliminary study, higher education providers may be able to reconsider the ways in which their core internal and market-driven activities might severely compromise their ability to adequately serve students and the wider society by extension.

scholarly journals Circular Economy in higher education ınstitutions: lessons learned from Brazıl-Colombıa network

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Úrsula Maruyama ◽  
Paloma Martinez Sanchez ◽  
Aline Guimarães Monteiro Trigo ◽  
Wladmir Henriques Motta
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Ecosystem Dynamics ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Strategic Plans ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
The Difference

Goal: this paper goal is presenting sustainability experiences using Life Cycle Assessment perspective in two Latin America higher education institutions (HEI). What similarities do these HEI have in common regarding sustainability? What are the major challenges they face? In which way is Circular Economy effective on university campuses? Since universities face challenges posed by a changing and competitive environment, there ought to be sustainable management that is more appropriate to higher education institutions’ real environment, which is characterized by complexity, paradoxes, ambiguities, and conflicts. Methodology/Approach: Multiple Case Study. A resilience threshold of global ecosystem should be considered. Ecosystem dynamics require effort in mapping its functions. Results: the results considered that the difference between environmental approach failure and success lies in knowing how to realign their strategic plans. Limitations of the investigation: comparing private and public HEI and different levels of education (technical, undergraduate and graduate courses). Practical implication: the practical implication leads to an understanding that Circular Economy in HEI can be perceived as a guideline to innovation towards a more sustainable economy. Originality/value: the originality/value of this work is the ability of enabling scientists to empathize with both Brazıl and Colombia’s LCA perspectives in HEI.

scholarly journals Looking Inside the Strategic Plans: Strengths and Weaknesses of Turkish Higher Education Institutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Abdullah Selvitopu ◽  
Metin Kaya
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Internal Communication ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Alumni Relations ◽  
Strategic Plans ◽  
Turkish Higher Education ◽  
Analytical Tools

As strengths and weaknesses are regarded as internal features of an organization, the present study focused on strengths and weaknesses of Turkish public universities by analyzing the SWOTs (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) of twenty higher education institutions. By applying qualitative content analytical tools, we tried to make some comparisons, twenty universities, ten ranked at the top and ten at the bottom of the URAP list, were chosen to analyze the strengths and weaknesses. Findings show that all universities top or bottom ones have internal strengths and weaknesses on their own. The strengths of universities differ according to their size, field of service, structure, history and geographical locations. Top universities which are in big size, have a deeply rooted history and situated in a better geographical location can enjoy the strengths as qualified faculty members, organizational culture, internationalization process, infrastructure and good alumni relations. On the other hand, bottom universities which have not got those advantages deal with other strengths such as young faculty members, organizational support and internal communication. As for the weaknesses, top universities need more budget and acceptable rate of faculty member and student. Bottom ones need more qualified faculty members, students and staff. As they are located in disadvantageous regions, they are in need of some promotions to attract faculties, staff, national and international students. In addition, they also should be aware of the contributions of good alumni relations.

scholarly journals Identification of Educational Models That Encourage Business Participation in Higher Education Institutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Medina ◽  
Jesus C. Hernández ◽  
Emilio Muñoz-Cerón ◽  
Catalina Rus-Casas
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Model Identification ◽  
Selection Procedure ◽  
Practical Training ◽  
Educational Models ◽  
Level Of Involvement ◽  
Strategic Plans ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Participation In Higher Education

In a scenario in which the labour market is increasingly competitive and there is a need to provide students with practical training, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) must promote the labour integration of students, by building their competences and shaping their skills in accordance with the strategic plans of companies. In the past, cooperation between companies and universities was based on informal agreements. Nowadays, companies are actively involved in the development of educational models. This is not only part of their corporate social responsibility, but also represents a business opportunity. In this context, the research performed to identify collaboration models between companies and HEIs that simplify the integration of training processes in companies is scarce. Therefore, the aim of this research is to identify existing joint educational models between companies and HEIs and to propose a methodology that allows them to select the models most in line with their business. The methodology applies a multi-criteria selection procedure and, in a simple way, enables the businesses to identify how to increase their involvement. Model identification is based on a proposal of common features that uses indicators for involvement quantification. This study selected ten HEI-company cooperation models and subsequently applied the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method to analyse the level of involvement that these models require of companies. Five models of different involvement levels were selected and detailed by their features.

Linking college mission statements to cost containment strategies

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 792-804
Author(s):  
Jessica K. Simon ◽  
Megan McDonald Way ◽  
Lidija Polutnik ◽  
Jeremy Albright
Keyword(s):  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Cost Containment ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Mission Statement ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Mission Statements ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategic Plans ◽  
The Usa

Purpose Leaders at higher education institutions (HEIs) in the USA experience substantial pressure to contain costs while advancing their educational missions. The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between publicly stated academic cost-containment objectives found in HEI’s strategic plans and mission statements, which help to unify stakeholders and link strategy to an organization’s purpose. Design/methodology/approach This paper analyzes mission statements and strategic plans of 57 small, private HEIs in the Northeastern USA. HEIs in this sample published strategic plans with an explicit cost-containment goal. Mission statements were analyzed for readability. Thematic analysis was conducted using the balanced scorecard approach. Associations between a stated academic cost containment goal and mission statement themes are presented using logistic regression. Findings Mission statements of HEIs focused on academic cost containment are wordier and more varied. They tend not to mention “liberal arts,” a potential signal of a high-quality, high-cost school; less selective schools may be more likely to emphasize academic cost cutting. Research limitations/implications This paper contributes to the literature demonstrating mission statements’ role in goal setting. Further, it considers college costs from college administrators’ perspectives. Given the small sample size, future work should expand the sample and use case studies to explore how mission shapes or constrains strategic objectives. Originality/value This is the first paper using qualitative and quantitative analysis to explore the association between the mission statements of small HEIs and academic cost containment goals in strategic plans, documents intended to support differentiation in a crowded market.

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