The impact of accreditation agencies and other powerful stakeholders on the performance measurement in Polish universities
ISSN: 1746-5265
Article publication date: 31 October 2018
Issue publication date: 4 January 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to extend the understanding of how internal organisational processes change in response to external demands, by investigating the changes undertaken by two Polish business schools (b-schools) in anticipation of and in response to the demands of accreditation agencies (AAs) and other powerful stakeholders. Specifically, it examines the internal research-related performance measurement (PM) system and changes in the use of performance information (PI).
Design/methodology/approach
The case study method is adopted, using data from publicly available documents and interviews with the faculty and management at the two schools. The data are interpreted and analysed using the neo-institutional theory.
Findings
Powerful stakeholders are the primary reason for changes in PM systems and the manner in which PI is used. Specifically, AAs reflect an additional layer in the PM system, allowing for a downward cascading PI effect. This also leads to a wider use of PI across different organisational levels.
Research limitations/implications
This study focusses on two case studies in a region still undergoing transition. Thus, this analysis could be reinforced through additional cases, different data collection methods and cross-country and between-country comparative analyses.
Originality/value
The changes in PM systems and particularly the use of PI are discussed in the context of Polish higher education (HE) and, more broadly, the entire Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region. Moreover, the consideration of two b-school cases facilitates a comparative analysis of the differences in PM systems and the use of PI in the context of stakeholders’ PI needs.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This project is financed by National Science Center, Poland (Grant No. 2015/19/B/HS4/02903).
This paper forms part of a special section “Accounting and performance management innovations in public sector organizations”.
Citation
Dobija, D., Górska, A.M. and Pikos, A. (2019), "The impact of accreditation agencies and other powerful stakeholders on the performance measurement in Polish universities", Baltic Journal of Management, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 84-102. https://doi.org/10.1108/BJM-01-2018-0018
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited