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Book part
Publication date: 28 June 2017

Staci Lynne Ripkey

This chapter examines a case study of inter-institutional merger in higher education, and explores the complex challenges institutional leaders may face in pursuing a merger

Abstract

This chapter examines a case study of inter-institutional merger in higher education, and explores the complex challenges institutional leaders may face in pursuing a merger process within a university setting where centuries-old tradition frames the context within which new innovations occur. Using the conceptual lens of organizational ambidexterity, findings uncover seven distinct phases of this merger process and propose a pre-merger Affiliation period as a strategy for establishing trust and mutual respect, aligning institutional cultures, and achieving balance between innovation and preservation in order to achieve full merged status. The chapter concludes with implications for theory and opportunities for practice.

Details

Research in Organizational Change and Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-436-1

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 5 February 2016

Julien Barrier and Christine Musselin

Facing intense global competition and pressure from public authorities, several universities in Europe have engaged in merger and concentration processes. Drawing on two in-depth…

Abstract

Facing intense global competition and pressure from public authorities, several universities in Europe have engaged in merger and concentration processes. Drawing on two in-depth case studies, this paper considers university mergers as an opportunity to explore the processes involved in the creation of a new organizational structure. In line with recent scholarly calls to revisit the notion of organizational design, we combine insights from three different research streams to address the functional, political, and institutional dynamics that shaped the organizational architecture of the merged universities. Two main results are presented and discussed. First, although these mergers were initiated largely in response to the diffusion of new global institutional scripts, these scripts had little influence on organizational design: deeply institutionalized local scripts prevailed over global mimetic pressures. Second, while these institutional scripts provided many of the basic building blocks of the new universities, in both cases their design was also heavily shaped by time pressures and power games. While a few powerful actors used the merger as an opportunity to promote their own reform agenda, some of the key features of the two merged universities stemmed from choices by exclusion, whose primary aim was the avoidance of conflicts.

Article
Publication date: 18 July 2020

Hana Bor and Rebecca Shargel

The study aims to learn how a small private university dedicated to Judaic studies successfully merged with a large public university? Our study investigates how Baltimore Hebrew…

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to learn how a small private university dedicated to Judaic studies successfully merged with a large public university? Our study investigates how Baltimore Hebrew University (BHU) successfully integrated into the much larger Towson University (TU), while maintaining its unique Jewish identity.

Design/methodology/approach

How did leadership facilitate a successful merging of a small private university with a large public university? Our case study investigates how BHU successfully integrated into the much larger TU. Given that past research has focused primarily on the financial aspects, the purpose of the present study is to analyze how leaders successfully navigated the complex processes of integrating the two institutions through envisioning, communicating and planning effectively. This research uniquely investigates the role of leadership as the driving force in moving the merger forward and facilitating the process. The authors analyzed the circumstances that facilitated the merger and discovered that leadership pushed this merger forward, particularly the confluence of three approaches—visionary, transformational and servant leadership. This research has implications for guiding future mergers of smaller colleges with larger universities. This case study is particularly timely, during this uncertain age of COVID-19, when many universities are considering creative solutions, including potential mergers with other institutions, in the face of increasing financial difficulties.

Findings

Implications of this research can help illuminate future mergers of smaller colleges with larger universities in cases where the smaller institution desires to retain its strong cultural or historical identity. The authors found that the “right leadership on the ground” is a crucial component needed for a successful merger, particularly in a higher education setting.

Research limitations/implications

Our research provides a concrete example that can be used help campus administrators assess whether they have the leadership structure in place to successfully navigate a merger as a path forward.

Originality/value

This case study is particularly timely, during this uncertain age of COVID-19, when many universities are considering creative solutions, including potential mergers with other institutions, in the face of increasing financial difficulties.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 34 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 January 2009

Ya‐qing Mao, Yuan Du and Jing‐juan Liu

The purpose of this paper is to discover and better understand the efficiency of university mergers from the perspective of knowledge production, with the research capability as…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discover and better understand the efficiency of university mergers from the perspective of knowledge production, with the research capability as the point of contact.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 20 colleges and universities directly under the central ministries that merged in 2000 were taken as the research samples. Factor analysis methods are adopted to calculate the public factor scores, which were taken as the basis of the time series analysis and similar comparative analysis.

Findings

The results indicated that, by the end of 2005, the reform of universities merger has a positive impact on the universities' knowledge production, but there was a “short‐term prosperity” after the merger happened, especially in the aspect of scientific research funding efficiency and the transformation of knowledge production outcomes.

Originality/value

Few if any mergers are painless and in the literature on mergers it is generally agreed that it can take up to ten years for the wounds to heal and for the new institution forged from previously autonomous identities to operate as a cohesive and well integrated whole.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 23 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 24 June 2019

Łukasz Sułkowski, Justyna Fijałkowska and Małgorzata Dzimińska

The macroeconomic changes as well as the challenges facing universities nowadays result in the transfer and adaptation of various concepts and organizational methods from…

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Abstract

Purpose

The macroeconomic changes as well as the challenges facing universities nowadays result in the transfer and adaptation of various concepts and organizational methods from enterprises to universities. One of such solutions is mergers. Even though there are a very large number of practical examples of university mergers in the world, at the same time there is a shortage of frameworks that would help manage mergers. The purpose of this paper is to present key areas of focus in HEIs’ consolidation processes and the creation of the conceptual model of the universitiesmergers.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper synthesis, the inductive approach for model development and case study description were used. The analysis and findings were based on the systematic literature review taken out from management and public policy areas. The new public management and public value governance approaches as well as strategic and process theories of mergers were applied. The descriptive approach to management was used as well.

Findings

Formulation of a Conceptual Model of UniversitiesMergers and ten principles of effective management of universitiesmergers that cover the entire process, from planning, through implementation, to integration.

Research limitations/implications

There is a need to verify the proposed inductive model of universitiesmergers through further qualitative and mixed-methods research studies.

Practical implications

The paper offers a significant opportunity for practical application of the presented content, because it indicates how the know-how from one (business) sector can be valuable for the future of another sector (the over-fragmented sector of higher education).

Originality/value

This study presents the key areas of focus in HEIs’ consolidation processes and proposes a novel Conceptual Model of UniversitiesMergers. It concludes with the principles of effective management of universitiesmergers.

Details

Managerial Finance, vol. 45 no. 10/11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4358

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2011

Hanna‐Mari Aula and Janne Tienari

This study of a university merger seeks to shed new light on reputation‐building, which has remained unexplored in the mergers and acquisitions (M&As) literature. It aims to study…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study of a university merger seeks to shed new light on reputation‐building, which has remained unexplored in the mergers and acquisitions (M&As) literature. It aims to study how key actors seek to build the reputation of the new university and how issues related to reputation become (re)constructed in different forums and vis‐à‐vis different stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper offers a longitudinal critical discourse analysis of a merger of three universities in Finland. The qualitative empirical material comprises university communications materials and media texts.

Findings

The study illustrates dynamics of reputation‐building in a university merger. It shows how the need to become an innovative “world‐class” university acts as an imaginary incentive, and predictions of an inevitable future are used to legitimize radical actions. The study also highlights the contradictions and controversies involved.

Originality/value

The study complements extant M&As literature by offering a unique focus on reputation‐building. More broadly, it offers an empirically‐based critical analysis of university reform in the global economy. It suggests that the ways in which reputation‐building activities impact on the (dis‐)identification of academic staff in higher education reforms needs to be studied further.

Details

Critical perspectives on international business, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 April 2018

Heather Leslie, Ali Abu-Rahma and Bushra Jaleel

The purpose of this paper is to examine the merger of two distinct higher education institutions. The change process was studied from the perspective of multiple stakeholders, and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the merger of two distinct higher education institutions. The change process was studied from the perspective of multiple stakeholders, and its major outcomes were evaluated in terms of various dimensions of success.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a qualitative research design. For the purpose of data collection, semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were used, targeting key decisions makers that led the change process. Additionally, university constituents, comprising students, faculty, and staff who were present during the merger, were invited to participate in an online survey.

Findings

Findings indicate that, although the merger deal appeared good on paper, it was not executed as well as it could have been, and the aftermath yielded lower than expected returns. The systems were not integrated properly, and cultural elements were overlooked, resulting in an anomic organizational environment, in place of what should have been a more cohesive academic community. The study establishes that institutions considering a merger should ensure that effective leadership is put in place to manage the implementation and that the cultures and identities are addressed and integrated as early as possible.

Research limitations/implications

Although the findings of this study are limited to the case of one university, it forms an illustrative example for other institutions that are undergoing or considering major change. Recommendations are given to avoid the pitfalls of merger in areas such as integration, identity and, leadership.

Originality/value

Contemporary research establishes mergers as one of the most crucial change processes a university goes through. This study contributes to the literature by using a micro-level approach to study an institutional merger and targeting the perception of key university constituencies, thereby providing in-depth analysis and a multidimensional outlook.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 32 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1992

D.T. Gamage

The recent Australian reforms in higher education envisaged thecreation of a unified national system at the expense of the binarysystem with a smaller number of larger…

Abstract

The recent Australian reforms in higher education envisaged the creation of a unified national system at the expense of the binary system with a smaller number of larger institutions through institutional mergers. The Green Paper quoted the La Trobe‐Lincoln merger as an example. Based on an evaluation of relevant archival material and interviews with most of the key personnel of both institutions and the merged university, examines the key issues which delayed the merger for seven years, the goals and the academic rationale set with outcomes of this process within the first two years after the formal merger along with future trends.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 30 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2017

J. Ruben Boling, Donna Taylor Mayo and Marilyn M. Helms

Mergers in higher education seem to be more common as academic institutions work to control costs and avoid program duplications in challenging economic times and adopt the more…

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Abstract

Purpose

Mergers in higher education seem to be more common as academic institutions work to control costs and avoid program duplications in challenging economic times and adopt the more common cost saving measures often espoused from business mergers. The purpose of this paper is to highlight successes from a complementarity-based merger of two institutions in the University System of Georgia (USG) and present results over time.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study methodology was employed to explain why a particular merger resulted in greater growth compared to other system-wide academic mergers. This research focuses on a single merger of two institutions in Georgia, one of seven such mergers in the USG institutions to date, involving Gainesville State College and North Georgia College and State University to become the University of North Georgia. Observations are made and complimented by secondary data to rank growth among the seven USG consolidations.

Findings

The case findings highlight the success from the complementarity of these institutions. While the two were unique institutions, the success of the merger was linked to the underlying complementarity issues.

Originality/value

Using the strategic issues inherent in mergers from the business literature, the merger of the two institutions is profiled and discussion and recommendations are provided along with areas for future research.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 30 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2020

Saundra J. Ribando, Catherine P. Slade and C. Kevin Fortner

Institutions of higher education face challenges of fiscal responsibility and their value proposition for students and other stakeholders they serve. Strategies used in business…

Abstract

Purpose

Institutions of higher education face challenges of fiscal responsibility and their value proposition for students and other stakeholders they serve. Strategies used in business sectors, such as merger and acquisition, are being increasingly adopted by higher education governing boards, especially for public institutions and systems. The purpose of this paper is to guide policy decisions related to university mergers.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper focuses on the interplay between the pre-merger status of the institution, the individual faculty member's sense of belonging, and their commitment to the organization on levels of job-related stress, which has well-established negative impacts on individual and organizational performance. Using survey data collected at the same time post-merger from two different universities within the same state system, we explore regression models to identify similarities and differences between the faculty responses in terms of the impact of the merger on faculty stress.

Findings

Differences are found between the two universities in terms of faculty stress with faculty of one low status institution pre-merger having significantly higher stress post-merger. A case is presented for differences in stress based on a part on differences in how the mergers were managed at the system and university levels.

Practical implications

This research is instructive for higher education policy makers and university administrators as the institution of higher education continues this type of transformation.

Originality/value

This paper examines the impact of mergers on a university's single-most important asset, faculty. Comparative and timely faculty survey results from two related universities early post-merger provide valuable insights for leaders in higher education.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

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