Higher Education Dynamics: The Experience from Northern Europe

Pinheiro, Rómulo; Geschwind, Lars; Aarrevaara, Timo

This book addresses the critical knowledge gaps of mergers involving higher education institutions. It is based on a comparative research project (spring 2013-spring 2015) investigating the phenomena of mergers involving higher education institutions across the Nordic countries – Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. The study involved close to 30 scholars from the region, and aimed at shedding critical light on, and providing novel contributions around, the following key aspects: 

• Conceptual and theoretical approaches – strengths and limitations - towards the study of the phenomena of mergers in higher education; 
  
• Historical developments, leading to significant structural changes in the domestic higher education landscape, and, in turn, how mergers have been used as a policy/institutional mechanism to foster adaptation to a new external environment at the local, national, regional and international levels; 
  
• The complex dynamicsinherent to merger processes by undertaking an in-depth investigation of a series of selected case studies, with a particular focus on the “black-box” associated with the implementation process;
  
• The implications of the findings as regards future policy and strategic endeavours, theory development and future research agenda.    

Details

Published by: Springer

Publication Date: 2015-11-17

Format: Hardcover

ISBN-13: 9783319219172

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-21918-9

Dimensions: 235cm x155cm

Pages: 236