University Autonomy and Organizational Change Dynamics

In this paper university autonomy is discussed from four different analytical perspectives. First, a discussion is presented of autonomy as conceptualized in the academic literature covering public sector governance in general. Second, the concept of autonomy is deconstructed through discussing its underlying assumptions and by examining the relationship between state authorities and universities. In so doing the paper proposes an institutional approach to the study of autonomy. Third, the way in which autonomy affects organizational design according to centralization, formalization, standardization, legitimization and flexibility is addressed. Fourth, relating to our interpretation of the living autonomy we will discuss how reforms that are aimed at enhancing university autonomy have affected the internal governance structure. The empirical setting consists of a study on flagship universities in eight continental European countries. First findings show tensions as a consequence of the ways in which enhanced institutional autonomy is interpreted, operationalized and used within flagship universities. These tensions are manifested by the nature of the interactions between the traditional academic domain and the emerging executive structure inside these institutions.