Organizational change in higher education : an identity-based view
(2009)
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- Authors
- Supervisors
- Vas, Alain
- Abstract
- (en) This research aims to study major organizational change in higher education organizations through an identity-based view, referring to the concept of organizational identity. Therefore, the general question upon which this research is based can be stated as: how can major organizational change involve modifications in organizational identity? More precisely, we take an accreditation process as a major change for business schools. This document is structured in four essays. In order to get familiar with the higher education environment, the first essay aims at understanding reactions to organizational change in a university setting. As a result, it highlights the importance of culture and subcultures to study change and emphasizes that the management field seems more responsive to change. The second essay measures the perceived impact of the EQUIS accreditation process on the organizational effectiveness and culture within 31 accredited European business schools. It shows a positive impact on effectiveness and a perceived cultural change towards more openness. Further, it discusses organizational image as a stake to take into account. The third essay reports a major change within a European management school that failed to get accredited, until a new application succeeds. It describes how the identity dynamics with culture and image involved organizational change in resources and activities, as well as change in identity claims and understandings. The fourth essay compares the identity dynamics in seven European business schools that faced an identity discrepancy during the accreditation process. It suggests two different paths of identity change, building on different sequences of sensemaking and sensegiving. The research ends up with conclusions dealing with the differentiation-standardization debate and some tensions emphasized during an accreditation process.
- Affiliations
Citations
Lejeune, C. (2009). Organizational change in higher education : an identity-based view. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/61966