Managing the complexity of centres of excellence: accommodating diversity in institutional logics

Abstract

This article discusses how Centres of Excellence (CoE) and the existence of several logics in these centres can contribute to the differentiation of the strategic profiles of universities. The study sees research centres as a way to organize research activities in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in order to target both excellence but also societal challenges through focused thematic research. It reveals how societal challenges and their interpretation by these centres contribute to the differentiation of the strategic profiles of universities. Studies of centres of excellence programs in Sweden and Japan reveal differences in how their mission is formulated for relevance and excellence. The results indicate that contrasting missions of HEIs are accommodated through the dual logics of these centres relating both to autonomy and industry collaboration. The study shows that long-term funding gives these centres flexibility to set the agenda and focus on their strategic core activities. In other words, a logic of autonomy guides their strategic choices of research activities over the long-run as well as collaborators. Nevertheless, these centres are also developing strategies to cope with dilemmas stemming from the excellence-relevance and evaluation templates that emerge in the nexus of their collaborative ties with industry, government and universities.

Organisational Identities, Boundaries, and Change Processes of Technical Universities

“…An organisation can harbour several logics as a counterforce to processes leading to isomorphism and similar looking institutions (DiMaggio and Powell 1983). Furthermore, a certain level of autonomy (achieved through, for example, excellence and/or industrial relevance criteria) can in turn safeguard practices and vocabularies used by the different units within an organisation such as the example of competence centres or centres of excellence hosted by university organisations that also have strong ties to industry (Larsen 2019). Chapters 2 and 8 in this volume describe how tensions between engineering as practice and engineering as scientific discipline characterise the development of HEIs referred to as technical universities.…”

The societal role of universities and their alliances: the case of the EuroTeQ Engineering University

“…Collaborations that go beyond mere window dressing and that enhance academic performance, achieve economic efficiencies and better align the network and performance of institutions to public needs seem to be able to strategically stimulate institutional initiative, support effective planning and implementation, secure stakeholder buy-in, concentrate resources, and achieve policy alignment (Thune, 2011;Williams, 2017). Long-term financing gives higher education organizations flexibility to set their own agenda and focus on their strategic aims (Larsen, 2020).…”