New development: Our hate–love relationship with publication metrics

Helden, Jan van; Argento, Daniela

doi:10.1080/09540962.2019.1682353

Cited by 24 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(14 reference statements)

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“…Accordingly, these change scenarios work against prior studies indicating that PMS limits research scope (Picard et al. , 2019), undermining local traditions (van Helden and Argento, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…According to Picard et al. (2019), they can limit the academic research scope, while van Helden and Argento (2020) argue that they undermine local traditions. Further, given academics' multiple roles and constantly changing research requirements, burnout, mental distress, and emotional hardship are increasing (Martin-Sardesai et al.…”

Section: Performance Measurement Systems In Universities: a Brief Lit...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Performance management change: discourses at play in an Italian university

Rossi

Spanó²,

Martin-Sardesai³

et al. 2022

JPBAFM

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PurposeThis study explores the reactions of different categories of actors within a university setting (academics, administrative staff, governance members, and students) to implementing performance management system (PMS) changes. The paper aims to understand how these actors dealt with PMS change by discursively reconstructing their roles and positions at institutional and individual levels.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use Foucault's (1972/1989) conceptualisation of regimes of truths to analyse the case of an Italian university. Interviews with individual actors took place in the period 2012–2020. The data were contextualised with other data from publicly available reports, internal documents, and archival material.FindingsThe paper identifies the challenges actors face dealing with contrasting discourses and draws attention to the paradoxical changes triggering resistance. However, the findings show that when circumstances allow a generative resistance, dissent can be progressively replaced with a commitment on the part of actors, achieving alignment with organisational strategy.Originality/valueThe study challenges the commonly held view of resistance as a dysfunctional force that impedes change. It emphasises the importance of focusing on actors to make resistance a generative force shaping change towards more negotiated and agreed positions. This has implications for academics and practitioners seeking to implement PMSs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Performance Measurement Systems In Universities: a Brief Lit...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance management change: discourses at play in an Italian university

Rossi

Spanó²,

Martin-Sardesai³

et al. 2022

JPBAFM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Rankings and bibliometric systems are, as above mentioned, mainly originated by private initiatives (e.g., rankings produced by media organizsations). The case studies presented in this contribution show that, despite some differences in the experiences portrayed in the Netherlands, Portugal, and Italy, they tend anyhow to reflect the growing marketization of Higher Education Systems all around Europe which deeply influences academics' attitude towards research and indirectly also teaching and third mission activities (see, for instance, van Helden & Argento, 2020a) and could drive to the emergence of a new kind of accountability: competitive accountability, i.e. a form of public accountability through a research governance technology and its performance-based demand for academic researchers as producers of economic and societal impacts (Watermeyer, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Transparency and Accountability in Higher Education as a Response to External Stakeholders and Rules: A Comparison Between Three Country-Case Studies

Pattaro

Sá

Kruijf

2022

SIDREA Series in Accounting and Business Administration

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Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have been increasingly under pressure to enhance accountability towards their stakeholders and to disclose relevant, updated, and reliable information about their performance in terms of teaching/education, research, and other activities, often labeled "'third mission."'.Based on an exploratory qualitative research, build through the analysis of literature, of national legislation, and of the information disclosed in different institutional websites, the purpose of this chapter is to offer a general overview of the present accountability requirements and of the instruments or resolutions, rule-driven but also voluntary, adopted in three European countries used as country-case studies --the Netherlands, Portugal, and Italy -. In addition, this contribution aims at proposing a general assessment of the degree of transparency and accountability of public-funded HEIs. 2Findings indicate that there is a quite a strong emphasis on accountability towards public or private funders/sponsors and to actual and future students and their families. It has also been realized that the weakest area in terms of transparency of HEIs' performance is that of transfer and consulting activities, contrasting to the attention paid to the disclosure of teaching and education performance information. Overall, HEIs in the three countries seem to be transparent but especially towards expert stakeholders who know exactly what to look for and where, since performance information is often scattered and available on wide documents, making the access and usability of information relatively low.The current research aims at contributing to the literature on transparency and accountability, particularly on performance information disclosure in the specific environment of public-funded higher education institutions, from an international comparative perspective, while offering to managers and policymakers some hints on how to assess their current transparency practices, as well as some suggestions about possible future amendments and improvements. Clearly, additional investigation is needed to further validate some findings and introduce other transparency dimensions and national contexts.

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“…Parker explains that universities were encouraged to embrace corporatization through professionalization and by adopting private enterprise forms of control (following a CEO-like structure, including a supervisory board of outsiders), and commercialization (such as fee-based educational programmes and externally funded research). In addition, both teaching and research became subjected to quality assessments, which sometimes led to an obsessive focus on metrics and rankings (van Helden & Argento, 2020a). The need to measure and compare the performance of individuals, departments, and universities for accountability purposes is very much in line with the NPM paradigm (Söderlind & Geschwind, 2019).…”

Section: Universities In Transitionmentioning

confidence: 99%