The impact of new public management instruments on PhD education

Abstract

New public governance emphasises less state, more market and more hierarchy as the cornerstones for effective steering of higher education institutions. Based on an explorative analysis of qualitative and quantitative data of fourteen German and European economics departments, we investigate the steering effects of six new public management instruments in the years 2001 and 2002 on subsequent placement success of PhD graduates. Using crisp set Qualitative Comparative Analysis to analyse the data, our results deliver strong support for the positive effects of competition for resources and the varying effects of hierarchy on PhD education. Governance of successful departments is characterised by two solutions: transparency over academic achievements as one single success factor in each solution or a combination of additional funding based on national competitive performance with either no public policy regulations for departments or no university regulations for departments. Governance of unsuccessful departments is characterised by one solution: university regulations for departments or a combination of no additional funding based on national competitive performance and no transparency over academic achievements. Our results strengthen the strong impact of selected competitive mechanisms as an effective governance instrument and the partially detrimental effects of state regulations. University regulations turn out to be successful if they increase transparency over academic achievements by faculty members. Success is unlikely if those rules intervene into PhD education.

Current Developments at Higher Education Institutions and Interview-Based Recommendations to Foster Work Motivation and Work Performance

“…While Schneider and Sadowski ( 2010 ) reported that an increased competition for resources leads to successful Ph.D. education, our interviewees yet raised the issue that market incentives are not working (as they should) in each context (e.g., in basic research).…”

“…First, in an interview study based on scholars from economics departments, Schneider and Sadowski ( 2010 ) investigated how New Public Management affects Ph.D. education. The authors found that different governance mechanisms can be effective, e.g., the increased competition for resources leads to successful Ph.D. education.…”

Admissions Quotas in Metropolitan Areas and Competition between Universities in Korea

“…The quasi-market competition for research funding and for students serves as a foundation for the success of US university departments (Aghion et al 2009). Schneider and Sadowski (2010) analyzed data pertaining to the employment of doctoral graduates in economics for 2001 and 2002 from 14 universities at Germany and other European countries. According to their analysis, the major characteristics of successful departments are transparency of their academic achievements, no governmental or university regulations, and research funding that is allocated through performance competition.…”

The effect of academic socializing strategies on intercultural collaboration

“…Some studies consider the total number of graduates [24], the reputation of a graduate school [5,17] or placement success [35]. The present analysis follows the approach of several studies that consider publication records as performance measure, either for PhD graduates [21] or professors [31].…”