Mergers in Higher Education: The Experience from Northern Europe (Higher Education Dynamics Book 46)

This book addresses the critical knowledge gaps of mergers involving higher education institutions. It is based on a comparative research project (spring 2013-spring 2015) investigating the phenomena of mergers involving higher education institutions across the Nordic countries – Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. The study involved close to 30 scholars from the region, and aimed at shedding critical light on, and providing novel contributions around, the following key aspects: * Conceptual and theoretical approaches – strengths and limitations - towards the study of the phenomena of mergers in higher education; * Historical developments, leading to significant structural changes in the domestic higher education landscape, and, in turn, how mergers have been used as a policy/institutional mechanism to foster adaptation to a new external environment at the local, national, regional and international levels; * The complex dynamics inherent to merger processes by undertaking an in-depth investigation of a series of selected case studies, with a particular focus on the “black-box” associated with the implementation process; * The implications of the findings as regards future policy and strategic endeavours, theory development and future research agenda. This book addresses the critical knowledge gaps of mergers involving higher education institutions. It is based on a comparative research project (spring 2013-spring 2015) investigating the phenomena of mergers involving higher education institutions across the Nordic countries - Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. The study involved close to 30 scholars from the region, and aimed at shedding critical light on, and providing novel contributions around, the following key aspects: Conceptual and theoretical approaches - strengths and limitations - towards the study of the phenomena of mergers in higher education; Historical developments, leading to significant structural changes in the domestic higher education landscape, and, in turn, how mergers have been used as a policy/institutional mechanism to foster adaptation to a new external environment at the local, national, regional and international levels; The complex dynamics inherent to merger processes by undertaking an in-depth investigation of a series of selected case studies, with a particular focus on the zblack-boxy associated with the implementation process; The implications of the findings as regards future policy and strategic endeavours, theory development and future research agenda Front Matter....Pages i-xii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 A World Full of Mergers: The Nordic Countries in a Global Context....Pages 3-25 Front Matter....Pages 27-27 Mergers in Norwegian Higher Education....Pages 29-42 Conflicting Rationalities: Mergers and Consolidations in Swedish Higher Education Policy....Pages 43-58 Merger Mania? The Finnish Higher Education Experience....Pages 59-72 Mergers in Danish Higher Education: An Overview over the Changing Landscape....Pages 73-88 Front Matter....Pages 89-89 The Anatomy of a Merger Process in the Greater Oslo Region....Pages 91-106 Mergers in the North: The Making of the Arctic University of Norway....Pages 107-127 Mergers as Opportunities for Branding: The Making of the Linnaeus University....Pages 129-143 Takeovers in Swedish Higher Education: Comparing the “Hostile” and the “Friendly”....Pages 145-159 Merger of Two Universities of Applied Sciences....Pages 161-178 A Complex and Messy Merger: The Road to University of Eastern Finland....Pages 179-193 Different Faces of Danish Higher Education Mergers....Pages 195-210 Post-merger Experiences at Danish Higher Education Institutions....Pages 211-224 Front Matter....Pages 225-225 The Many Guises of Nordic Higher Education Mergers....Pages 227-236 Annotation This book addresses the critical knowledge gaps of mergers involving higher education institutions. It is based on a comparative research project (spring 2013-spring 2015) investigating the phenomena of mergers involving higher education institutions across the Nordic countries - Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. The study involved close to 30 scholars from the region, and aimed at shedding critical light on, and providing novel contributions around, the following key aspects: conceptual and theoretical approaches; historical developments; the complex dynamics inherent to merger processes; and the implications of the findings as regards future policy and strategic endeavours, theory development and future research agenda