Deviant behaviour of stakeholders in Russian higher education

Abstract

The paper investigates deviant behaviour of stakeholders in higher education. Methodologically, the study relies on the combination of management, sociological and economic theories that possess an epistemological potential for comprehending the concept under study. Deviant behaviour is the one that contradicts the prescribed social norms. Applying the methods of induction and abstraction, we establish and analyse the key trends in the evolution of scientific approaches to understanding deviant behavior. The authors detect the prevailing trends in the development of scientific interpretation of deviant behaviour, which are the following: a focus shifting from identification of deviations to finding the ways to neutralize them, and from examining characteristics of individuals to analysing the special features of the institutional environment as a deviation factor. The study presents a taxonomy of stakeholders’ deviant behaviour with an emphasis on peculiarities of higher education in Russia and determines the stable models of opportunistic behaviour of stakeholders in higher education. Based on the results of the analysis of public relations in higher education, the authors conclude that deviant behaviour intensifies under uncertainty and rapid changes in the institutional environment, when the rules are no longer clear and consistent, but contradict routines, traditional practices and values.