Abstract
Research Question: What are the requirements and expectations of each class of external stakeholders? Is there any convergence between the identified expectations? Motivation: There is a large variety of stakeholder expectations that universities are confronted with in their permanent search for social legitimacy, acknowledgement and survival. In the case of accounting study programs, their strong relationships with practitioners and professional associations, as emphasized in previous research in accounting education in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, add to the expectations that need to be met. Idea: This paper explores external stakeholder expectations of accounting study programs provided by Romanian universities, in order to identify the elements to which these expectations converge. Data: Data was collected only from public documents (laws and regulations, reports, studies, press releases, websites of relevant bodies etc.). Tools: A review of relevant public documents has been performed. Findings: As expected, all stakeholders require quality. Still, they ascribe different meanings to quality, evaluate quality in different manners, and hence exert various pressures. More, we observed that all types of isomorphism: coercive, mimetic, normative, as well as competitive are involved in assuring quality and meeting expectations. Contribution: The study contributes to literature with a complex approach, employing stakeholder and institutional theory, in the context of the extensive environment of higher education. In terms of practice, by taking stock of stakeholder requirements and expectations, the study calls the attention of decision makers to stakeholder pressures and the need to adjust accounting study programs accordingly.
Highlights
In permanent search for social legitimacy, acknowledgement and survival, universities have gone through major transformations during the last decades
Given the heterogeneous character of the stakeholders, we considered in this paper that grouping them by the scope of their impact would be useful and help our results to gain in clarity
Starting from stakeholder classifications existent in literature, we identified the main stakeholders of higher education institutions and accounting programs from Romania
Summary
In permanent search for social legitimacy, acknowledgement and survival, universities have gone through major transformations during the last decades. Economic and political changes impact on the operation of universities, leading them to reconsider their strategic role in society. In this context, the relationship between universities and their external stakeholders gains in importance. The literature provides evidence that fields that are constantly reformed require a careful analysis of their stakeholders (Bryson, 2004). Since they face a highly complex stakeholder environment, stakeholder analysis and management are more than pertinent (Chapleo & Simms, 2010). Stakeholder identification and classification are essential to universities, as every category needs a different strategy in its approach (Avci et al, 2015)
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