Governance of National Research University in Southeast Asia: the case of Chiang Mai University in Thailand

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper aims to deal with lingering governance issues of a prestigious university in a developing country of Southeast Asia. It provides a description of environments, changes, and university stakeholders’ perceptions in terms of governance arrangements of Chiang Mai University (CMU), which was selected as a National Research University in Thailand. The analytical framework was composed of: (1) context-underpinning factors; (2) incentive arrangements and funding; and (3) monitoring and oversight mechanisms. The study adopted a qualitative approach. There were 27 interviewees. They were top executives and academics of CMU, and senior officials working for governmental agencies and independent organizations. The study highlighted that the contextual factor of bureaucratic mindset was a crucial factors affecting the institutional governance arrangements in terms of incentive arrangements and oversight mechanisms. In addition, the application of three disciplinary perspectives from agency theory can be a fruitful framework for analyzing higher education governance.