Public Sector Reform in Italian Higher Education: The Governance Transformation of the Universities — A Comparison Among Perceptions of Rectors and Department Chairs

Abstract

New public management (NPM) has dominated the reforms in the higher education sector and the academic discussion on how universities should be governed since the 1980s. Besides, the introduction of accountability and efficiency measures in the form of performance measurement and pay-for-performance scheme, a key debated aspect of NPM is the strengthening of the role of boards and the introduction of a more firm-like governance structure. Much work is still needed to evaluate the implementation of NPM reforms in the university domain, particularly with respect to the internal governance changes. Besides formal rules, perceptions of key actors on their institutional environment play a major role in investigating university governance. This article uses a unique dataset on Italian universities to illustrate the internal governance patterns that emerged after the 2010 reform and critically analyses the differences in the perceptions of rectors and department chairs providing insights for both academic and policymakers.