Abstract
In this study, we used the institutional logics perspective to identify the logics underpinning the tenure track career system, how the logics manifest themselves in recruitment and performance management and how academic leaders and academics negotiate between the logics. The study contributes to research on governance dynamics in academia and to universities’ organisational transformation in the context of strategic actorhood. The data comprised interviews with academic leaders (vice-rectors, deans, department heads) and academics in tenure track positions at two Finnish universities. Empirically, the study explores two key areas of human resource management: recruitment and performance management. The findings show that in the area of recruitment, the leaders at the highest hierarchical levels emphasised organisational visions and priorities. On the other hand, academic leaders constantly negotiated on the weight given to the managerial and the professional logics. The managerial logic also stands out in the area of performance management, but in daily life, it is mediated by the professional and the market logics. Theoretically, the findings underscore the complex interplay between different, yet coexisting institutional logics, as well as the agentic role of academic leaders and academics in addressing the tensions that unfold.
Highlights
Universities face a broad set of expectations and demands
We argue that four institutional logics are especially relevant in the study of academic careers: state logic, managerial logic, professional logic and market logic
We believe that these ideal-type logics, which have been recognised in previous research (e.g. Goodrick and Reay 2011; Thornton et al 2012), are central in illustrating how the work of academics and academic leaders is shaped in the realm of academic careers. When it comes to the five key dimensions described in the table, the first three (1–3) relate to structural conditions, whereas the two remaining (4–5) ones pertain to the daily practices of academics and academic leaders
Summary
Universities face a broad set of expectations and demands. According to the dominant science policy discourse, research should be excellent as reviewed by prominent scholars. The managerial logic emphasises the needs of the university organisation, which are manifested in organisational research and teaching strategies with implications on human resource policies It emphasises academics as employees of a specific university and the need for employees to comply with management decisions and to follow hierarchical, centralised procedures (Krücken and Meier 2006; Musselin 2007; Whitley 2008). When it comes to the five key dimensions described, the first three (1–3) relate to structural conditions, whereas the two remaining (4–5) ones pertain to the daily practices of academics and academic leaders These two dimensions (control and scope of work) are the focus of our empirical analysis insofar as institutional complexity is associated with the introduction of a tenure track system in Finnish higher education. Academics constantly negotiate about the rule of power within universities, where hierarchical management coincides with academic self-organisation, forming a delicate balance between the managerial and the academic rule
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