This book addresses the critical knowledge gaps of mergers involving higher education institutions. It is based on a comparative research project (spring 2013-spring 2015) investigating the phenomena of mergers involving higher education institutions across the Nordic countries – Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. The study involved close to 30 scholars from the region, and aimed at shedding critical light on, and providing novel contributions around, the following key aspects:
- Conceptual and theoretical approaches – strengths and limitations – towards the study of the phenomena of mergers in higher education;
- Historical developments, leading to significant structural changes in the domestic higher education landscape, and, in turn, how mergers have been used as a policy/institutional mechanism to foster adaptation to a new external environment at the local, national, regional and international levels;
- The complex dynamicsinherent to merger processes by undertaking an in-depth investigation of a series of selected case studies, with a particular focus on the “black-box” associated with the implementation process;
- The implications of the findings as regards future policy and strategic endeavours, theory development and future research agenda.
Table of Content
Part I: Setting the Stage. – Chapter 1: A world full of mergers: The Nordic countries in a global context. Rómulo Pinheiro, Lars Geschwind and Timo Aarrevaara.- Part II: Path Dependencies & System Dynamics. – Chapter 2: Mergers in Norwegian higher education. Svein Kyvik and Bjørn Stensaker.- Chapter 3: Conflicting Rationalities: Mergers and Consolidations in Swedish Higher Education Policy. Mats Benner and Lars Geschwind.- Chapter 4: Merger mania? The Finnish higher education experience. Timo Aarrevaara and Ian R. Dobson.- Chapter 5: Mergers in Danish Higher education: An overview over the changing landscape. Kaare Aagaard, Hanne F. Hansen and Jørgen G. Rasmussen.- Part III: Case Studies .- Chapter 6: The anatomy of a merger process in the greater Oslo region. Elizabeth Mathisen and Rómulo Pinheiro.- Chapter 7: Mergers in the North: The Making of the Artic University of Norway. Peter Arbo and Tove Bull.- Chapter 8: Mergers as opportunities for branding: The Making of the Linnaeus University. Lars Geschwind, Göran Melin and Linda Wedlin.- Chapter 9: Takeovers in Swedish Higher Education: Comparing the “hostile” and the “friendly”. Sara Karlsson and Lars Geschwind.- Chapter 10: Merger of two Universities of Applied Sciences. Maria Sutela and Yuzhuo Cai.- Chapter 11: A complex and messy merger: The road to the University of Eastern Finland. Jarkko Tirronen, Hanna-Mari Aula and Timo Aarrevaara.- Chapter 12: Different faces of Danish Higher Education mergers. Kaare Aagaard, Hanne F. Hansen and Jørgen G. Rasmussen.- Chapter 13: Post-merger experiences at Danish Higher Education Institutions. Kaare Aagaard, Hanne F. Hansen and Jørgen G. Rasmussen.- Part IV: Lessons Learnt and Way Forward .- Chapter 14: The many guises of Nordic higher education mergers. Lars Geschwind, Rómulo Pinheiro and Timo Aarrevaara.
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