Does trust play a role when it comes to donations? A comparison of Italian and US higher education institutions

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have experienced severe cutbacks in funding over the past few years, with universities examining options for alternative funding streams, such as alumni funding. Identifying the factors influencing their alumni's intentions to invest in their alma mater can be of significant importance when establishing a sustainable revenue stream. Within this context, empirical research on the potential role of trust is scarce. This paper aims to deepen the analysis of the relationship between alumni trust and engagement as well as three outcomes, namely support, commitment, and attitude toward donation. A structural equation model was tested on two samples of US (  = 318) and Italian (  = 314) alumni. Although both countries are affluent and developed countries, the USA has an established tradition of alumni donations, which is not such a developed practice in Italy. For both countries, results confirm that engagement is an antecedent of trust, which in turn leads to the three investigated outcomes (support, commitment, and attitude toward donations). In contrast, the effect of commitment on attitude toward donations is significant only for the USA universities. The paper has interesting theoretical and managerial implications. From a theoretical point of view, the study aims to address a gap concerning the role of trust in the HE context. Managerially, the study has significant implications for universities that want to change alumni attitude toward donations. [Abstract copyright: © Springer Nature B.V. 2020.

Enacting the common script: management ideas at Finnish universities of applied sciences

This paper discusses the work of mid-level management at Finnish universities of applied sciences. Based on in-depth interviews with 15 line managers, this study investigates how the standardised management ideas of rational management and employee empowerment affect the sensemaking processes of middle-managers at these institutions. The findings indicate that the work of middle managers is characterised by the consistent pursuit of rationality, strenuous efforts to provide individualised attention to every staff member and the promotion of cooperation. This study concludes that the global management script has firmly shaped the work of middle management at Finnish universities of applied sciences, as demonstrated by their commitment to strong managerial practices and distributive leadership