Guest editorial : Accounting and performance measurement in the age of rankings, quality assurance, accreditation, and excellence frameworks

©2023 Emerald Publishing Limited. This manuscript version is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY–NC 4.0) license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

"Ketä kiinnostaa tuottaa tutkintoja ja julkaisuja liukuhihnaperiaatteella...?" - Suoritusmittauksen vaikutukset tulosohjattujen yliopistojen tutkimus- ja opetushenkilökunnan työhön

siirretty Doriast

Tutkimus- ja opetushenkilökunnan määräaikaiset työsuhteet suomalaisissa yliopistoissa

Fixed-term employments among academic personnel at Finnish universities This study focuses on fixed-term employments in Finnish universities. The relative amount of fixed-term employments in different career phases, universities and fields are described. The analyses reveal that the fixed-term employments are considerably more common in universities than in other areas of the labor market. While 71,7% of the Finnish scholars are in fixed-term employments, the equivalent number in the Finnish labor market in total is 14,9%. The role and nature of fixed-term employments in the Finnish academia is further discussed and it is suggested that the transition from the previous to the new career model divides the fixed-term employees into more fortunate and less fortunate ones. The tenure-track assistant and associate professors seem to be favored by of the new career system while the rest of the fixed- term employees seem less fortunate.©2023 Hallinnon tutkimuksen seura.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Balancing between accountability and autonomy : the impact and relevance of public steering mechanisms within higher education

Purpose This article studies the tensions between universities' accountability and autonomy in response to the demands of public steering mechanisms coordinating higher education institutions. Design/methodology/approach Demonstrating the tension between accountability and autonomy, the impact and relevance of public steering mechanisms coordinating higher education are studied via a survey with selected representative Finnish universities. The response rate was an exceptionally high 94%. In addition to the statistical analysis of the survey, open-ended questions were also analyzed to give a more in-depth understanding of the findings. The study uses paradox theory and institutional complexity as its theoretical lenses. Findings The empirical analysis of this study shows a considerable gap between the experienced impact and the experienced relevance of the steering mechanisms in higher education. The authors’ further analysis of the open-ended data shows that indicator-based funding allocation has undermined the perceived university autonomy. The authors highlight the paradoxical tensions of university autonomy and higher education institutions' steering mechanisms' requirement for accountability. Finding an acceptable balance between accountability and institutional autonomy plays an important role in designing higher education policies. Originality/value The authors found that even if a steering mechanism is experienced as impactful, it is not necessarily considered relevant. One of the key aspects in understanding the reasons behind this mismatch is related to university autonomy. Most impactful steering mechanisms become considered less relevant because they also endanger institutional autonomy. In this sense, it could be expected that steering mechanisms should better balance accountability and autonomy.© Tomi J. Kallio, Kirsi-Mari Kallio, Mira Huusko, Riitta Pyykkö and Jussi Kivistö. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode.The authors would like to thank FINEEC for providing the data for this study.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

From professional bureaucracy to competitive bureaucracy – redefining universities’ organization principles, performance measurement criteria, and reason for being

PurposeThis purpose of this study is to understand how the spread of audit culture and the related public sector reforms have affected Finnish universities’ organization principles, performance measurement (PM) criteria and ultimately their reason for being.Design/methodology/approachApplying extensive qualitative data by combining interview data with document materials, this study takes a longitudinal perspective toward the changing Finnish higher education field.FindingsThe analysis suggests the reforms have altered universities’ administrative structures, planning and control systems, coordination mechanisms and the role of staff units, as well as the allocation of power and thus challenged their reason for being. Power has become concentrated into the hands of formal managers, while operational core professionals have been distanced from decision making. Efficiency in terms of financial and performance indicators has become a coordinating principle of university organizations, and PM practices are used to steer the work of professionals. Because of the reforms, universities have moved away from the ideal type of professional bureaucracy and begun resembling the new, emerging ideal type of competitive bureaucracy.Originality/valueThis study builds on rich, real-life, longitudinal empirical material and details a chronological description of the changes in Finland’s university sector. Moreover, it illustrates how the spread of audit culture and the related legislative changes have transformed the ideal type of university organization and challenged universities’ reason for being. These changes entail significant consequences regarding universities as organizations and their role in society.</p

Physical space, culture and organisational creativity – a longitudinal study

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the potential positive effects of the design of aphysical organisational environment on the emergence of an organisational culture conducive to organisational creativity. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on an in-depth, longitudinal case study, the aim being to enhance understanding of how a change in physical space, including location, spatial organisation and architectonic details, supports cultural change. Findings – It is suggested that physical space plays an implicit yet significant role in theemergence of a culture conducive to organisational creativity. It appears from the case analysis that there are three aspects of culture in particular, equality, openness and collectivity, that may be positively affected by the design of an organisation’s physical environment. Practical implications – The careful choice, planning and design of an organisation’s physicallocation, layout and style can advance the appearance of an organisational culture conducive to creativity. Originality/value – The paper describes a longitudinal study comparing a case organisationbefore and after a change in its physical environment. The longitudinal data illustrates how a change in the spatial environment contributes to the emergence of a culture conducive to organisational creativity.  </p

Unpacking data analytics: rhetorical analysis

This study delves into the idea of data analytics and investigates the rhetoric through which its qualities are rendered accessible to people. It poses the following research question: How is data analytics and its relationship to organisations made attractive through rhetorical strategies? The analysis is based on 16 articles on data analytics published in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) from 2006 to 2020. Due to the analysis, two rhetorical strategies were identified: creativity and delegation. The findings suggested that contradictions prevail in the idea of data analytics. The creativity strategy underscores the illumination of possibilities in the application of data analytics, whereas the delegation strategy increasingly emphasises the need for organisational change, including the redistribution of work. In this study, we suggest that while data analytics can bring about various benefits, it can also create new uncertainties in an organisation. The contradictory features of data analytics may easily go unrecognised by practitioners. </p

The effects of digital teaching technology on the expertise and professional identity of university teachers

Tässä artikkelissa tarkastellaan yliopiston opettajien kokemuksia digitaalisen opetusteknologian vaikutuksista heidän asiantuntijuuteensa ja ammatti-identiteettiinsä. Identiteetti määritellään jatkuvaksi identiteettityöksi, jonka avulla opettaja pyrkii muodostamaan ja ylläpitämään mielekästä ja koherenttia käsitystä itsestään sekä asiantuntijuudestaan. Aineisto kerättiin temaattisin yksilö-, pari- ja ryhmähaastatteluin. Sisällönanalyysin avulla aineistosta muodostettiin kaksi opettajien toimintaympäristön muutosta kuvaavaa kategoriaa sekä kaksi roolikategoriaa. Toimintaympäristön muutokset nimettiin epävarmuutta tuottavaksi toimintaympäristöksi sekä opettajan työtä tukevaksi toimintaympäristöksi. Opettajien roolikategoriat jaettiin etääntyneeseen opettajuuteen ja epäopettajuuteen, jotka kuvaavat opettajien ammatillisen identiteettityön muutoksia ja siihen liittyviä kipupisteitä. Kipupisteet liittyvät omaa osaamista koskevaan epävarmuuteen,käytössä olevien vuorovaikutuskeinojen vähentymiseen sekä tunteeseen työn merkityksellisyyden vähenemisestä. Lisäksi opetustilanteiden toimijuuden siirtyminen yhä enemmän digitaaliselle teknologialle lisäsi epävarmuuden tunnetta. Tulosten perusteella voidaan todeta, että digitaalisen opetusteknologian lisääntynyt käyttö haastaa opettajien asiantuntijuuden, mikä on voimistanut tarvetta ammatti-identiteetin uudelleenmuokkaamiselle. Tämän tutkimuksen tulokset auttavat opettajia kehittämään asiantuntijuuttaan sekä hahmottamaan paremmin tulevaisuudessa tarvittavaa ammatti-identiteettiä, jonka keskiössä on digitaalisten teknologioiden osaaminen ja niiden käytön hallinta. Käytännön taitojen lisäksi opettajat tarvitsevat tukea ja välineitä uudenlaisen identiteetin rakentamiseen.publishedVersionPeer reviewe