Unfolding strategic management practices in leading European technological Universities

This paper explores the study results conducted in the framework of a LLP-European project on the field of university modernization that carried out a survey amongst leading European universities in Science and Technology. The focus of the study was to better understand how strategy is developed within these universities, which tools are mostly used and how the strategic management processes are organized and implemented. The paper is framed to analyze the fundamental questions being examined: how is the strategy definition process in these universities like; what tools and models of strategy development and monitoring are used; how they assure that strategies are implemented and aligned; what supporting instruments are at place and how do universities establish the feedback mechanisms of the strategy development and ensure organizational learning from this process. The paper explores these central questions and sets forth a comprehensive discussion on the main practices trends and perspectives.Postprint (published version

¿ How academic managers talk about strategy process: roles, practices and rationales of strategy engagement

This study focus on strategizing in practice from the viewpoint of academic manager's experiences and practices in strategy implementation. The strategy process of an organization creates and implements strategy. Although this process influences the activities of many members of the organization, strategy research has only recently started to become interested in the activities of practitioners and practices in strategizing. Therefore, studying strategizing entails giving more room to explore how different organizational actors engage in institutional strategy process. Specifically in the context of professional organizations, studying strategizing can result event more complex given the popular concepts like resistance to change, staff understanding and subunits goals or control structures and practices. This study analyzes the strategy implementation in three types of universities and explores variations of implementation practices and its outcomes within and across cases, as well as patterns of behaviours in the use of strategic planning by different academic managers.Preprin

Accions de les universitats espanyoles per a impulsar la responsabilitat social universitària

La responsabilitat social dins de les Institucions d'Educació Superior (IES) té una especial importància per la naturalesa social intrínseca de les universitats, sent les IES essencials per al desenvolupament social. Per tal que la Responsabilitat Social Universitària (RSU) es compleixi, cal que formi part o estigui molt propera al nucli de la missió i present en les diferents tasques universitàries; per tal de satisfer les necessitats i expectatives dels actors involucrats en l'activitat universitària, més enllà del compromís de formar els estudiants en l'acompliment d'una professió, es té un compromís cap a la societat en el desenvolupament de nou coneixement i en la transferència de valors universitaris a la societat. El present treball inclou l’abast de la RSU, la seva implementació dins de la direcció estratègica i la seva relació amb els actors involucrats (stakeholders). També presenta l'estat actual de la RSU de les universitats catalanes i espanyoles, els esforços que han esmerçat en la matèria, així com projectes en els que s'han compromès relacionats amb la temàtica, com ara GUNI i HEIRRI. A més, s’identifiquen les accions realitzades a les universitats per assolir els Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible (17 objectius dins de l'Agenda 2030, aprovada per l'ONU l’any 2015). Per realitzar aquesta recerca, s’ha aplicat una anàlisi descriptiva basada en dos treballs realitzats prèviament: 1) un estudi Delphi, el qual va consensuar un grup de 27 experts sobre els impulsors i les barreres de la RSU, així com la seva integració en l'estratègia universitària, i 2) una anàlisi temàtica i codificació deductiva per a l'estudi de plans estratègics de 23 universitats del sistema universitari català i espanyol que compten amb plans estratègics actualitzats i vigents l’any 2017. Complementàriament, també s’ha tingut en compte una anàlisi de les 24 universitats que compten amb memòries de responsabilitat social.Postprint (published version

Drivers and barriers of university social responsibility: integration into strategic plans

The implementation of University Social Responsibility (USR) in its strategic plans is a subject of great social interest. However, the lack of understanding produces deficient stakeholder’s engagement, obstructing USR applications and potential benefits. USR in a formal context and as part of strategy should be a path that leads to its fulfilment. A Delphi method was used and several experts have participated in it. Results show that USR is related to student’s issues, among main drivers are to work under a code of ethics and acquire civic competences as a part of their vocational training. Among barriers to be involved in social responsibility activities is the lack of engagement of university community. The insufficient communication into the university community is mentioned as one of the main obstacles to incorporate USR into strategic planning. Relevance of this work relies on the holistic points of views of the results.Postprint (author's final draft

Catalysts of university social responsability into strategic planning by thematic analysis and deductive coding

The relevance of higher education institutions (HEI) for social development is unquestionable because of their potential for contributing intellectual solutions for the social, economic, and environmental welfare of society. The current study aims to: 1) examine which are the main catalysts of university social responsibility (USR) from a strategic management perspective; 2) show the relations among those catalysts through semantic networks; and 3) analyse the role of university promotion of entrepreneurship. The method uses a content analysis in a sample of 23 universities and examines the subject and codes to clarify the catalysts. The semantic networks are shown to reveal these connections. It was found that a high percentage of universities orient their efforts towards enhancing the employability of students, mainly through entrepreneurial projects intended to achieve social responsibility.Postprint (author's final draft

Determinants of user demand for lifelong learning in institutions of higher education

The main objective of this study is to identify the determinants that influence user demand for lifelong learning in institutions of higher education. Qualitative methodology was used to develop an instrument and a quantitative approach was used for the remainder of the study. After a literature review and in-depth interviews with experts in lifelong learning, we obtained the dimensions of the study and validated a questionnaire using expert opinion and a pilot test. The results and conclusions drawn from this study indicate the existence of three dimensions in user demand for lifelong learning in institutions of higher education: motivational, conflicts/difficulties and career-development. The constructs of current-work, career-change and personal improvement are linearly related to the motivational dimension; personal-constructs, external and time-related constructs are linked to the conflict/difficulties dimension; and working-environment and professional-experience constructs are related with the career development dimension. One of the novel contributions of this work is that it obtains empirical evidence on the determinants of demand for lifelong learning from the perspective of people who seek training.Postprint (author's final draft

De la burocracia profesional a la tecnópolis: los desafíos estratégicos de la gestión universitaria

La Revista de Educación dedica este número monográfico a La gestión estratégica de la Educación Superior: retos y oportunidades. Tanto desde el punto de vista teórico como operativo,la gestión estratégica de las universidadesse trata de un tema crucial para España, para el resto de Europa y para la generalidad de los países. Las razones son diversas y están expuestas en los artículos que componen esta monografía.Postprint (published version

The GDOR model. A new methodology for the analysis of training needs: the case of Andorra

Purpose: This article investigates the status and importance of continuing training in companies in the Principality of Andorra and its impact on the economic development of the country. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis is based on GDOR, a methodology based on the impact of training decisions on economic indicators and ratios that has been developed by the authors. By using GDOR, the authors explore and understand the current situation and the training needs of the main sectors in the Andorran economy. Findings: The findings incorporate a different view of lifelong learning training needs in Andorra much more related to the development needs of the country. Originality/value: With reference to best practice from different countries, particularly those in Europe, an original and new proposal to address those training needs is presented including recommendations to the country’s authorities on how to manage lifelong learning policies.Peer Reviewe

Higher education needs for the information and communication technology spanish market

Purpose: The main objective of the paper is to clarify the expectations held in the realm of business and by employers, in relation to the main educational parameters that respond to the employment needs of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) market in Spain, considering both technical and managerial knowledge. It also assesses whether the Spanish Technical University is providing its graduates with the knowledge currently demanded by the sector. Design/methodology/approach: The report is based on a survey completed by 43 companies, which constitutes more than 60% of the sector and is representative of the entire range of subsectors that constitute the vast ICT industry in Spain. According to the sample construction, post-stratification has been used for analyzing global results. Responses have been weighted according to the proportion that represents the employees’ population of the Spanish ICT sector. Findings: As a first conclusion of the current research it should be noted that in terms of technological knowledge, the gap between what the industry requires and the skills graduates can offer is, in general, much smaller than the gap relating to business management skills, where differences exceeding 25% have been demonstrated. This would suggest that the Spanish ICT sector needs to improve learning in the subjects related to business management. Originality/value: Finally, as an innovate factor since there are no previous bibliographic references on this topic, a surprising conclusion is that a significant segment of the Spanish ICT sector, specifically 51,2 % of the companies surveyed, did not distinguish between professional profiles, expressed indifference, and were equally likely to employ graduates as postgraduates. Although when the market was asked about the preferred profile for managerial positions, the results are quite different: 83.7% of respondents preferred a superior engineer qualification; 16.3%Postprint (published version

Costos de la renovación curricular: una propuesta metodológica para la valorización económica de carreras universitarias

A partir del estudio de caso de una universidad pública chilena, se analiza la importancia de la renovación curricular en la gestión universitaria y se propone una metodología que sistematiza los costos y valoriza económicamente este proceso. Si bien los aspectos económico-financieros son estratégicos en la gestión universitaria, existe escasa literatura que los relacione a dichos procesos. Utilizando un análisis de corte y herramientas financieras, valor actual de costos (VAC), costo anual equivalente (CAE), simulación Monte Carlo y punto de equilibrio, se constata que en un contexto de autofinanciamiento, el punto de equilibrio de cada carrera se incrementa. Ante la inexistencia de apoyo extraordinario del Estado, para financiar los procesos de renovación curricular, las carreras deben aumentar en promedio seis estudiantes por cohorte o buscar nuevas fuentes de financiamiento. La renovación curricular exige disponer de los recursos para su implementación en cantidad y plazos definidos, para asegurar la sustentabilidad académica y financiera de la institución.Postprint (published version