Steering heterogeneous sciences in the Dutch and Italian higher education systems

This paper studies how the implementation of New Public Management reforms in Higher Education affects the academic bodies’ steering in different national systems and disciplines. It is assumed that the steering capability depends on the characteristics of each system and discipline. The work includes three case studies (two Italian universities and one Dutch university); two research institutes are selected for each university: one HS institute (either Biomedical Sciences or Physics) and one SoSc institute (Management). Evidence confirms that steering capability improves in some disciplines, while other scientific fields remain hardly steerable because the levers are weak, the interest of society and policy makers in research outcomes is small, and the reputational organisations are very influential.