What Universities Can Learn from Businesses : A Critical Research Study of Adapting Corporate Organizational Development Approach in University Environment

Universities are facing dramatic changes in their environment, affecting their strategic competitive positions and organizational effectiveness. High education is a big business, but the business approach to strategic planning and organizational development in a university environment is still rarely used. Change management and organizational interventions are among best corporate practices in addressing external and internal strategic and organizational needs. Is it possible effectively using adapted corporate approaches for strategy-driven organizational development in universities? What are factual and perceived key problems and what are key success factors? What are result's logic, time-frame, and expected benefits? This critical research study is based on 128 structured interviews, followed by open question interviews and employees’ anonymous evaluations in five comprehensive organizational development projects in one university. The projects are focused on clusters of centralized business and financial services at a state supported mid-size northwest university. This study is highlighting a successfully adapted model and a structured implementation framework for organizational development in a specific university environment. The purpose of the study is to help understand and sharing challenges and practitioners’ experience answering the overarching question: How to make organizational development project in university work?