Quality judgements in terms of academic standards of excellence required by external stakeholders such as labour markets and steering hierarchies obviously exert strong pressure on universities. Do they generate an ‘iron cage’ effect, imposing a passive and uniform conformity on global...

The recent development of networks has engendered both the evanescence of “macro-actors” (i.e., big formal organizations) and new problems related to corporate social responsibility. The concept of “organization” must be redefined and analyzed so as to identify network externalities and...

Le texte élabore une typologie de la diversité des formes locales d'appropriation des nouvelles normes d'action, en s'appuyant sur la prémisse de Merton selon laquelle la qualité académique repose sur l'appui réciproque de dimensions instrumentales et honorifiques. Depuis les années où...

The proliferation of reforms in public administration based on the principles and instruments of the “New Public Management” (NPM) have triggered protest from and collective action by many professional groups in various sectors (healthcare, education, justice, social work, research…) and...

Are higher education and research academic organizations submitted to a irreversible dynamics of globalization? Shall local specificities be erased in the coming years by standardization criteria about quality and quality production? Shall academic institutions, professions and disciplines be...

Does organizational governance contribute to academic quality? Two top research universities are observed in-depth: Berkeley and the MIT. Three key factors are listed that help generate consistent and lasting high performance. Priority is allocated to self-evaluation and to the development of...