Reviving the sociology of organizations in higher education: The case of how global university rankings influence the strategic management of Canadian universities

Reviving the sociology of organizations in higher education: The case of how global university rankings influence the strategic management of Canadian universities | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Reviving the sociology of organizations in higher education: The case of how global university rankings influence the strategic management of Canadian universities Edmund Adam This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7230788/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This article aims to counter the prevailing pessimism about the state of organizational sociology by examining the contributions of this line of inquiry to higher education studies. It contends that, despite sociologists’ concerns over the usefulness of organizational sociology for informing comprehension of today’s organizations, this subfield of sociology continues to hold tremendous promise for higher education scholars interested in understanding how and why higher education institutions behave the way they do, and with what consequences. The article focuses on organization theory. It first reviews the contributions of this theoretical lens to higher education studies, commenting on current problems and future prospects. Then, drawing on a study of the influence of global university rankings on the strategic management of Canadian universities, it demonstrates the explanatory power of organizational frameworks regarding the dynamics of change occurring at universities due to a major issue in contemporary higher education as rankings. Special attention is given to resource dependence theory and network influences. The article concludes with the suggestion that given evidence of epistemic authority, organization theory provides valuable investigative tools for exploring the inner workings of universities and mobilizing these fundamental organizations to address fundamental sociological concerns such as power, social justice, and sustainable development. Sociology Educational Philosophy and Theory Management organizational sociology organization theory open systems models network influences higher education rankings Canada Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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