Financial sustainability in Malaysian public universities: coping with or embracing change?

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores the institutionalisation of a financial sustainability agenda in Malaysian public universities.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses semi-structured interviews and document analysis. New Institutional Sociology and the institutional logics perspective are utilised to frame the study and explain findings.

Findings

The findings reveal that universities manage the conflicting academic and financial logics to co-exist to ensure legitimacy and survival. By compartmentalising the functions of key divisions and through loose coupling, universities are able to support dual logics.

Research limitations/implications

The paper provides university management and policy makers with insights into how leading universities in Malaysia cope with a financial sustainability agenda.

Originality/value

The present study documents how universities cope with and respond to government reforms and budgetary cuts in the context of a developing country, Malaysia. Most prior research in the area focuses on individual or organisational responses. This paper examines organisational-level responses but goes deeper to understand how universities, through three key divisions; bursaries, corporate strategy divisions and faculties manage to enable the multiple logics to co-exist through compartmentalisation and loose coupling.

Citation

Mamat, S., Nik Ahmad, N.N. and Mohd Said, J. (2021), "Financial sustainability in Malaysian public universities: coping with or embracing change?", Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, Vol. 33 No. 5, pp. 599-617. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBAFM-09-2020-0157