Isomorphism and organizational performance: evidence from quality management in higher education
Quality Assurance in Education
ISSN: 0968-4883
Article publication date: 28 December 2021
Issue publication date: 6 January 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Quality management has become an integral part of management reforms in public sector organizations. Drawing on a new institutionalist perspective, this study aims to investigate the relation of management reforms and organizational performance in the context of higher education.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyse the interaction between isomorphic conformity in quality management adoption, organizational learning and quality improvement and, in so doing, address the central theoretical question of what effects isomorphic conformity has on organizational performance. Empirically, the study draws on survey data from quality managers at public higher education institutions in Germany. Methodically, it applies confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling.
Findings
The results suggest that mimetic isomorphism is surprisingly compatible with processes of organizational learning, and thus, does not inevitably compromise organizational development.
Originality/value
By presenting these findings, the authors contribute to the controversial theoretical debate concerning the effects of isomorphism and to the ongoing discussion regarding the organizational impact of quality management in higher education.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Julia Fleischer, Ina Radtke and Lena Schulze-Gabrechten for their helpful comments and inspiring discussions on earlier versions of this paper.
Funding: This work was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) [grant number 49 01PY13003A].
Citation
Ansmann, M. and Seyfried, M. (2022), "Isomorphism and organizational performance: evidence from quality management in higher education", Quality Assurance in Education, Vol. 30 No. 1, pp. 135-149. https://doi.org/10.1108/QAE-07-2021-0114
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited