This document discusses the roles of academic middle managers in higher education institutions during periods of strategic innovation. It presents research on how organizational factors influence the roles academic middle managers perform. The research found that in contexts with more turbulence, academic middle managers took on roles as producers and directors that supported innovation. A turbulent context was also linked to a more innovative organizational culture. However, the structures within universities did not influence the roles of academic middle managers.

1. Influence of Organizational Factors on
the roles of Academic Middle Managers
Ton Kallenberg
Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam - The Netherlands
Paper Presentation 34th EAIR annual forum
The Social Contract of Higher Education
Stavanger - Norway - September 5-8, 2012

2. 1. Introduction
1. Introduction to the research
2. the Academic Middle Manager
3. Research Methods and
Results
4. Conclusions
5. Tips, Questions, Dialogue

3. Higher Education institutes
have to deal with a dynamic
and competitive area.
Changes on regional, national and
international level leads to an increasing
competition for having the best students,
and attract the best teachers and the best
researchers. Universities compete for
subsidies, external funded programs and
the best image / ranking on education
and/or research. This competition changes
the way universities function.

4. ... gives an impulse for strategic
innovation ...
The impulse for strategic innovation sets
requirements for the management of HE-
institutions to
(1) think and act strategically
and also to
(2) translate the organizational strategy to
the operational level (esp. processes of
learning and teaching)

5. So the problem statement
resulting from this is ...
HE institutions have to innovate.
If not (or insufficient):
they lose the competition (for students,
research-grants, image, etc.), their role
becomes smaller, programs will disappear,
(esp. Masters!) etc.

6. But: HE institutions are big
organizations with much
clashes of interest ...
• tension of focus: centralization versus
decentralization
• tension of interest: education versus
research
• tension of functions: administrators
(managerial efficiency) versus professionals
(content quality)
• tension of initiative: top-down versus
bottom-up
• tension of control: hierarchy versus
collegiality

7. Result: Strategic innovations
are difficult to implement
Innovation in large organizations often
prove viscous and unmanageble, without
real clarity of reasons.
In particular the translation of strategic to
operational level results in many clashes of
interest.

8. Result: Strategic innovations
are difficult to implement
Innovation in large organizations often
prove viscous and unmanageble, without
real clarity of reasons.
In particular the translation of strategic to
operational level results in many clashes of
interest.
“Innovating universities is like moving a graveyard:
not entire impossible,
but don’t expect any cooperation from within.”

9. in the centre of the clashes of
interest:
the academic middle manager
academic middle manager holds a crucial
(paradoxal) position in the HE-organization.
Yet it has hardly been researched.
So it’s not clear which influence they have.
Therefore this research!
Research Question:
Which roles does an academic middle manager in “You’re damned if you do and
HE perform during strategic innovations? you’re damned if you don’t.”
Secondary questions:
Which factors affect these roles? “You’re in the line of fire
whether you want it or not”

10. Conceptual Framework

11. Minor influence on Major influence on
strategic innovations strategic innovations
Organizational variables
Context Stable Turbulence
Structure Fixed Lose
Culture Conservative Innovative
Functional related Variables
Involvement Indifferent Driven
Autonomy Limited Independent
Academic leaderschip / authority Manager Leader

12. Middle management
* in definitions three elements (Livian c.s., 1997):
a. they constitute the middle of the command
line (hierarchy)
b. decisions with regard to time perspective and
range are between strategic and operational
routine decisions.
c. influence in the organization holds the middle
between crucial and barely visible

13. Definition
Academic Middle Manager
...is integrally responsible for program
curricula, within the strategy
- including participation in decisions on
institutional strategy and responsibility for
School/faculty strategy -
through to educational management
- including control of education and research
programs and student relations
within the governing board’s parameters.
(Kallenberg, 2007)

14. Board University
University
Staff
Departments
Faculty X Dean Faculty Faculty Y
Head / Director
Director Research Director Education
Department
Schools / Educational
Research Institutes
Programs
Managers
Managers
Coordinators / Head
Coordinators / Head
Professionals:
Professors
Associate Professors Administrators
Researchers
Teachers

15. Influencing the strategic
innovation
The Academic Middle has the position to
influence strategic innovation because he
has:
• a unique (tacit) knowledge base (of what is
happening in the organization)
• the opportunity to integrate strategic
information with operational information
• ...

16. Expected roles of the (middle) manager
(Quinn & Rohrbauch, 1983)
Human Relations Model Open Systems Model
Cohesion, morale and Flexibility, Innovation,
Human Resources Synergy
mentor innovator
facilitator
broker
producer
monitory
coordinator director
Internal Process Model
Rational Goal Model
Process Management,
Productivity, efficiency
hierarchy, stability,
"The Bottom Line"
control

17. Expected roles of the (middle) manager
(Quinn & Rohrbauch, 1983)
Human Relations Model Open Systems Model
Cohesion, morale and Flexibility, Innovation,
Human Resources Synergy
Monitory - f.i.:
mentor innovator
quality education;
educational work
facilitator
broker
plan; finance;
accommodation
(ICT); controll
Coordinator - f.i.:
producer
monitory
time-table
(students and
teachers), student
coordinator administration
director
Internal Process Model
Rational Goal Model
Process Management,
Productivity, efficiency
hierarchy, stability,
"The Bottom Line"
control

18. Expected roles of the (middle) manager
(Quinn & Rohrbauch, 1983)
Human Relations Model Open Systems Model
Cohesion, morale and Flexibility, Innovation,
Human Resources Synergy
mentor innovator
Mentor - f.i.:
coaching, training,
facilitator
broker
accompany (new
teachers)
Facilitator - f.i.:
producer
monitory
organising meetings,
knowledge
dissemination,
conflictmanagement
coordinator director
Internal Process Model
Rational Goal Model
Process Management,
Productivity, efficiency
hierarchy, stability,
"The Bottom Line"
control

19. Expected roles of the (middle) manager
(Quinn & Rohrbauch, 1983)
Human Relations Model Open Systems Model
Cohesion, morale and Flexibility, Innovation,
Human Resources Synergy
Innovator - f.i.:
mentor innovator
bring in new
ideas, maintain
facilitator
broker
developments,
new methods and
concepts
Broker - f.i.:
maintain and
producer
monitory
build contacts (in/
extern); create
support;
coordinator director
represent school
Internal Process Model
Rational Goal Model
Process Management,
Productivity, efficiency
hierarchy, stability,
"The Bottom Line"
control

20. Expected roles of the (middle) manager
(Quinn & Rohrbauch, 1983)
Human Relations Model Open Systems Model
Cohesion, morale and Flexibility, Innovation,
Human Resources Synergy
mentor innovator
Producer - f.i.:
facilitator
focus on results
broker
(quality/quantity);
timemanagement
producer
monitory
Director - f.i.:
define vision,
strategy, planning
coordinator director
Internal Process Model
Rational Goal Model
Process Management,
Productivity, efficiency
hierarchy, stability,
"The Bottom Line"
control

21. Method
• survey (2009) - HE in the Netherlands:
14 universities + 44 universities of applied
sciences
• 750 random selected mail-adresses:
304 respondents - 246 in dataset (33,37%)
• analyses in SPSS
• constructs: caesura on Cronbach’s alpha
> ,75

22. real roles
Human Relations Model Open Systems Model
Cohesion, morale and Flexibility, Innovation,
Human Resources Synergy
mentor innovator
,787 ,698
facilitator
broker
,717 ,818
,580 ,833
producer
monitory
,624 ,861
coordinator director
Internal Process Model
Rational Goal Model
Process Management,
Productivity, efficiency
hierarchy, stability,
"The Bottom Line"
control

23. Results 1 - correlation
Organizational Factors with
Roles AMM
Mentor Broker Producer Director
Context ,049 ,102 ,193** ,143*
Structure -,152* -,063 -,042 -,035
Culture ,015 ,054 ,076 ,042
** = Correlation is significant at the 0,01 level (2-tailed)
* = Correlation is significant at the 0,05 level (2-tailed)

24. Results 2 - correlation
Organizational factors with
other constructs
Academic
Context Structure Culture Autonomy Commitment
Leadership
Context 1
Structure ,142* 1
Culture ,345** ,101 1
Autonomy ,193** ,089 ,254** 1
Commitment ,273** -,047 ,282** ,258** 1
Academic
,131* -,032 ,122 ,136* ,288** 1
Leadership
** = Correlation is significant at the 0,01 level (2-tailed)
* = Correlation is significant at the 0,05 level (2-tailed)

25. Results 3 - Correlation Organizational
Factors with Roles. (Respondents split in
Director and Manager level)
Mentor Broker Producer Director
Context Director/deans ,111 ,121 ,244** ,240**
Managers/heads ,026 ,030 ,087 -,024
Structure Director/deans -,074 ,128 ,056 ,060
Managers/heads -,137 ,057 -,034 -,075
Culture Director/deans ,068 ,144 ,157 ,140
Managers/heads ,065 ,024 ,175 ,014
** = Correlation is significant at the 0,01 level (2-tailed)
* = Correlation is significant at the 0,05 level (2-tailed)

26. Results 4 - Correlation Organizational
Factors with Roles. (Respondents split in
University and HBO level)
** = Correlation is significant at the 0,01 level (2-tailed)
* = Correlation is significant at the 0,05 level (2-tailed)
Mentor Broker Producer Director
Context Univ of Appl Sc ,062 ,180 ,160 ,035
University -,004 ,025 ,172* ,193*
Structure Univ of Appl Sc -,086 ,038 ,026 -,011
University -,116 ,170 ,113 ,080
Culture Univ of Appl Sc ,175 ,113 ,158 ,101
University -,072 -,013 ,074 ,013

27. Conclusions
• In a turbulent context Academic Middle
Managers will perform roles as producer
and director
• A turbulent context stimulate a more
innovative culture (,345**)
• The way Universities are structured
doesn’t influence the way Academic
Middle Managers perform their roles
• Organizational variables doesn’t influence
the way Academic Middle Managers at
Universities op Applied Sciences perform
their roles.

28. Thank you for your attention:
You are invited to download the presentation on:
www.slidesharenet.com/tonkallenberg
The paper will be available on:
http://eur.academia.edu/TonKallenberg