Competition among Universities: Conceptual Analysis
https://doi.org/10.15826/umpa.2020.04.035
Abstract
The transition to the knowledge economy focused attention on the higher education system development and its problems, and put the universities in the situation of competition for limited resources. Free and controlled competition brings a chain of interrelated, sometimes contradictory concepts applied to higher education as a socially significant area. The authors of this research article by means of conceptual analysis aim at identifying the relationship between the concepts of «competition», «competitiveness», «efficiency», and «cooperation» regarding the higher education system. Competition and cooperation are considered to be factors which increase the efficiency of universities’ functioning. At the same time, there are contradictions in the justifications for the need to create competitive conditions for universities and in the definitions of the concept of efficiency, University is understood to be a commercial organization, its indicators being locked in its internal environment, whereas its main functions (reproduction of intellectual capital, improving the quality of human resources, orientation to the needs of the labor market) come to be out of sight. No less limited is the concept of competition, which is represented through the index of monopolization, calculated mostly through the proportion of students enrolled, beyond taking into account the peculiarities of the Russian higher education system. However, the works on competition and financing draw attention to the public good created by universities, which is not always tangible and requires the financial participation of the government. Thus, the discussions on universities’ competition and effectiveness in the context of their association with the commercial sector omit a number of socially significant elements of higher education and science.
About the Authors
A. E. Sudakova
Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Anastasiya E. Sudakova – PhD (Economics), Associate Professor, Senior Researcher, Research Laboratory for University Development Issues
19 Mira str., Yekaterinburg, 620002
D. G. Sandler
Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Daniil G. Sandler – PhD (Economics), Associate Professor, Leading Researcher, Research Laboratory for University Development Issues
19 Mira str., Yekaterinburg, 620002
T. V. Tarasyeva
Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Tatyana V. Tarasyeva – Junior Researcher, Research Laboratory for University Development Issues
19 Mira str., Yekaterinburg, 620002
References
1. Agasisti T., Catalano G. Governance Models of University Systems – Towards Quasi-Markets? Tendencies and Perspectives: a European Comparison. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 2006, vol. 28, nr 3, pp. 261–278. doi 10.1080/13600800600980056. (In Eng.).
2. Catalano G., Silvestri P. Regolamentazione e competizione nel sistema universitario italiano: Effetti e problemi del nuovo sistema di finanziamento. In: D. Fabbri, G. Fiorentini (eds.), Regolamentazione dei servizi pubblici, Roma, Carrocci Editore, 1999, pp. 143–185. (In Ital.).
3. Bartlett W., Le Grand J. (eds.). Quasi-Markets and Social Policy, London, Macmillan, 1993, 265 p. doi 10.1007/978-1-349-22873-7_9. (In Eng.).
4. Glennerster H. Quasi-Markets for Education? The Economic Journal, 1991, vol. 101, nr 408, pp. 1268–1276. doi 10.2307/2234442. (In Eng.).
5. Marginson S. Dynamics of National and Global Competition in Higher Education. Higher Education, 2006, vol. 52 (1), pp. 1–39. doi 10.1007/s10734-004-7649-x. (In Eng.).
6. Dill D. D. Higher Education Markets and Public Policy. Higher Education Policy, 1997, vol. 10, nr 3/4, pp. 167–185. doi 10.1016/S0952-8733(97)81763-1. (In Eng.).
7. Kaiser F., van der Meer P., Beverwijk J. M. R. et al. Market Type Mechanisms in Higher Education: a Comparative Analysis of Their Occurrence and Discussions on the Issue in Five Higher Education Systems. CHEPS, 1999, nr 319, p. 113. (In Eng.).
8. Teixiera P., Jongbloed B., Dill D. (eds.). Markets in Higher Education: Rhetoric or Reality, Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2004, 355 p. doi 1007/1-4020-2835-0. (In Eng.).
9. Breneman D. W., Mingle J. R. Strategies for the 1980s. Challenges of Retrenchment, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 1981, pp. 35–79. (In Eng.).
10. Leshukov O. V., Frumin I. D. Flagmanskie universitety: ot sovetskogo opyta k poisku novoi modeli [Flagship Universities: from the Soviet Experience to Searching for a New Model]. Universitetskoe upravlenie: praktika i analiz [University Management: Practice and Analysis], 2017, vol. 21, nr 4, pp. 22–29. doi 10.15826/umpa.2017.04.046. (In Russ.).
11. Fedyukin I., Frumin I. Rossiiskie vuzy-flagmany [Russian Flagships Universities]. Pro et Contra, 2010, vol. 14, nr 3, pp. 19–31. (In Russ.).
12. Sandler D. G., Sudakova A. E., Taras’eva T. V. Draivery razvitiya regional’nykh sistem vysshego obrazovaniya [Drivers for Development in Regional Higher Education]. Ekonomika regiona, 2020, vol. 4, pp. 1087–1103. (In Russ.).
13. Brankovic J., Ringel L., Werron T. How Rankings Produce Competition: The Case of Global University Rankings. Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 2018, vol. 47, nr 4, pp. 270–288. doi 10.1515/zfsoz-2018-0118. (In Eng.).
14. Horta H. Y., Huisman J., Heitor M. Does Competitive Research Funding Encourage Diversity in Higher Education? Science and Public Policy, 2008, vol. 35, nr 3, pp. 146–158. doi 10.3152/030234208X299044. (In Eng.).
15. Reznik S. D., Yudina T. A. Reputatsiya kak klyuchevoi faktor obespecheniya konkurentosposobnosti rossiiskogo vuza [Reputation as a Key Factor of Ensuring Competitiveness of a Russian University]. Universitetskoe upravlenie: praktika i analiz [University Management: Practice and Analysis], 2014, nr 2 (90), pp. 81–91. (In Russ.).
16. Yudina T. A. Principy i instrumenty upravleniya reputatsionnymi riskami universiteta [University Reputational Risk Management Principles and Tools]. Zhurnal issledovanii po upravleniyu [Journal of Management Studies], 2019, vol. 5, nr 5, pp. 77–83. (In Russ.).
17. Skripkina A. V. Izvestnost’ i reputatsiya obrazovatel’nogo uchrezhdeniya v formirovanii polozhitel’nogo imidzha vuza [The Fame and Reputation of the Educational Institution in the Formation of a Positive Image of the University]. Kul’turnaya zhizn’ Yuga Rossii [Cultural Studies of Russian South], 2009, nr 3 (32), pp. 32–36. (In Russ.).
18. Agasisti T. Market Forces and Competition in University Systems: Theoretical Reflections and Empirical Evidence from Italy. International Review of Applied Economics, 2009, vol. 23, nr 4, pp. 463–483. doi 10.1080/02692170902954783. (In Eng.).
19. Belfield C. Economic Principles for Education. Theory and Evidence, Cheltenham, UK, Edward Elgar Publisher, 2003, chapter 7, pp. 144–162. DOI 10.1016/S0272-7757(01)00061-9 (In Eng.).
20. Belfield C., Levin H. The Effects of Competition on Educational Outcomes: A Review of U. S. Evidence, Occasional Paper. NCSPE-OP-35, New York, National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, September, 2001, 55 p. doi 10.3102/00346543072002279. (In Eng.).
21. Agasisti T. Performances and Spending Efficiency in Higher Education: a European Comparison through NonParametric Approaches. Education Economics, 2011, vol. 19, pp. 199–224. doi 10.1080/09645290903094174. (In Eng.).
22. Afonso A., Aubyn M. St. Non-Parametric Approaches to Education and Health Efficiency in OECD Countries. Journal of Applied Economics, 2005, vol. 8, nr 2, pp. 227–246. doi 10.1080/15140326.2005.12040626. (In Eng.).
23. Knyazev Yu. O metodologicheskom dualizme v obshhestvennyh naukah [On Methodological Dualism in Social Sciences]. Ekonomist [Economist], 2017, nr 1, pp. 63–70. (In Russ.).
24. Knyazev Yu. Obnovlenie ekonomicheskoi teorii: ot neprelozhnogo individualizma k kollektivizmu [Updating Economic Theory: from Immutable Individualism to Collectivism]. Mir peremen [The World of Transformations], 2011, nr 2, pp. 39–54. (In Russ.).
25. Nalebuff B., Brandenburger A. Co-Opetition, Moscow, Keis, 2012, 352 p. (In Russ.).
26. Pleshchinskii A. S. Analiz konkurentsii i sotrudnichestva pri razrabotke tekhnologicheskikh innovatsii v otraslyakh promyshlennosti [Analysis of the Competition and Cooperation in Industries Technological Innovation Development]. Ekonomika i matematicheskie metody [Economics and Mathematical Methods], 2017, vol. 53, nr 3, pp. 38–58. (In Russ.).
27. Tolokina E. L. Sotrudnichestvo i konkurentsiya: kto kogo? [Cooperation and Competition: Who Wins?]. Teoreticheskaya ekonomika [Theoretical Economy], 2013, vol. 6 (18), pp. 36–41. (In Russ.).
28. Knyazev Yu. O konkurentsii i sotrudnichestve v sovremennoi ekonomike [Competition and Cooperation in the Contemporary Economy]. Obshchestvo i ekonomika [Society and Economy], 2018, nr 4, pp. 31–42. (In Russ.).
29. Prikhod’ko R. V. Setevaya nauchno-proizvodstvennaya kooperatsiya vysshikh uchebnykh zavedenii i promyshlennykh predpriyatii [Network Scientific and Industrial Cooperation of Higher Educational Institutions and Industrial Enterprises]. Ekonomika i ekologicheskii menedzhment [Economy and Ecological Management], 2009, vol. 2, pp. 34–43. (In Russ.).
30. Dimitrova G., Dimitrova T. Competitiveness of the Universities: Measurement Capabilities. Trakia Journal of Sciences, 2017, vol. 15, nr 1, pp. 311–316. (In Eng.).
31. Bonchukova D. A., Starobinskaya N. M. Strategich eskii marketing i konkurentosposobnost’ vuza [Strategic Marketing and Competitiveness of High School]. Marketing MBA. Marketingovoe upravlenie predpriyatiem [MBA Marketing. Enterprise Marketing Management], 2013, vol. 4, nr 2, pp. 38–56. (In Russ.).
32. Mokhnachev S. A. Upravlenie konkurentosposobnost’yu vuza na rynke obrazovatel’nykh uslug [Management of the Competitiveness of the Higher Educational Institution in the Market of Educational Services]. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta, 2008, nr 307, pp. 116–121. (In Russ.).
33. Zafirova Ts. Visshite uchilishcha v B”lgariya: konkurentosposobnost i reitingova sistema [Higher Schools in Bulgaria: Competitiveness and Rating System]. Osma mezhdunarodna nauchno-prakticheska konferentsiya «Prepodavane, uchene i kachestvo v”v vissheto obrazovanie – 2011» [The Eighth International Scientific and Practical Conference «Teaching, Learning and Quality in Higher Education – 2011»], 17–18 June 2011, Boyana, pp. 105–114. (In Bulg.).
34. Gary-Bobo R., Trannoy A. L’Economie Politique Simplifié du «Mammouth». Revue Française d’Économie, 1998, nr 3, pp. 85–126. (In Fr.).
35. Kendall J., Knapp M., Forder J. Social Care and the Nonprofit Sector in the Western Developed World. In: W. Powell, & R. Steinberg (eds.), The Nonprofit Sector: A Research Handbook, 2-nd ed., New Haven, Yale University Press, 2006, pp. 415–431. (In Eng.).
36. Nazarko J., Šaparauskas J. Application of DEA Method in Efficiency Evaluation of Public Higher Education Institutions, Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 2014, nr 20 (4), pp. 25–44. doi 10.3846/20294913.2014.837116. (In Eng.).
37. Simmel G. The Sociology of Georg Simmel, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1950, 445 p. (In Eng.).
38. De Groof J., Neave G., Švec J. Democracy and Governance in Higher Education, Dordrecht, Kluwer Law International, 1998, 202 p. (In Eng.).
39. Revenko N. F., Chikurova O. V., Silivanova O. A. Vliyanie gradoobrazuyushchego vuza na demograficheskuyu situatsiyu v monogorode [Influence of the TownForming Higher Education Institution on Demographic Situation in the Monotown]. Vesnik IzhGTU im. M. T. Kalashnikova [Bulletin of Kalashnikov ISTU], 2017, vol. 20, nr 3, pp. 80–85. (In Russ.).
40. Amaral A., Magalhães A. On Markets, Autonomy and Regulation the Janus Head Revisited. Higher Education Policy, 2001, vol. 14, pp. 7–20. doi 10.1016/S0952-8733(00)00028-3. (In Eng.).
41. Sandler D. G., Sushchenko A. D., Kuznetsov P. D., Pechenkina T. E. Trudoustroistvo vypusknikov i ego svyaz’ s kachestvom vysshego obrazovaniya [Employment for University Graduates and its Connection with the Higher Education Quality]. Universitetskoe upravlenie: praktika i analiz [University Management: Practice and Analysis], 2018, vol. 22, nr 3 (115), pp. 73–85. (In Russ.).
42. Gimpelson V. E. Nuzhen li rossiiskoi ekonomike chelovecheskii kapital? Desyat’ somnenii [Does the Russian Economy Need Human Capital? Ten Doubts]. Voprosy ekonomiki, 2016, vol. 10, pp. 129–143. (In Russ.).
43. Varshavskoi E. Ya. Gde i kem rabotayut vysokoobrazovannye rossiyane [Where do Highly Educated Russians Work and What do They Do for Living]. Demoskop Weekly, 2017, nr 713/714, pp. 1–15. (In Russ.).
44. Neave G. Homogenization, Integration and Convergence: The Cheshire Cats of Higher Education Analysis. In: Meek V. L., L. Goedegebuure (еds.). The Mockers and Mocked: Comparative Perspectives on Differentiation, Convergence, and Diversity in Higher Education, Oxford, Pergamon, 1996, pp. 26–41. (In Eng.).
45. Graham H. D., Diamond N. The Rise of the American Research Universities – Elites and Challengers in the Postwar Era, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997, 319 p. (In Eng.).
46. UNESCO. Policy Paper for Change and Development in Higher Education, Paris, UNESCO, 1995, 43 p. (In Eng.).
47. Williams G. The Many Faces of Privatization. Higher Education Management, 1996, vol. 8, nr 3, pp. 39–56. (In Eng.).
48. Higher Education: The Lessons of Experience, Washington D. C., World Bank, 1994, 116 p. (In Eng.).
49. Dill D. D., Brennan J., De Vries P., Williams R. Accreditation, Assessment, Anarchy?: The Evolution of Academic Quality Assurance Policies in the United States. In: Standards and Quality in Higher Education, London, Kingsley, 1997, pp. 15–43. (In Eng.).
50. Correia F., Amaral A., Magalhães A. Diversificação e diversidade dos sistemas de ensino superior: o caso Português, Porto, Portugal, CIPES – Fundação das Universidades Portuguesas, 2000, 285 p. (In Port.).
51. Birdsall N. Public Spending on Higher Education in Developing Countries: Too Much or Too Little? Economics of Education Review, 1996, vol. 15, nr 4, pp. 407–419. doi 10.1016/S0272-7757(96)00028-3. (In Eng.).
52. Yonezawa A., Kaiser F. System-Level and Strategic Indicators for Monitoring Higher Education in the TwentyFirst Century. Studies on Higher Education Series, Bucharest, UNESCO, 2003, 230 p. (In Eng.).
53. Psacharopoulos G. Public Spending on Higher Education in Developing Countries: Too Much Rather Than Too Little. Economics of Education Review, 1996, vol. 15, nr 4, pp. 421–422. doi 10.1016/S0272-7757(96)00024-6. (In Eng.).
54. Akhmedova D. R. Professional’naya sotsializatsiya molodezhi v usloviyakh sovremennogo monogoroda: nekotorye protivorechiya i puti povysheniya effektivnosti [Professional Socialization of Young People in a Modern Monotown: Some Process Conflicts and Means of Improvement]. Sovremennye issledovaniya sotsial’nykh problem [Modern Studies of Social Issues], 2011, nr 4, pp. 43. (In Russ.).
55. Hirschman A. O. The Paternity of an Index. The American Economic Review, 1964, vol. 54, nr 5, pp. 761–762. (In Eng.).
56. Borland M. V., Howsen R. M. Students’ Academic Achievement and the Degree of Market Concentration in Education. Economics of Education Review, 1992, vol. 11, nr 1, pp. 31–39. doi 10.1016/0272-7757(92)90019-Y. (In Eng.).
57. Leshukov O., Platonova D., Semyonov D. Does Competition Matter? Efficiency of Regional Higher Education Systems and Competition: Case of Russia, Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, 2015, nr WP BRP 29/EDU/2015, 18 p. (In Eng.).
58. Misra K., Chi G. Measuring Public School Competition from Private Schools: A Gravity-Based Index. Journal of Geographic Information System, 2011, vol. 3, nr 4, pp. 306–311. doi 10.4236/jgis.2011.34027. (In Eng.).
59. Jepsen C. The Role of Aggregation in Estimating the Effects of Private School Competition on Student Achievement. Journal of Urban Economics, 2002, vol. 52, nr 3, pp. 477–500. doi 10.1016/S0094-1190(02)00530-2. (In Eng.).
60. McMillan R. Competition, Parental Involvement, and Public School Performance, Washington, National Tax Association, 2001, pp. 150–155. (In Eng.).
61. Vakhitov R. R. Sud’by universiteta v Rossii: imperskii, sovetskii i postsovetskii razdatochnyi mul’tiinstitut [The Fates of the University in Russia: The Imperial, Soviet, and PostSoviet Disbursive Multiinstitute], Moscow, Strana Oz, 2014, 276 p. (In Russ.).
62. Romanenko K. R., Shibanova E. Yu., Abalmasova E. S., Egorov A. A. Vysshee obrazovanie v monogorodakh: organizatsionnye formaty, praktiki, vyzovy [Higher Education in Single-Industry Towns: Models, Practices, Challenges]. Universitetskoe upravlenie: praktika i analiz [University Management: Practice and Analysis], 2018, vol. 22, nr 4 (116), pp. 110–125. doi 10.15826/umpa.2018.04.044. (In Russ.).
63. Benneworth P., Charles D. University Spin-Off Policies and Economic Development in Less Successful Regions: Learning from Two Decades of Policy Practice. European Planning Studies, 2005, vol. 13, pp. 537–557. (In Eng.).
64. Higher Education in Regional and City Development. Institutional Management in Higher Education. – OECD. 2010. doi 10.1787/22183140. Available at: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/higher-education-in-regional-and-city-development_22183140 (accessed 25.09.2020). (In Eng.).
65. Elliott D. S., Levin S. L., Meisel J. B. Measuring the Economic Impact of Institutions of Higher Education. Research in Higher Education, 1998, vol. 28 (1), pp. 17–33. (In Eng.).
66. Del Rey E. Competition among Universities: The Role of Preferences for Research and Government Finance. Hacienda Pública Española, 2003, vol. 164, nr 1, pp. 75–80. (In Eng.).
67. Meek V. L. Diversity and Marketisation of Higher Education: Incompatible Concepts? Higher Education Policy, 2000, vol. 13, pp. 23–39. doi 10.1016/S0952-8733(99)00030-6. (In Eng.).
Review
For citations:
Sudakova A.E., Sandler D.G., Tarasyeva T.V. Competition among Universities: Conceptual Analysis. University Management: Practice and Analysis. 2020;24(4):58-74. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.15826/umpa.2020.04.035
Views:
928
Email this article 