Mari Elken
Biographic Data
| ID | 1499755 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mari Elken |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mari |
| FAMILY NAME | Elken |
| SIGNATURE | ELKEN M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5910-5515 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Identity (re)-formation during transformative reorganisation processes
The article analyses identity (re-)formation during major transformative re-organisation processes, namely mergers that involve significant organisational restructuring. These processes bring into focus power asymmetries, latent tensions and taken-for-granted assumptions, thus potentially invoking substantial identity (re-)formation. The study takes a point of departure in classic and newer organisational theories that conceptualise identity and …
Waiting for the revolution
Although debates regarding the integration of digital technologies in higher education are far from new, the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 was considered by many as something different from the developments that had come before. This article explores how higher education institutions make sense of the potentiality inherent in artificial intelligence and the early responses to the proliferation of ChatGPT. Through a qualitative interview-base…
De facto Academic Freedom in the European Union – Threats and Trends
Academic freedom is widely accepted both as a fundamental value of present-day higher education and as a prerequisite for well-functioning democratic societies. Yet, in recent years, major concerns about the state of academic freedom in Europe have been raised by higher education stakeholders, including policymakers and members of the academic community. In response to these concerns, the European Parliament launched in 2022 its Academic Freedom …
Mergers, distance, and leadership
Mergers in higher education are large‐scale, complex organisational change processes seeking to integrate former independent institutions into a new organisational entity. Mergers are often justified by reference to broad overarching goals such as quality, relevance, and efficiency. In practice, mergers entail attempts at organisational integration which can be inhibited by several obstacles, increasing and large internal distances can be such a …
Implementation of ambiguous governance instruments in higher education
The article examines how higher education institutions respond to ambiguous governance instruments. A key focus is how ambiguity is tackled in the interpretation and implementation processes. Building on theoretical perspectives from institutional analysis of organisations, an empirical point of departure is the analysis of ten higher education institutions in Norway and their response on the introduction of development agreements. The findings p…
Collaborative design of governance instruments in higher education
There is considerable focus on finding effective governance approaches. This article examines experiences with using more collaborative approaches to developing new governance instruments in the context of higher education. The specific empirical case focuses on the introduction of multi-annual performance agreements between the ministry and the higher education institutions in Norway. Specific focus is on the pilot process, during which the inst…
Bounded innovation or agency drift? Developments in European higher education quality assurance
As higher education quality assurance in many countries in Europe has become a mature activity, some agencies carrying out external quality assurance are developing beyond their core tasks and missions. The current study identifies new tasks taken up within quality assurance agencies and analyses the drivers behind such development. Based on an empirical investigation into six quality assurance agencies in Europe, the study finds that these agenc…
Quo Vadis Ehea
While the EHEA has achieved its goal to reduce structural barriers for student and staff mobility, the situation is different when it comes to the realization of the agreed upon promotion of basic values and principles. For example, in a number of EHEA countries the adherence of academic freedom has deteriorated since 2010. In addition, various studies have suggested a decreasing level of political commitment to Europeanisation of higher educatio…
Conditioned Entrepreneurialism
Drawing on comparative data from five universities in Latvia and Norway, this article examines universities’ strategic responses to a policy environment that calls for more entrepreneurial approaches in organizing research activity in higher education. This study concludes that strategic responses of universities to pressures for entrepreneurialism vary not only depending on the national policy context but also depending on the institution’s prof…
Still the main show in town? Assessing political saliency of the Bologna Process across time and space
Numerous studies focused on the linkages between the Bologna Process and system – as well as organizational-level changes – implying significance of the process for higher education policy dynamics. However, what has been lacking is a closer examination of the political importance of Bologna for the different actors involved and whether this varies over time, space and types of actors. The present study investigates the changes in the size and ra…
The Hybridization of Vocational Training and Higher Education in Austria, Germany and Switzerland
The book analyses the emergence of hybrid institutional forms in vocational training and higher education in three European countries in the context of Europeanization processes
New EU Instruments for Education
Traditionally constrained by the Treaty to subsidiary action, a number of innovative approaches for joint European coordination in the area of education have emerged in recent years. This article analyses a particular new European Union (EU) instrument for education – the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) – by examining the vertical, horizontal, and internal tensions within the instrument. Analysis of the vertical dimension identifies widen…
Developing policy instruments for education in the EU
The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) for lifelong learning has been characterized as a policy instrument with a number of contested ideas, raising questions about the process through which such instruments are developed at European level. The introduction of the EQF is in this article examined through variations of neo-institutional theory: historical contingency perspective, rational perspective, normative perspective and a process of cha…
Collaborative design of governance instruments in higher education
There is considerable focus on finding effective governance approaches. This article examines experiences with using more collaborative approaches to developing new governance instruments in the context of higher education. The specific empirical case focuses on the introduction of multi-annual performance agreements between the ministry and the higher education institutions in Norway. Specific focus is on the pilot process, during which the inst…
The Hybridization of Vocational Training and Higher Education in Austria, Germany and Switzerland
The book analyses the emergence of hybrid institutional forms in vocational training and higher education in three European countries in the context of Europeanization processes
New EU Instruments for Education
Traditionally constrained by the Treaty to subsidiary action, a number of innovative approaches for joint European coordination in the area of education have emerged in recent years. This article analyses a particular new European Union (EU) instrument for education – the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) – by examining the vertical, horizontal, and internal tensions within the instrument. Analysis of the vertical dimension identifies widen…
Developing policy instruments for education in the EU
The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) for lifelong learning has been characterized as a policy instrument with a number of contested ideas, raising questions about the process through which such instruments are developed at European level. The introduction of the EQF is in this article examined through variations of neo-institutional theory: historical contingency perspective, rational perspective, normative perspective and a process of cha…
Still the main show in town? Assessing political saliency of the Bologna Process across time and space
Numerous studies focused on the linkages between the Bologna Process and system – as well as organizational-level changes – implying significance of the process for higher education policy dynamics. However, what has been lacking is a closer examination of the political importance of Bologna for the different actors involved and whether this varies over time, space and types of actors. The present study investigates the changes in the size and ra…
Conditioned Entrepreneurialism
Drawing on comparative data from five universities in Latvia and Norway, this article examines universities’ strategic responses to a policy environment that calls for more entrepreneurial approaches in organizing research activity in higher education. This study concludes that strategic responses of universities to pressures for entrepreneurialism vary not only depending on the national policy context but also depending on the institution’s prof…
Quo Vadis Ehea
While the EHEA has achieved its goal to reduce structural barriers for student and staff mobility, the situation is different when it comes to the realization of the agreed upon promotion of basic values and principles. For example, in a number of EHEA countries the adherence of academic freedom has deteriorated since 2010. In addition, various studies have suggested a decreasing level of political commitment to Europeanisation of higher educatio…
Bounded innovation or agency drift? Developments in European higher education quality assurance
As higher education quality assurance in many countries in Europe has become a mature activity, some agencies carrying out external quality assurance are developing beyond their core tasks and missions. The current study identifies new tasks taken up within quality assurance agencies and analyses the drivers behind such development. Based on an empirical investigation into six quality assurance agencies in Europe, the study finds that these agenc…
Mergers, distance, and leadership
Mergers in higher education are large‐scale, complex organisational change processes seeking to integrate former independent institutions into a new organisational entity. Mergers are often justified by reference to broad overarching goals such as quality, relevance, and efficiency. In practice, mergers entail attempts at organisational integration which can be inhibited by several obstacles, increasing and large internal distances can be such a …
Implementation of ambiguous governance instruments in higher education
The article examines how higher education institutions respond to ambiguous governance instruments. A key focus is how ambiguity is tackled in the interpretation and implementation processes. Building on theoretical perspectives from institutional analysis of organisations, an empirical point of departure is the analysis of ten higher education institutions in Norway and their response on the introduction of development agreements. The findings p…
Collaborative design of governance instruments in higher education
There is considerable focus on finding effective governance approaches. This article examines experiences with using more collaborative approaches to developing new governance instruments in the context of higher education. The specific empirical case focuses on the introduction of multi-annual performance agreements between the ministry and the higher education institutions in Norway. Specific focus is on the pilot process, during which the inst…
Waiting for the revolution
Although debates regarding the integration of digital technologies in higher education are far from new, the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 was considered by many as something different from the developments that had come before. This article explores how higher education institutions make sense of the potentiality inherent in artificial intelligence and the early responses to the proliferation of ChatGPT. Through a qualitative interview-base…
De facto Academic Freedom in the European Union – Threats and Trends
Academic freedom is widely accepted both as a fundamental value of present-day higher education and as a prerequisite for well-functioning democratic societies. Yet, in recent years, major concerns about the state of academic freedom in Europe have been raised by higher education stakeholders, including policymakers and members of the academic community. In response to these concerns, the European Parliament launched in 2022 its Academic Freedom …
Identity (re)-formation during transformative reorganisation processes
The article analyses identity (re-)formation during major transformative re-organisation processes, namely mergers that involve significant organisational restructuring. These processes bring into focus power asymmetries, latent tensions and taken-for-granted assumptions, thus potentially invoking substantial identity (re-)formation. The study takes a point of departure in classic and newer organisational theories that conceptualise identity and …
Political science (12 works) · Higher education (10 works) · Economics (8 works) · Business (7 works) · Public relations (7 works) · European union (6 works) · Higher Education Governance and Development (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Law (5 works)