Blurring Boundaries and Borders: Interlocks between AAU Institutions and Transnational Corporations

• In Event: 14.045 - Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: 14.045-12 - The Role of Networks and Partnerships in Education

Abstract

In the contemporary knowledge economy higher education has become an integral part of national innovation systems in order to help attract globally mobile capital. From this perspective, the key organizational actors of the knowledge economy are universities and transnational corporations (TNCs). We seek to identify the connections of TNCs with the prestigious Association of American Universities’ (AAU) institutions through the university trustees who simultaneously serve on the university boards and hold executive positions at TNCs. Furthermore, we test whether connections with TNCs influence the university prestige as measured by Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s ARWU international rankings and find a positive impact. Finally, we use academic capitalism and the Matthew effect as theoretical lenses for exploring this phenomenon.

Authors

• Lucia Brajkovic, University of Georgia - Athens

• Ilkka Kauppinen, University of Jyväskylä

• Hyejin Choi, University of Georgia

• Lindsay Coco, University of Georgia