Placing faith in sectoral actors during Covid-19: Networked higher education governance in three cities

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 3:45 pm - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: International Issues in Organizational Culture

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of the external environment, particularly the sectoral actors shaping the Covid-19 response at 17 higher education institutions (HEIs) in Hong Kong, Johannesburg, and New York. I analyze decision-making practices during the pandemic to understand how sectoral actors influenced institutional managers’ decisions. I find that sectoral actors, particularly the non-state entities representing higher education interests in each context, have played a vital role in informing the Covid-19 response. To conceptualize this finding, I use the networked governance theory to sketch the characteristics of each policy environment shaping the HEIs’ Covid-19 response. I also present the typology of non-state sectoral actor functions illustrating these actors’ pivotal role in devising the institutional response.

Author

• Abbas Abbasov, University of Texas at El Paso