Beyond Striving: Prestige and Legitimacy-Seeking at Regional Comprehensive Universities

• In Event: 29.041 - Leadership and Legitimacy in Diverse Postsecondary Organizational Contexts

Abstract

Institutional theorists have asserted that organizations aspire to resemble the most elite in their system. Scholars have pointed to striving as a dominant force shaping organizational change in higher education. Those institutions that lack prestige are seen as prime candidates for striving. Prestige is often determined by institutional age and wealth, robust research agendas, and admissions selectivity. Given that public regional comprehensive universities (RCUs) often lack traditional markers of prestige, it would seem that they would be susceptible to striving (Henderson, 2007). This study examined striving among RCUs during times of organizational stress. The findings demonstrate that while RCUs engage in striving, these behaviors are more complex than what institutional theory would suggest (Meyer and Rowan, 1977).

Author

• Cecilia M. Orphan, University of Denver