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The Role of Internal and External Stakeholders

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DOI: 10.1007/978-94-017-9570-8_3

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 Chapter 4: The Role of Internal and External Stakeholders
Rómulo Pinheiro

According to R. Edward Freeman, the (grand)father of stakeholder theory, a stakeholder is

“any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the
organisation’s objectives.” (Freeman 2010: 46) Stakeholder theory and/or stakeholder
management have, for some time, been prominent issues in the social sciences, mostly but
not exclusively within the business management literature. Attention has, for example, been
paid to the strategic significance attributed to ethical principles like trust, trustworthiness,
and cooperativeness as sources of sustainable competitive advantages (Jones 1995). Within
the management literature, stakeholder theory has increased in popularity in part due to its
emphasis on explaining and predicting how an organization functions with respect to the
relationships and influences existing in its surrounding environments (Rowley 1997), and
also because of its descriptive accuracy, instrumental power, and normative validity
(Donaldson and Preston 1995).

The essential premises of stakeholder theory have succinctly been summarised by Jones and
Wicks (1999: 207), as follows: Organizations (i.e. corporations, in the management
literature) have relationships with many constituent groups ("stakeholders") that both affect
and are affected by its decisions. The theory is concerned with the nature of these
relationships in terms of processes as well as outcomes both for the firm and its
stakeholders. The interests of all (legitimate) stakeholders – since the theory is not
interested in the others (non- legitimate) - have intrinsic value, and no set of interests is
assumed to dominate the others. And, finally, at is core, the theory sheds light on
managerial decision-making processes.

The field (of stakeholder theory) has traditionally been characterised by three relatively
distinct approaches, namely: descriptive, instrumental and normative or ethics-based.
Proponents of descriptive approaches contend that the nature of an organization's
stakeholders, their values, their relative influence on decisions and the nature of the
situation are critical (input) factors for predicting organizational behaviour (Brenner &

1
Cochran 1991, cited by Jones & Wicks 1999: 208). Instrumental perspectives shed light on
the (competitive) advantages accrued to the direct involvement – social relations – between
organizations and external stakeholders on the basis of mutual trust and cooperation (Jones,
1995a, in Jones & Wicks 1999: 208). Finally, advocates of a normative/ethical approach are
keen to specify what types of moral obligations are placed on leadership structures,
particularly when it comes to the relative importance of obligations to shareholders and
other stakeholder groups (Boatright 1994, in Jones & Wicks 1999: 209). Scholars following
this line of thought argue that organizations (firms) ought to treat stakeholders as "ends" or
alternatively ought to view stakeholders’ interests as having intrinsic value.

More specifically, social science scholars have used stakeholder theory to shed light (i.e.
explain) a variety of organizational phenomena, ranging from corporate social responsibility
(Roberts 1992) to value maximization and functions (Jensen 2010) to the rise of e
(electronic)- government (Scholl 2002). A recent review of the state of the art of stakeholder
theory reveals the significant impact the theory has had in academic/professional fields like
management, accounting, marketing and finance (Parmar et al. 2010). With respect to the
field of management it is suggested that the areas in which the theory has had a stronger
impact pertain to leadership, organizational effectiveness and human resources
management (ibid., p. 427-8). More broadly, it could be stated that the importance
attributed to stakeholders, particularly external ones, is part and parcel of the move (last
half a century) of organizations from close to open systems (Scott 2003), thus stressing the
criticality of the linkages with the environment.

In the applied field of higher education studies (Schwarz and Teichler 2000; Tight 2003), the
strategic attention attributed to internal and external stakeholders – albeit always
somewhat omnipresent - can be initially traced to Burton Clark’s seminal work on the ways
in which higher education systems across the world have traditionally been structured, and
more specifically, the so-called ‘triangle of coordination’ composed of the academic
oligarchy, the state and the market (Clark 1983). Yet, in Europe, the turn of the new century
marks the period in which a number of scholars started to pay increasing attention to the
role of (external) stakeholders in higher education affairs. In December of 2000 and under
the editorial leadership of Peter Maassen (one of the authors involved with the current

2
volume), the European Journal of Education dedicated a special issue to the topic entitled
“Higher Education and the Stakeholder Society”. In its introductory remarks, Maassen states
that:

“In the relationship between higher education and its environments the
involvement of external actors in policy processes has changed in two ways.
First, in the national higher education policy networks the dominant actors were
traditionally government and institutional representatives. The reforms implied
that the role of other external actors in these networks has become more
prominent. Second, external actors have become more directly involved in the
internal affairs of the higher education institutions. This includes both
participation in institutional governance structures and involvement in the basic
activities of universities and colleges, especially teaching” (Maassen 2000b: 377)

On the basis of numerous contributions from across Northern and Southern Europe (Hölttä
2000; Larsen 2000; Maassen 2000a; Magalhães and Amaral 2000), Maassen goes on
concluding that, the “growing influence of stakeholders and the reduced role of politics is a
direct consequence of changes in the government steering approach to higher education”
(Maassen 2000b: 382). During the 80s, European governments such as the Netherlands
(Kickert 1995) begun departing from traditional government steering mechanisms in the
form of legislation, prohibitions and regulations towards strengthened institutional
autonomy and self-responsibility, a phenomenon that became commonly known as ‘self-
regulation’ (Maassen and Stensaker 2003; van Vught 1988).

It is rather compelling the fact that Clark’s seminal work (1983) refers to the terms ‘state’
one hundred times and ‘market’ about sixty times, yet no single mention is given to the term
‘stakeholder(s)’. Having said that, and in fairness, ‘external interests’ are referred to by Clark
about sixteen times. In one such times, it is mentioned that: “As top state officials, external
interest groups, or emerging internal constituencies enter the power arenas of higher
education, they generally seek changes that seem favourable to their own interests.” (Clark
1983: 202)

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While discussing the emergent role of external stakeholders in European higher education
governance, Amaral and Magalhães (2002: 2) define two categories of stakeholders, internal
(members of the academic community) and external (outsiders), and highlight that the latter
concept “refers to the presence of representatives of the interests of the ‘outside world’ in
university governance.” Furthermore, it is argued that the presence of such external
representatives is, first and foremost, designed to make higher education institutions more
responsive to their surrounding environments (ibid.), thus making their impact on the
internal affairs of institutions both legitimate and useful features of modern higher
education systems (see also Hölttä 2000).

Jongbloed et al (2008) contend that, in order to successfully achieve their obligation as

socially accountable organizations and prevent mission overload, higher education
institutions will have to carefully select key stakeholder groups with whom strategic
partnerships are to be forged over the long run. Echoing earlier accounts, the authors
contend that “the issue of representation of stakeholders is directly related to that of
responsiveness and legitimacy.” (ibid. p, 307), to be reflected (near future) on the nature,
quality and evolving ties with the so-called ‘Stakeholder Society’ (see Neave 2002). On the
basis of the theory of stakeholder salience by Mitchell et al. (1997, in Jongbloed et al. 2008:
308-9), attention is paid to three types of stakeholder attributes, namely: (a) stakeholder’s
power to influence the organisation; (b) the legitimacy of the stakeholder’s relationship with
the organisation; and (c) the urgency of the stakeholder’s claim on the organisation. The
authors advance a typology of stakeholders on the basis of the number of key attributes:
latent (one attribute); expectant (two); and definitive (all three attributes). “Stakeholder
salience is low for the group of latent stakeholders, moderate for expectant stakeholders
and high for definitive stakeholders.” (Jongbloed et al. 2008: 210)

Benneworth and Jongbloed (2010) discuss the issue of stakeholder salience with respect to
academic fields or knowledge domains and against the backdrop of society’s valorisation
towards the skills being transmitted and the knowledge being produced/transferred by
higher education institutions. They argue that the lower degree of policy attention
attributed to ‘softer’ fields like the humanities, the arts and the social sciences when
compared to the so-called ‘hard’ sciences (consult Becher and Trowler 2001) is part and

4
parcel of the lack of stakeholders’ salience across the former fields. Further, and on the basis
of empirical data, the authors contend that the degree of responsiveness by higher
education institutions to certain types of stakeholder groups “does not evolve simply and
functionally but in response to the networks of relationships in which they are situated.”
(ibid. p, 567; see also Chatterton and Goddard 2000; Pinheiro et al. 2012; Benneworth 2013).

Finally, the importance attribute to stakeholder issues in contemporary higher education

affairs across the globe is, in our view, a reflection of the changing nature of the social pact
between higher education and society, brokered via the state (see chapter X by Maassen),
with new notions of trust and accountability (Stensaker and Harvey 2011) as well as
responsiveness to societal needs and demands (Clark 1998; Etzkowitz et al. 2000) as key
attributes.

Brazil
The starting point for Balbachevsky’s analysis (Chapter X) is the fact that Brazilian higher
education is characterised by a wide array of individual providers, each with quite distinct
characteristics. Not only is there horizontal diversification but, equally important, there is
considerable heterogeneity amongst institutions of the same type, e.g. publicly- run and
funded universities. The author substantiates her analysis on the combination of two relative
distinct concepts; traditional stakeholder analysis and the so-called Advocacy Coalitions
Framework (ACF), proposed by Sabatier and colleagues. ACF pays considerable attention to
the dynamics of the policy system with a special emphasis on the interaction (i.e. nature and
patterns of coalition) amongst actors representing different institutions, interests or stakes,
in addition to the role played by their respective (shared) belief systems.

In Brazil, system-wide dynamics in the last two decades or so have been marked by two
major macro-political and economic events: the democratization process initiated in the
mid-80s (fall military dictatorship); and the long lasting economic crisis (e.g. uncontrolled
inflation) from 1980s up to the mid-1990s with the introduction of the Plano Real (“Real
Plan”), i.e. a series of key policy (fiscal) measures that have successfully stabilised the
domestic economy. In 1993, annual inflation reached 2.477% but was drastically curtained to

5
1.65% by 1998.1 In 2012 (latest), annual inflation reached 5.84%. These two aspects are
significant since democratization and the so-called “democratic pact” that followed
increased the expectations of, and the role played by, various stakeholders in society as far
as equity and social inclusiveness are concerned, and also since improvements in the public
purse directly affect dynamics across the public sector more generally.2 Balbachevsky
reports that the 1980s were years of penury for public universities, “when academic salaries
and resources for maintaining the conditions for teaching and research were drastically
reduced.” (p. XX).

The discussion on the role of stakeholders makes a distinction between those internal to the
system and outside parties likely to influence developments. When it comes to the first
group, particularly attention is paid to the academic profession which, in Brazil, is as diverse
and stratified as the institutional landscape. Four main audiences are included in this group:
the (professional) oligarchy, associated with the prestigious professional fields such as
medicine and law; the scientific community at large, i.e. tenured scientific scholars; unionized
lecturers, who hold full-time contracts at universities yet are little involved with research
activities partly since they do not possess doctoral education; and academics employed
throughout the private sector. Table 1 below provides a summary of the role played by these
(4) stakeholder groups, as well as the prevalent strategic issues surrounding them.

Table 1: Internal Stakeholders in Brazilian Higher Education

Type of stakeholder Relevant issues Influence
Professional oligarchy Protect the autonomy of the Strong – regional & federal
internal ‘Foundations’ they are professional boards with
associated with, and the shared influence over curricula
interests of the profession. (Medicine, Engineering & Law)
Scientific community Limits on autonomy by outsides Strong – as an integral part of
(including funding agencies). peer review committees (funding
Graduate programme rankings agencies). As policy-advisors.
(peer evaluations)
Unionized lecturers Keep the egalitarian ethos intact. Strong (academic unions) –
Intrinsic rewards like ‘being a good internal governance structures &

1
http://www.inflation.eu/inflation-rates/brazil/historic-inflation/cpi-inflation-brazil.aspx
2
Consult Favero and Giavazzi (2004) for the relation between inflation and debt in Brazil.

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 teacher’ communication channels (local
authorities & media)
Private sector academics Contractual conditions & Weak
classroom autonomy

Source: Based on the data provided by Balbachevsky

In addition to the four key groups of stakeholders shown above, three other internal
stakeholders are referred to by Balbachevsky. These are: student movements and unions;
employees’ unions; and the central administration.

Student unions have gradually lost their power and influence - also over the broader political
system - in the last 20 years. Their major priorities are centred around: maintain public
institutions tuition-free; expanding the amount of public resources re-directed to the sector;
and supporting democratic governance (“one person, one vote”) when it comes to electing
the central administration. Notwithstanding, students still exercise considerable influence
not least due to their partnerships with academic and employees’ unions, both as regards
internal elections (Rectorate) as well as when it comes to mobilization for radical action
inside and outside the campus.

Employees’ unions represent the shared interests of non-academic staff and are particularly
concerned with issues pertaining to work conditions, including salaries and career
trajectories. In addition, Balbachevsky reports, they play a prominent role in: keeping
universities tuition-free; sustaining an internal system of democratic governance; resisting
any type of performance appraisal. Albeit generally weak, the role of employees’ unions is
particularly pronounced during electoral years, largely as a result of their collaborations with
other unionised groups.

Finally, as far as the central administration is concerned, its members tend to emanate from
the scientific community and thus are keen to stress performance-related issues in the
realms of research and graduate education. In the case of regionally-based institutions
where graduate education is of less concern, the focus tends to be on expanding
undergraduate enrolments and in securing adequate resources from governmental agencies

7
at the federal and state levels. As for private institutions, these face two competing forces;
the ever changing demands of the market place and governmental impositions, with the
private sector in Brazil being tightly regulated when compared to other countries.

Tuning now, briefly, to the role played by external stakeholders in Brazilian higher education,
Balbachevsky starts her analysis by referring to the ‘social pact’ (see Maassen, chapter X)
that, historically speaking, emerged around the fight for democratization, substantiated
around the notion of equity (access) and social mobility or inclusion. These two issues are at
the forefront of the strategic agendas of two rather influential external actors – Non
Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and grass-root movements – manifested in the form of
quotas for racial minorities. Another influential external stakeholder is that of the Judiciary,
most notably those in charge of interpreting the country’s legal framework. This influential
group is particular keen to protect the public character of higher education and in restricting
the use of public funds, including but not limited to academic collaborations with external
parties like industry. The latter party is, generally speaking, a rather weak stakeholder in
higher education affairs largely due to the absence of a proper articulation of the specific
demands placed upon the sector beyond the provision of “qualified candidates”.

Moving now to governmental agencies, at the Federal level the dominant postures of the
Ministries of Education and of Science, Technology and lies on the strategic concentration of
funds around particular areas (e.g. consolidated research groups and networks) as a means
of enhancing the country’s competitive standing along a selected set of international
comparative indicators. At the regional level, state and local authorities are part of “regional
elites” with considerable influence over policy-related aspects such as funding allocations
and the establishment of new Federal establishments within their respective jurisdictions.
Finally, (‘flagships’) universities located in more resourceful regions such as Sao Paulo have
historically enjoyed a considerable degree of institutional autonomy, and, as a highly
regarded oligarchy (Clark 1983), they play an instrumental role when it comes to shaping the
dominant legitimate models for graduate education and research. In short, the stakeholder
picture presented here and elaborated further by Balbachevsky underpins the complexity
inherent to policy dynamics surrounding Brazilian higher education.

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China
The starting point for the discussion on the role of stakeholders in Chinese higher education,
by Yang (Chapter X), is the naïve assumption (previous studies) that a state-regulated system
minimises the existing tensions amongst stakeholder-groups. The last couple of years have
assisted to the appearance of external stakeholders in an area that has traditionally been
dominated by the bilateral relations – a key element of the “social pact” - between the state
and higher education institutions. The chapter focuses on the role played by three influential
stakeholders; governmental agencies (funders), students and parents (users and customers),
and industry (beneficiaries). Conceptually, Yang explores the link between the rise of market-
based mechanisms (cost-sharing) and the role of stakeholders in higher education affairs.

Stakeholders’ views with respect to the legitimacy and usefulness of cost-sharing as a

method differ, leading to tensions and disagreements. From a governmental perspective,
legitimation occurs in the form of the adoption of Western-originated concepts, albeit the
lack of solid evidence on how they work in real terms (effects). This is aggravated as a result
of the persisting social inequalities with respect to access to higher education, most notably
as regards the substantial ‘rural-urban divide’. At the system level, and largely due to the
exponential growth in enrolments, the proportion of governmental funding targeting higher
education has declined from 80% in the mid-90s to about 48% by 2008. This decline,
however, has not resulted in the erosion – amongst policy circles – of the belief that higher
education is a critical sector in institutional capacity building and global competitiveness,
with science and innovation play a key role (consult chapter X by Mok and Yue). Yet, as far as
policy is concerned and in tandem with global postures, a special focus has been given to the
nurturing of a selected set of institutions aimed at either cultivating high-level talents for
national and social development or at reaching the desired status of ‘world-class university’.

The gradual decline of the state contributions into higher education was accompanied by the
concomitant rise of cost sharing mechanisms. Between 1996 and 2008, the proportion of
tuition and fees paid by students and their families more than doubled, from 14% to about
34%. One direct consequence of this was the reduction in the number of students
originating from rural areas, from 30% in the early 80s to about 19% by 2004. Students from
low income families, who tend to enrol in less prestigious institutions and academic fields

9
(agriculture, teacher education, geology, etc.) when compared to their middle- and upper-
class counterparts who tend to enrol in prestigious programs (law, medicine, languages, etc.)
and institutions, tend to have lower economic (private) returns on their educational
investments. The government has attempted to correct (control) this situation by
introducing a system of loans and grants, yet these programs are rather competitive in
nature, thus limited in scope. Yang refers to cost sharing has a double-edge sword. On the
one hand, it has played a key role in the massification of higher education, yet on the other,
it has increased the financial burden of many families, thus leading to mass discontent.

Yang reports that the business community – a major beneficiary of the expansion of the
system in recent years – provides no major direct contributions to higher education, thus
enjoying a “free ride”. There have been recent calls for charging companies an additional tax
upon the recruitment of graduates, as for example in India, but no major policy initiates
have been enacted so far. The traditional policy approach has been the reverse, i.e. to
provide companies including foreign-own with tax benefits in order to stimulate investments
and the creation of new jobs and market innovations. Finally, Chinese academics –
particularly those employed by prestigious institutions – are relatively satisfied with the
status quo, and, for the most part, still subscribe to the notion of higher education as a
highly autonomous sector (‘ivory tower’) that is relatively oblivious to external events and
demands.

Russia
The starting point for the discussion on the role of stakeholders in Russian higher education
by Evgeny and Natalya (chapter X) is the notion that the emergence of new (mostly external)
interest groups is part and parcel of the increasing complexity inherent to the social and
economic structure of Russian society. The conceptual perspective adopted in the chapter is
that of resource dependencies (Pfeffer and Salancik 2003), i.e. stakeholders as providers of
various types of resources that enable higher education institutions to sustain and/or further
develop their competitive advantage vis á vis other providers. As a result, it is contended
that (external) stakeholders play a key role in the formation of internal structures and
academic behaviours. Based on Clark’s (1983) triangle of coordination and the notion that
“university-stakeholder relations must be conceived in the totally of the networks of

10
relations and connections” (p. x), the authors’ analysis focuses on three types or relations:
‘state-market’; ‘market-academic oligarchy’; and ‘state-oligarchy’.

With respect to the axis of relations between state and market, a major aspect pertains to
the critical role of the private sector in aiding the further expansion (massification) of the
system. Enrolments across non-state universities more than doubled between 2000 and
2011, with a more moderate growth across the public sector. In addition to the exponential
growth of fee paying students across the public and private sectors, another distinctive
feature of the Russian system is that of the growth in the number of students completing
their education in the fields of social sciences, business and law (56% of the total). However,
after 2008, and due to a combination of demographic decline and the financial crisis (after
2010), the market for fee-paying higher education has gradually been on a decline. From a
governance point of view, the relatively weak regulative framework for private providers
means that these enjoy considerable autonomy. Across the system, the state has exercised
its influence largely through the introduction (in 2009) of the Unified State Exam (USE), the
primary mechanism for the selection of new entrants into the system. Albeit its positive
outcomes (e.g. enhancing equity), this policy instrument has led to substantial dissatisfaction
amongst key stakeholders such as students, parents and universities, the latter due to the
posed constrains in the freedom to select their own candidates.

The authors stress that the allocation of stated-funded study places is a rather opaque
process, full of contradictions and the target of strong administrative influence. Recent
changes in the regulative framework not only preserve the regulatory function of the state,
but, equally important, extend the latter’s influence over the behaviour of other key
stakeholders such as the state-run universities. Recent policy measures aimed at increasing
selectivity (restricting access) to higher education have received widespread criticism by
universities and society at large. Yet, as the authors report, resistance by universities has
little to do with the wellbeing of students as such (equity-related issues). Instead these are
more aligned with the preservation of their own interests; faculty, income, etc.

In the realm of research, the recent interest by the state towards world-class institutions has
led to increasing policy attention paid to the development of capacity building at selected

11
public universities, despite the fact that the bulk (around 53%) of domestic R&D still occurs
at the Russian Academy of Sciences. The renewed attention given to the university sector is
also linked to governmental attempts to bring to the fore another key stakeholder – industry
- in the form of university-industry collaborations in the context of technology transfers and
innovation (see chapter X by Smolentseva). In this respect, a new regulative framework
(2006) provides universities with increasing autonomy to develop their own entrepreneurial
profiles, yet such measures have been received with some scepticism by universities, for fear
of loss of property and the “hidden” risks associate with enhanced accountability. Moreover,
quality concerns (relevancy) have led to increasing efforts to directly involve employers’
associations when it comes to the development of professional standards, curricula and the
process of training.

In short, the Russian story shows the predominant role of the state, as the main resource
provider and legislator, the limited impact of the market (private providers) partly due to
demographic decline and in part as a result of resistance by the established universities to
become more selective, and finally an academic oligarchy that is, for the most part,
interested in keeping the status quo unaltered and is rather detached from system-level
coordination, hence playing a rather negligible role overall.

South Africa
Lolwana (chapter X) provides a chronological account of the role undertaken by internal and
external stakeholders in South African higher education. She divides her analysis along two
key periods; the so-called pre-democratic period which includes both the colonial and the
apartheid eras; and, the reconstruction period, coinciding with dramatic changes in the
socio-economic environment resulting from the shift towards a democratic regime. In doing
so, the conceptual approach adopted is based on the combination of seminal contributions
by Gornitzka, Trow and Olsen - shedding light on the interplay between the phenomena of
massification, system level change and different modes of governance.

From an historical viewpoint, the dynamics of the system have been largely shaped by the
introduction (early 50s) of a dual higher education structure composed of universities
targeting specific race and ethnic groups. The primary aim, by government, was “to ensure

12
and maintain a rigid social order and occupational structure where blacks were being
prepared for a subordinate and geographically isolated role in society” (pg. X). The so-called
“disadvantaged institutions” were run by a highly centralised leadership structure
nominated by government as to ensure the successful implementation of the latter’s policy
objectives and priorities. As far as governance was concerned, white universities enjoyed
some degree of discretion and autonomy albeit the fact that content was dictated by the
state, whereas Black institutions faced tight control. Thus, by the mid-1990s when Apartheid
finally collapsed the country had inherited a rather disjoint and highly unequal higher
education system.

From the early 1990s to the early 2000s, a strong emphasis was given to redress existing
inequalities, including opening-up the sector to a wide variety of stakeholder groups. These
included, in addition to the higher education institutions themselves, the state, the newly
created council on higher education, as well as institutional forums that were supposed to
be representative of society at large. The period 1994-1999 was characterised by wide
consultation and active debate amongst internal and external stakeholders. Yet, by the end
of the 90s, governmental concerns towards efficiency led to the increasing centralisation of
the policy making process, thus putting into question the active (participative) role of
stakeholders in it. By the early 2000s, Peliwe reports that the rise of professional
management in tandem with the focus put on resources and performance led to a collapse
of the notion of a cooperative governance system based on democratic decision making
procedures. Interestingly, system level responses varied in the light of historical
characteristics and institutionalised traditions. Afrikaans-speaking universities responded
rather favourably to the new managerial tendencies whereas their English-speaking
counterparts found it more difficult to operate within the new managerial ethos due to their
more collegial (democratic) orientations, thus continuing “business as usual”. As for the
predominantly black (disadvantaged) institutions, these were, for the most part, largely
unable to efficiently respond to the new set of demands being posed upon them. Yet,
irrespectively of their historical trajectories, various internal stakeholders at universities –
academics, students and unions – largely opposed the rise of managerialism in higher
education.

13
The new managerial orientation resulted in a stronger executive or central steering core
(Clark 1998) and a more personalised (Vice Chancellor and Senior Managers) leadership
style. In contrast, the power and influence of the more collectively-oriented governance
structures such as the Institutional Forums, Councils and Senate gradually deteriorated. On
the other hand, influential internal stakeholders like student unions – who were now much
better organised than before – were able to pressurise institutions (particularly the
previously advantaged ones) to “open-up” their admission policies. Combined with new
policy measures aimed at enhancing equity, students’ demands led to a considerable change
in the racial composition of ‘historically-advantaged’ universities. Having said that, the
situation of students under the new managerialism regime changed rather dramatically,
from being seen as partners in the internal governance of university towards being
approached as consumers whose needs and demands need to be appropriately addressed
by management (see also Luescher-Mamashela 2010). Finally, as far as external stakeholders
such as civil society and industry are concerned, these have traditionally played (and still
continue to do so) a rather limited role when it comes to the internal university governance
on the one hand and the role of higher education in society on the other.

India
Although we were unable to include a thematic chapter on the role of stakeholders in Indian
higher education as part of this book volume, a number of key aspects come to the fore in
the analysis provided by the (3) Indian chapters on policy, supply and demand, and research
and innovation. While referring to Kapur (2010) and the notion that Indian higher education
is arguably one of the most difficult sectors to reform, Trilokekar and Embleton (chapter X)
contend that this is partly the result of the vast number of stakeholders with vested interests
in both the role and purposes of the sector, and also a consequence of “a political system
that allows for healthy debate, sometimes to the detriment of the government’s ability to
dictate policy efficiently and effectively.” (pg. X) Similarly to what is the case elsewhere (e.g.
the Nordic countries), Trilokekar and Embleton report that the national government often
uses external assessments – by commission taskforces, reviews, and independent reports -
to assist with policy-making, yet they underline that the end result (degree of influence) is
largely determined by numerous political factors such as the alignment or absence thereof
of strategic interests amongst various factions composing the policy-making community.

14
As far as central government is concerned, the above authors shed light on the significance
of particular actors occupying positions of power, e.g. the Prime Minister and the Minister of
Human Resources Development (supported by their inner circle of advisors). That said, it is
indicated that, in recent years the influence of central government in determining policy
directions and respective mechanism has been challenged by a number of stakeholder
groups, including opposition parties (a basic feature of a modern democratic system) as well
as the mass media (representing the general interest of civil society). Yet, on the whole, it is
outlined that, as far as critical issues surrounding the governance of higher education in India
(accountability, quality, etc.), the general tendency is for an increasing centralisation of
decision making procedures, unavoidably resulting “into greater regulatory powers for the
Indian state.” (pg. X) Having said that, Joshi (chapter X) reports that increasing centralisation
does not necessarily enhance oversight since, as the author points out, the multiplicity of
regulatory mechanisms has created multiple problems in the governance of higher
education affairs both at the national and state levels. For example, the various regulatory
bodies3 lack power in the eyes of the constitution and, as a result, have largely failed to
formulate an effective system, including a clear set of rules and regulations.

As far as the role played by individual providers, the picture is not entirely clear, yet one
deducts from the information provided by the Indian authors that, generally speaking, the
power held by institutions (Burton Clark’s academic oligarchy) is relatively weak. This is
partly a result of the considerable fragmentation and degree of differentiation across the
system. Having said that, it is worth stressing the fact that as part of central government
plans to centralise resources in a handful of universities - with the aim of elevating those to
world-class stature – one would expect this rather selective group of institutions to exercise
considerable more influence in matters related to sector-wide policy as well as the degree of
autonomy4 they currently enjoy. That said, Trilokekar and Embleton report that there is
considerable resistance by a variety of stakeholder groups – universities included – towards
the opening-up of the domestic system to foreign providers, in the context of
internationalization strategies. This, in itself, may be indicative of the power held by current

3
For a thorough analysis of one such regulatory body – the University Grants Committee – see Singh (2004).
4
For a recent discussion on the autonomy enjoyed by Indian universities consult Powar (2002: 160-66).

15
providers – public as well as private – in defending their vested interests (e.g. market share)
against the perceived, potential “invasion” of foreign-based universities.

As far as the role of student unions is concerned, while writing in the mid-1970s Altbach (in
Agarwal and Altbach 2012: 433 ) reported that the growing heterogeneity of the student
body across Indian higher education institution – largely a result of the exponential
expansion of the system throughout the 1960s (see Joshi’s chapter) –made student
mobilization an impossible enterprise. In addition, it is reported that, the “economic
uncertainty of many Indian students is clearly a cause for ambivalence…”, with many
students holding part-time jobs besides their studies thus dividing their precious time
between seasonable work and the campus (ibid. p, 432). A more recent account suggests
that both problems are still rather prominent, thus considerably hampering the role that
students and their official representatives (student unions) play in the governance of higher
education affairs (ibid. p, 494-5).

Finally, when it comes to the role played by external stakeholders like industry and other
knowledge intensive actors - which have traditionally not played a critical role in matters
pertaining to higher education - there is evidence that, in the near future, these are likely to
become key partners for research-intensive universities in the context of knowledge
transfers and innovation. Gorur and Rizvi (chapter X), in their analysis of the role of research
and innovation in Indian higher education, refer to the new ‘Roadmap for Innovation’
encompassing amongst other things the establishment of Cluster Innovation Centres with
the aim of stimulating collaborative networks between universities and other key actors
composing the domestic knowledge- and innovation- ecosystems; industries, national
laboratories, NGOs, business houses, etc.

In short, the brief analysis provided above on the basis of the more detailed accounts on the
role of the stakeholders across the BR(I)CS by the individual authors/chapters, sheds light on
the complexity inherent to the governance of contemporary higher education systems. In
addition, and taking into account historical developments, we would contend that the
observed dynamics across the five countries are indeed a reflection of the evolving social
pact between higher education and the state, which in a number of countries is currently

16
being re-assessed and re-negotiated, not least through the ways in which various
stakeholder groups (and their respective vested interests) manifest themselves into the
governance and running of higher education affairs.

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