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Applying the Varieties of Capitalism Approach to Higher Education. Comparing the Internationalization of German and British Universities
Journal
European Journal of Education
ISSN
0141-8211
ISSN-Digital
1465-3435
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2009-12
Author(s)
Abstract
In recent years, the global market for higher education has expanded rapidly, while internationalisation strategies have been developed at university, national and European levels to increase the competitiveness of higher education institutions. This article asks how institutional settings prevailing in national models of capitalism motivate distinct national approaches with regard to the internationalisation, globalisation, and Europeanisation of higher education systems. While the university is defined as an organisational actor embedded in the higher education system, the higher education system itself represents an institutional subsystem within the national model of capitalism. An analytical framework is then developed on the basis of the Varieties of Capitalism approach to compare the internationalisation of German and British universities. Findings indicate that the relations between the various actors involved in the internationalisation of universities are based largely on market coordination in the British case. In contrast, this process in Germany relies more on strategic interactions between the various organisational actors in higher education. The development paths in the internationalisation of universities are found to be influenced by and reflect the specific mode of coordination in the respective higher education system and the national model of capitalism more generally. This comparative case study shows that recent conceptions of path dependence as well as conceptual tools developed in the Varieties of Capitalism literature, such as institutional complementarity and comparative institutional advantage, may be fruitfully applied to research on institutional change in higher education systems.
Language
English
Keywords
Varieties of Capitalism
higher education
internationalization
Germany
UK
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Publisher place
Oxford [u.a.]
Volume
44
Number
4
Start page
569
End page
585
Pages
17
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
243359