Doctoral Degrees and Habilitations

Doctoral and Habilitation Theses by Members of the DFG Research Group (Completed)

Abstract:

The dissertation “Institutional Filters: The German Higher Education System between Persistence and Reform” examines current higher education reforms aimed at governing the performances of academics. It considers higher education reforms as phenomena that unfold in the tension between the actors' reform intentions and the inertial forces of entrenched institutional orders. The analytical starting point is the multi-level nature of higher education reforms in a double sense: Reform intentions are found not only at the top level, but at several interlocking levels of influence on the higher education system (world-polity level, national level, and organizational level), and the institutional contexts in which reforms unfold are also multi-layered. To unfold this double multi-level “Gestalt”, this doctoral thesis develops and methodologically underpins an analytical framework of multiple institutional filtering of reforms in layered fields. Institutional filters emphasize that globally circulating reform scripts interact with multiple institutional contexts, each of which is shaped by persistent local traditions, own rules of the game, and stabilized strategies of actors embedded in the field. Institutional filtering means that reform scripts are selected and also transformed according to the idiosyncrasies of these institutional contexts. A combination of sociological neo-institutionalism, historical institutionalism, and field theory forms the theoretical basis for working out the institutional filtering of reform scripts in a complex higher education system characterized by the overlap of different field layers. It focuses not only on the filtering of global reform scripts through national pathways of the higher education system, but also emphasizes the filtering in disciplinary fields, the filtering in research (“scientific field”) and teaching (“educational field”), as well as the relevance of organizational field differentiations (functional differentiation between higher education institutions or vertical organizational status differentiation) for institutional filtering. The dissertation thus contributes to theory in higher education research by linking various relevant strands of research under a common theoretical framework.

Awarded the GfHf’s Ulrich Teichler Prize for outstanding dissertations in higher education research in 2024.

Abstract:

Driven by the proliferation of multiple competitions for financial, human, and symbolic resources, universities have evolved from loosely coupled systems into strategic organizational actors. Against this backdrop, scholarly debates drawing on neo-institutionalist theories and comparative studies of state-university relationships have illuminated how environmental conditions shape universities’ actorhood, examining whether and to what extent universities exercise strategic agency. Expanding such environmentally deterministic accounts, this study adopts an organization-centered perspective that emphasizes universities’ strategic capabilities to perform actorhood from within. Asking how archetypes of organizational actorhood emerge, the study conceptualizes them as dynamically unfolding constellations of interrelated response patterns and organizational configurations, grounded in distinct interpretive schemes of multiple competitions.

Drawing on a qualitative meta-study, the analysis reinterprets and synthesizes case studies of 33 universities from 13 countries that were identified through a transparent audit trail and examined in an iterative, abductive analytical process. The findings demonstrate that there is no single “one best way” for universities to organize themselves in response to multiple competitions. Instead, three robust archetypes of organizational actorhood have emerged – adaptational, orchestrational, and co-constructional – which differ systematically in how universities mobilize their scope for action, ranging from reactive, compliance-oriented alignment with externally defined performance criteria (adaptational), to active navigation of competition and collaboration through the strategic selection of competitions (orchestrational), to the proactive co-construction of competitive arenas through reciprocal engagement with external actors (co-constructional).

Overall, the results demonstrate that universities are not passive recipients of environmental pressures. Rather, they develop distinct organizational responses to multiple competitions that extend beyond isomorphic adaptation to a globally dominant template or to country-specific idiosyncrasies of national higher education systems. In doing so, this study highlights the value of a dynamic, configurational perspective on organizational archetypes for explaining how organizations, embedded in institutionalized fields, endogenously enact strategic agency in heterogeneous, yet patterned, forms of collective action.

Abstract:

This dissertation examines the drivers and implications of additive manufacturing (AM) adoption in Germany, focusing on market dynamics and policy effectiveness. It highlights how AM adoption reshapes market structures and prices in traditional standardized product markets. A novel method to measure AM adoption and diffusion is introduced. Furthermore, the findings underline the role of Cluster of Excellence funding and Fabrication Laboratories (FabLabs) in fostering AM adoption.

Abstract:

This dissertation investigates the efficiency of knowledge production and access within the science system, a foundational driver of technological innovation and economic growth. Defined as a dynamic, complex system, the science system organizes human efforts to advance knowledge. By adopting a "narrow" definition of scientific knowledge that separates it from proprietary technology, this research addresses the production and public access aspects crucial to maximizing knowledge’s societal impact. Three main areas are analyzed: efficiency in knowledge production, access to codified knowledge, and access to tacit knowledge. The first area examines the impact of competitive, performance-based funding on research output, in particular the impact of the Excellence Initiative in Germany. The second focuses on the Open Access movement in academic publishing, analyzing whether it disrupts traditional academic publishing models and reduces the market power of traditional publishers. The third area explores international scientific collaboration, particularly between high- and low-income countries, examining barriers to tacit knowledge exchange due to income disparities. This work contributes to understanding the mechanisms that enable or inhibit efficient knowledge production and access, offering insights into improving science systems for broader societal and economic benefit.