Scholarlink

<p>The 2018 reform in Kazakhstan granted public universities institutional autonomy, changing the landscape of higher education (HE) and placing regional universities in a strong competition for students, funding, and relevance. This study investigates how regional universities in Kazakhstan attempt to reconstruct their organizational identity amid intensified competition and evolving governance. Drawing on Stensaker’s (2015) conceptualization of organizational identity, a qualitative multiple-case study design was employed, using individual interviews and focus group discussions with senior leaders and academic staff across five institutions. Research results identify key institutional factors, including ongoing ministerial oversight, reliance on state funding, rigid accountability systems, and weak internal governance structures, that shape and constrain universities’ strategic choices. Our findings reveal a paradox: although universities nominally gained autonomy, bureaucratic routines, hierarchical decision-making, and funding insecurity continue to undermine meaningful organizational transformation. While leadership initiatives aimed at enhancing institutional image were prominent, these efforts often conflicted with entrenched traditions, internal skepticism, and insufficient institutional capacity for change. The analysis also points to contrasting identity trajectories across institutions. The study contributes to organizational identity theory by showing that identity processes unfold under conditions of symbolic autonomy shaped by the interaction between formal autonomy reforms and structural constraints in regional universities operating within a post-socialist HE context.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Negotiating organizational identity under symbolic autonomy: evidence from regional universities in Kazakhstan

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月15日

查看全文
  • Ahmet Aypay,
  • Danagul Yembergenova,
  • Aida Sagintayeva,
  • Murat Özdemir

摘要

The 2018 reform in Kazakhstan granted public universities institutional autonomy, changing the landscape of higher education (HE) and placing regional universities in a strong competition for students, funding, and relevance. This study investigates how regional universities in Kazakhstan attempt to reconstruct their organizational identity amid intensified competition and evolving governance. Drawing on Stensaker’s (2015) conceptualization of organizational identity, a qualitative multiple-case study design was employed, using individual interviews and focus group discussions with senior leaders and academic staff across five institutions. Research results identify key institutional factors, including ongoing ministerial oversight, reliance on state funding, rigid accountability systems, and weak internal governance structures, that shape and constrain universities’ strategic choices. Our findings reveal a paradox: although universities nominally gained autonomy, bureaucratic routines, hierarchical decision-making, and funding insecurity continue to undermine meaningful organizational transformation. While leadership initiatives aimed at enhancing institutional image were prominent, these efforts often conflicted with entrenched traditions, internal skepticism, and insufficient institutional capacity for change. The analysis also points to contrasting identity trajectories across institutions. The study contributes to organizational identity theory by showing that identity processes unfold under conditions of symbolic autonomy shaped by the interaction between formal autonomy reforms and structural constraints in regional universities operating within a post-socialist HE context.