Learning to Compete in European Universities: From Social Institutions to Knowledge Business

This book Learning to Compete in European Universities: From Societal Institutions to Knowledge Businesses will challenge the reader by asking how and why European universities are changing and learning to compete. Anglo-Saxon universities in especially USA, UK and Australia have been subject to, and responded to market-based competition in higher education for a long time. We will argue that Continental and Nordic universities and higher education institutes (HEI) are now facing similar pressures that are leading to structural transformation of the university sector. Thus, one of the major societal institutions in Europe is undergoing transformation, and becoming a knowledge business. Regardless of whether one believes that this increasing competition has positive or negative effects, the transformation will affect academics and students, as well as the ability of firms and nations to compete in the global knowledge society. This book provides some steps towards explaining what is going on; towards analyzing how individuals, groups and organizations are responding; and towards discussing the implications for society and universities