Strategic Challenges of Mergers and Acquisitions in the Higher Education Sector

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the article is to present the issue of mergers and acquisitions of universities with reference to academic entrepreneurship.

Research Design & Methods: The research methodology in the article was based on comparative analysis of case studies of universities mergers. The article is of an illustrative nature and constitutes a starting point for further in-depth research in the field of university mergers and academic entrepreneurship.

Findings: One of the consolidation motivations in France was to build strong links between universities and enterprises, which is supposed to fuel economic, scientific and technological development. Key mechanisms to drive a wave of strategic mergers in the public university sector that is sweeping through the world are global rankings.

Implications & Recommendations: Consolidations of HEIs should also based on effective human capital management and entrepreneurial organisational culture. Nowadays, in the process of university merger research, we are at the induction stage, where hundreds of case studies and few comparative studies have been gathered that draw
a complex picture of mergers and can serve as a source of practical guidance.

Contribution & Value Added: International comparison of mergers of Polish and French public universities that lead to recommendations on macro level of public policy and on mezzo and micro level of university management.