Institutional isomorphism and the creation of the unified national system of higher education in Australia: An empirical analysis

Abstract

Previous research has highlighted the occurrence of isomorphic tendencies— convergences in terms of formal organizational structure—in higher education systems in times of uncertainty and under external pressure to change. It has been repeatedly claimed that the Australian university system largely followed a logic of isomorphic change in the aftermath of radical national policy reform of the late 1980s. Yet to date, there is a lack of comprehensive empirical studies testing this thesis. Addressing this lacuna, and drawing on a range of university and government data, this paper tracks and analyses: (a) changes in the formal academic organizational structures existing at all public Australia..