Stakeholder organizations in the European higher education area: Exploring transnational policy dynamic

Abstract

The study focuses on multi-level and multi-actor characteristics of European governance, concentrating on six European stakeholder organizations in the area of higher education (HE) and research. It analyses how policy positions change over time and how such changes can be accounted for, juxtaposing (1) environmental influence linked to structuration of the European HE policy arena as an organizational field and (2) internal organizational dynamic. Policy positions are seen to comprise three elements – policy issues, policy preferences and normative basis. Theoretically, the study is grounded in policy analysis, interest groups and neo-institutionalism. The empirical material consists of policy documents, subjected to both quantitative and qualitative content analysis. The study identifies changes in policy positions of stakeholder organizations, resulting in both differences and similarities, though the latter do not emerge over time in a way that suggests straightforward convergence. Thus, further research into specificities of policy-making processes within these organizations is necessary.