Barriers to University Mergers - Comparative analysis of Universities in Europe

Abstract

The importance of mergers in the sector of higher education is increasing in many countries. Public universities are involved in the consolidation process for their ability to: implement public policy, promote national and international rankings, rationalize the science and education network, and strengthen economies of scale. The barriers to mergers can be divided according to different criteria. Known typologies include: the type of barrier, the source of the constraint, their relationship with the fusion stages and so on. Barrier analysis can be started from a more general perspective and based on the experience gained from business mergers and then move on to the constraints specific to university mergers and analyze the methods of overcoming them. The aim of this article is to identify the key barriers to conducting strategic university mergers. The article discusses the complexity of the consolidation process and the barriers to mergers in higher education.