E-learning and internationalization implementation: Cross cultural analysis of higher education cases

Abstract

Higher education in Asia and around the world is in a period of intense change including internationalisation, technological change, accountability, massification, managerial controls, financial support from public sources, and new regulations for comparability of degrees etc., all frame factors for adjustment on campus and milestones of cultural change in their respective societies. This paper presents two cases — an Austrian university case focusing on the implementation process of an e-learning strategy; and an US case examining the implementation of a university internationalisation initiative. Based on the two cases ‘imperatives for change’ are analysed and compared in areas of leadership, changing mission and vision, organisational capacity, and relationships to stakeholders. Results show that: a) leadership and the language of leadership play an important role in helping/making the university change, b) the mid level managers directly influence the rate of change, c) organisational challenges alter behaviour by increasing incentive rewards and, d) a major buy-in point for university faculty come from the perception that the change results in gains for students.