Leadership and branding in business schools: a Bourdieusian analysis (original) (raw)
Related papers
Naidoo et al - Leadership and branding in business schools - final
This paper explores the growth of corporate branding in higher education and its use by academic and professional managers as a mechanism for not only enhancing institutional reputation but also for facilitating internal culture change. It uses Bourdieu's framework of field, capital and habitus to analyse case studies of branding in two English business schools from the perspectives of academics, management and professional staff and students. The findings reveal a number of tensions and inconsistencies between the experiences of these groups that highlight the contested nature of branding in higher education. In an era of rankings, metrics and student fees, it is suggested that branding has become an important means through which higher education leaders and managers (re)negotiate the perceived value of different forms of capital and their relative positions within the field. Whilst branding operates at a largely ideological level it has a material effect on the allocation of power and resources within institutions. This is an important development in a sector that has typically privileged scientific capital; and contributes towards an understanding of the ways in which leadership is 'distributed' within universities.
Chapleo, C. (2015) “An exploration of Branding approaches in UK Universities"
The UK Higher Education (HE) sector has seen significant and ongoing change in recent years; in particular, the advent and increase of student tuition fees. This exploratory paper (based upon depth interviews with opinion leaders) utilises 'richer' qualitative information to explore the current state of UK HE branding; in particular, conceptualisations and approaches. The underlying rationale is that whilst branding as an idea is now widely accepted in practice in UK HE, recent rapid changes need exploration with a view to a clearer future conceptualisation. Calls in the literature reinforce this.
Chapleo, C. (2007) ‘Barriers to Brand Building in UK Universities’
Branding in universities has become an increasingly topical issue with practitioners, with some institutions committing substantial financial resources to branding activities. It has, however, received only limited academic investigation, and as the particular characteristics of the sector present challenges for those seeking to build brands, it seems to be timely and appropriate to investigate potential barriers to branding. This exploratory study investigates the opinions of the 'brand guardians' of UK universities -Vice Chancellors, Principals and Rectors -on the barriers to successfully building brands and draws conclusions on their views of the key challenges facing successful branding activity in the sector. Implications for practitioners are also explored.
An exploration of branding approaches in UK universities
International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 2014
• This exploratory paper considers the current state of UK HE branding, in particular, conceptualisations and approaches. It is driven by calls in the literature for clearer understanding and application of branding in Higher Education (HE).Objectives of the research, drawn from literature, were to explore conceptualisations of branding in the UK HE sector, as well as current challenges to branding concepts/ practice in UK HE. The methodology was based upon depth interviews with fifteen opinion leaders and opinion formers, specifically Heads of Marketing or External Relations in UK HE. Findings suggest that branding is a key issue for UK universities, but an overall conceptual model for brands in the HE sector remains challenging, although parallels with corporate branding are drawn. However, simplistic adoption of corporate branding does not offer a clear solution, and the requirement for a conceptual framework particular to the sector is evident. In exploring conceptual frameworks, experiential branding and internal branding are discussed as possible approaches that may offer a route for differentiation that universities seek. Whilst developing a clear conceptual model is the key challenge identified, limited and variable understanding of the branding concept and limited genuine differentiation around which to build a brand were also notable challenges. Overall, significant branding opportunities and challenges in a changing sector are discussed. Conclusions argue that corporate branding, experiential branding and internal branding literature all have a degree of applicability, but clearly further empirical work is needed to advance this important field.
The present study is a contribution to the ongoing debate of the marketisation of higher education and provides a detailed examination of the implications that the infiltration of promotional and corporate discourse in the discourse of higher education has for the construction of the universities’ and students’ identities. Having Critical Discourse Analysis as a departure point, it focuses on a critical examination of the language used by Lancaster University as an example of a marketised university, looking at three texts that are deemed highly promotional: the undergraduate and postgraduate prospectuses and the strategic plan document. It contains two interrelated analyses. The first is a linguistic and semantic analysis of the vocabulary used in the texts with the help of corpus linguistics. Based on an investigation of keywords, key semantic domains and attributive adjectives it attempts to shed light to the ways that Lancaster University constructs its identity. The second analysis borrows from Systemic Functional Linguistics concentrating on the grammar level of the texts in order to account for how the (prospective) students’ identity is constructed. The findings of the two analyses reveal the university’s attempt to create the image of a supportive service provider that offers vocationally-oriented education and the promise of a great university experience, at the same constructing its (potential) students as passive receivers of the university’s services.
International Studies of Management & Organization, 2015
This study explores the challenges of university branding and the qualities that make university branding different from commercial branding in terms of cultural issues, branding concepts and frameworks and brands architecture. The literature about branding in the university sector is described and viewed in the context of exploratory interviews with fifty five university managers. The results present the differences between university and commercial brandings as well as culture, brand concepts and brand architecture,. The study was conducted in UK universities, but similar issues in many other countries means that the results are comparable internationally. Overall, the findings presented in this research offer a valuable contribution to our understanding of the complexities of higher education branding.
Barriers to brand building in UK universities?
International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 2007
Branding in universities has become an increasingly topical issue with practitioners, with some institutions committing substantial financial resources to branding activities. It has, however, received only limited academic investigation, and as the particular characteristics of the sector present challenges for those seeking to build brands, it seems to be timely and appropriate to investigate potential barriers to branding. This exploratory study investigates the opinions of the 'brand guardians' of UK universities-Vice Chancellors, Principals and Rectors-on the barriers to successfully building brands and draws conclusions on their views of the key challenges facing successful branding activity in the sector. Implications for practitioners are also explored. The concept of branding in higher education Brand management in the specific context of higher education is an area that has been on the agenda of practitioners for some time, but has seemingly received only limited academic attention. Universities have parallels with non profit brands such as museums and galleries in that they have increasingly come under pressure to act as businesses (Kotler and Kotler 1998), and Stamp (2004) offers a number of factors which have driven the UK HE branding agenda including tuition fees, competitive differentiation, league tables, organisations attaining university status and the mis-match between brand perceptions and delivery. The increased need for international recruitment has also caused UK universities to consider international brand image, and this presents dilemmas, particularly for the Asian markets targeted in recent times, in terms of standardised or adapted brand strategies (Gray, Fam and Llanes 2003). Johnson (2001), however, argues that UK universities have a long way to go in terms of understanding and incorporating the branding concept. It seems that necessity is forcing UK universities to adopt the concepts and practices of branding, but that the current perceived wisdom may not necessarily be suited to the specific needs of the university sector.