INSTITUTIONAL TYPES, ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES, AND INNOVATION IN CHRISTIAN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

INSTITUTIONAL TYPES, ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES, AND INNOVATION IN CHRISTIAN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

Relative to the many types of higher education institutions, Christian institutions face extreme operating conditions. Specifically, they are highly tuition dependent, face extreme pressure for funding, and struggle to preserve the history, tradition, and distinctive cultures of their organizations...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Christian higher education (London, UK) Vol. 3; no. 1; pp. 15 - 39
Main Authors: OBENCHAIN, ALICE M., JOHNSON, WILLIAM C., DION, PAUL A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 01-01-2004
Taylor & Francis, Ltd
Subjects:
Christianity
Church Related Colleges
Cultural Influences
Higher Education
Innovation
Institutional Characteristics
School Culture
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Relative to the many types of higher education institutions, Christian institutions face extreme operating conditions. Specifically, they are highly tuition dependent, face extreme pressure for funding, and struggle to preserve the history, tradition, and distinctive cultures of their organizations ( Dockery and Gushee, 1999 ). At the same time, these institutions face significant pressure for innovation due to advances in technology and changing demographics. The study reported in this paper explored the association between institutional type, organizational culture, and innovation within institutions of Christian higher education. Regarding institutional type, Christian higher education institutions appear to adopt innovations more frequently than private/independent institutions, and less frequently than public institutions. In addition, dominant culture type appeared to influence innovation within Christian higher education institutions. Though most institutions in the sample reported a dominant culture type of "clan," institutions reporting a dominant type of "adhocracy" adopted innovations more frequently. Despite some limitations, this study provides implications for administrators of Christian higher education institutions. Specifically, this study provides a basis for identifying the operating processes and values that are conducive to organizational innovation. Directions for future research were discussed.
ISSN:1536-3759
1539-4107
DOI:10.1080/15363750490264870