TY - JOUR
T1 - Categories and Institutional Change: Contesting the Uncontested Space Through National Rankings
AU - Khalil, Syed Haider
AU - Shah, Syed Mohsin Ali
AU - Sultan, Fahad
AU - Khan, Muhammad Ibrahim
AU - Nawaz, Sher
PY - 2023/9/14
Y1 - 2023/9/14
N2 - The current study aims to examine how and why actors contest the business education field through rankings. Inspired by the field structuration process and field level change, we argue that categorization systems, in this case, rankings, construct boundaries of the business education field and redefine authority and elites for the field. Ten highly ranked Pakistani business schools were selected through a purposive sampling method. For the thematic analysis adopted in the current study, we collected empirical evidence mainly through interviews with the directors of accreditation and ranking bodies, deans, and marketing directors of business schools. The interview data was also supplemented by secondary data such as internal student surveys, business school?s annual reports, and other relevant sources of data. The current study showed institutional work in the business education field. Through categorization systems, actors use their authority to challenge the existing social order and define the uncontested space of the business education field in developing countries. Actors then populate the uncontested space with new members thus legitimizing new rules and standards for the field and promoting new elites for the field thus creating new social order.
AB - The current study aims to examine how and why actors contest the business education field through rankings. Inspired by the field structuration process and field level change, we argue that categorization systems, in this case, rankings, construct boundaries of the business education field and redefine authority and elites for the field. Ten highly ranked Pakistani business schools were selected through a purposive sampling method. For the thematic analysis adopted in the current study, we collected empirical evidence mainly through interviews with the directors of accreditation and ranking bodies, deans, and marketing directors of business schools. The interview data was also supplemented by secondary data such as internal student surveys, business school?s annual reports, and other relevant sources of data. The current study showed institutional work in the business education field. Through categorization systems, actors use their authority to challenge the existing social order and define the uncontested space of the business education field in developing countries. Actors then populate the uncontested space with new members thus legitimizing new rules and standards for the field and promoting new elites for the field thus creating new social order.
KW - rankings
KW - categorization
KW - institutional work
KW - business schools
KW - field boundaries
KW - higher education
UR - https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/15097/
U2 - 10.1177/21582440231196724
DO - 10.1177/21582440231196724
M3 - Article
SN - 2158-2440
VL - 13
JO - SAGE Open
JF - SAGE Open
IS - 3
ER -