ERIC Number: ED637311
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 192
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3801-3516-0
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Cultural Integration among Faculty Following a University Merger: A Collective Case Study of Mergers in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
David J. Dausey
ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania
After responding to decades of external pressures, many higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United States have become stuck in a vicious cycle of declining enrollments, increased discount rates, decreased revenues, and increased debt. This vicious cycle has put these HEIs on an unsustainable path that may drive long-vulnerable HEIs to consider mergers as a potential solution. Despite this, there is limited research on mergers in higher education in the United States, and an understanding of factors that may influence merger success remains nascent. In the business literature, extensive research has identified cultural integration as an influential factor following mergers. Although less extensive, research on mergers among HEIs outside the United States has suggested cultural integration may be an important factor in higher education mergers. There is a dearth of research on how cultural integration influences mergers in U.S. higher education. This dearth of research is especially true when considering mergers of state systems of higher education in the United States where research instead has focused on efficiencies and economies of scale from mergers. This study used a collective case study with thematic analysis to better understand cultural integration among faculty following the mergers of six universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education to form two new universities: Pennsylvania Western University and Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania. Using previous models of organizational culture as a guiding framework, this research examined how academic administrators conceptualized and implemented strategies to integrate culture following a merger and how faculty perceived those efforts. Semistructured interviews were completed with a purposeful sample of 22 senior academic administrators and full-time faculty leaders at Pennsylvania Western University and Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania as well as leaders of PASSHE. This information was supported and triangulated with a wide range of other information including news stories, reports, surveys, and written public feedback as well as agendas, meeting minutes, and video recordings. These research findings augment the limited literature on cultural integration among faculty following U.S. higher education mergers and have practical value for faculty, administrators, and governing board members considering or implementing mergers of HEIs with different cultures. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Organizational Change, Cultural Influences, Social Integration, Acculturation, Universities, Organizational Culture, College Administration, Administrator Attitudes, College Faculty, Teacher Attitudes, Cultural Differences
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Pennsylvania
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A