University boards and institutional governance after new public management reforms: A comparison across four European countries

Abstract

The aim of this article is to advance research on the impact of New Public Management reforms on higher education governance and the evolving role of university boards. More specifically, the study offers a novel international comparative assessment on how public higher education institutions’ board members perceive institutional decision-making processes and boards’ accountability and representation. We use data from a survey administered to individual board members in public HEIs across four European countries. Our results suggest that under New Public Management reforms boards have indeed gained influence in institutional decision-making processes and both internal and external stakeholders view institutions as more responsive to society’s needs. Yet, the representation of specific business and economic interests is much less pronounced while important differences remain across countries and different stakeholders. The article offers novel comparative insights into the hybridisation, divergence, and partial enactment of NPM principles, demonstrating how reform trajectories remain shaped by path-dependent dynamics within national systems and institutions.