Suchergebnisse

The paper considers gender identities in higher education. It examines how people involved in university life engage in (re)creating gender identities and in (re)producing gender‐related expectations (and stereotypes) of managerial behaviour. The process of construction of feminine identities is explored through the discourses of academics from a UK university (mainly women who hold managerial positions). The paper reports findings from a series of in‐depth interviews with women managers (dean, associate deans and heads of departments) and with university academics (men and women) from a Business School, part of a large British new university. The school was of special interest because women held the majority of senior managerial posts. It appears that the process of construction of femininities is mainly developed around four (stereo‐)typical aspects generally associated with feminine management practices (multi‐tasking, supporting and nurturing, people and communication skills, and team‐work).

Institutions of higher education are considered as an important source of innovation. Consequently, big efforts are made to facilitate technology transfer from academia into the market. However, technology transfer at German universities does not seem to live up to its full potential. We find for example that while 18,5% of our sample did in fact generate at least one invention, only 4,5% of the sample are engaged in commercialization activities. Therefore the vast majority of generated inventions remains unexploited. Based on this finding, we analyze how individual, career-related, and institutional factors affect the innovation and knowledge transfer activities of male and female academics. We show that Gender differences as well as career and human capital related factors (e.g. scope of employment, professional experience, and leadership position) affect such innovation transfer activities. While women generate fewer inventions than men, the fulltime employed researchers with a professional experience outside of academia and a leadership position lead to more inventions as well as partly higher exploitation activities. ; Der Wissenstransfer und die Verwertung marktfähiger Erfindungen aus der Hochschulforschung stellt eine bedeutende Innovationsquelle dar, die wirtschftspolitisch breite Unterstützung erfährt. Doch trotz vielfältiger Bemühungen, diesen Prozess zu unterstützen, bleibt ein großer Teil der Innovationen an Hochschulen ungenutzt. Die vorgestellte Untersuchung hat zum Ziel, Determinanten (individuelle, berufsbezogene und Umfeldfaktoren) der Innovationstätigkeit aus der Sicht der an deutschen Hochschulen tätigen Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler zu untersuchen. Ergebnisse zeigen, dass an deutschen Hochschulen vor allem vollzeitbeschäftigte Wissenschaftler, die multidisziplinäre oder angewandte Forschung betreiben und daneben noch einer Selbstständigkeit nachgehen, besonders häufig Erfindungen generieren. Frauen bleiben dabei nicht nur insgesamt, sondern auch innerhalb der einzelnen Fächerverbünde hinter ihren männlichen Kollegen zurück. Liegen die Erfindungen erst einmal vor, lassen sich für ihre Kommerzialisierung keine Geschlechterunterschiede finden. In dieser Phase der Innovationstätigkeit sind marktbezogen Praxiserfahrungen ausschlaggebend.

Changes in understanding and interpretation of decision-making processes have shed more light on complex interplay given the different settings, and different actors. The limitations in human decision-making and their significance and long-term implications on organizational management or policy making inspired a large body of evidence and research. Exploration of decision-making processes spans over decades, and is closely connected to the role of power; the amount of power in organizations is usually joined by the knowledge and prior experience, which together play a significant role in decision-making process, as well in selection of candidates for the job. However, there is an evident void concerning publications on decision-making processes in academic institutions, and it rapidly becomes the focus of interest due to a specific opposition contained in its core; positions of high level administrators are held by the university professors with no mandatory previous experience and/or knowledge in organisational management.