TY  - JOUR
A1  - Seyfried, Markus
A1  - Reith, Florian
T1  - Strength of weakness
BT  - Quality managers as agents of multiple principals
JF  - Journal of higher education policy and management
N2  - The paper investigates quality management in teaching and learning in higher education institutions from a principal-agent perspective. Based on data gained from semi-structured interviews and from a nation-wide survey with quality managers of German higher education institutions, the study shows how quality managers position themselves in relation to their perception of the interests of other actors in higher education institutions. The paper describes the various interests and discusses the main implications of this constellation of actors. It argues that quality managers, although they may be considered as rather weak actors within the higher education institution, may be characterised as having a strength of weakness due to diverging interests of their principals.
KW  - quality management
KW  - quality assurance
KW  - higher education
KW  - principal
KW  - agent
KW  - teaching
Y1  - 2020
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2020.1812802
SN  - 1360-080X
SN  - 1469-9508
VL  - 43
IS  - 3
SP  - 298
EP  - 314
PB  - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
CY  - Abingdon
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Seyfried, Markus
A1  - Döring, Matthias
A1  - Ansmann, Moritz
T1  - The sequence of isomorphism—
BT  - the temporal diffusion patterns of quality management in higher education institutions and hospitals
JF  - Administration & society
N2  - Isomorphism has been widely used to describe why trends penetrate entire organizational fields. However, research so far has neglected the temporal aspects of such diffusion processes and the organizational reasons underlying the introduction of new management tools. We argue that during reform waves, the reasons for adopting the new tools differ over time. Using comparative data from two surveys on quality management in the field of higher education and the health sector, we show that early adopters are more likely to be motivated by instrumental reasons, while late adopters will more likely be motivated by institutional reasons.
KW  - isomorphism
KW  - quality management
KW  - hospitals
KW  - higher education
KW  - institutions
KW  - organization
Y1  - 2021
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1177/00953997211017137
SN  - 0095-3997
SN  - 1552-3039
VL  - 54
IS  - 1
SP  - 87
EP  - 116
PB  - Sage Publ.
CY  - Thousand Oaks
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Seyfried, Markus
A1  - Reith, Florian
T1  - The seven deadly sins of quality management: trade-offs and implications for further research
JF  - Quality in higher education
N2  - Quality management in higher education is generally discussed with reference to commendable outcomes such as success, best practice, improvement or control. This paper, though, focuses on the problems of organising quality management. It follows the narrative of the seven deadly sins, with each ‘sin’ illustrating an inherent trade-off or paradox in the implementation of internal quality management in teaching and learning in higher education institutions. Identifying the trade-offs behind these sins is essential for a better understanding of quality management as an organisational problem.
KW  - Quality management
KW  - higher education
KW  - governance
KW  - trade-offs
KW  - teaching
KW  - research
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1080/13538322.2019.1683943
SN  - 1353-8322
SN  - 1470-1081
VL  - 25
IS  - 3
SP  - 289
EP  - 303
PB  - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
CY  - Abingdon
ER  -