TY - JOUR
T1 - Governance and Well-being in Academia
T2 - Negative Consequences of Applying an Agency Theory Logic in Higher Education
AU - Franco-Santos, Monica
AU - Nalick, Michael
AU - Rivera-Torres, Pilar
AU - Gomez-Mejia, Luis
N1 - Funding Information:
We wish to express our appreciation to Professor Marc Goergen and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful and constructive comments. We also would like to thank those scholars who read earlier drafts of this paper and made valuable contributions including Geoff Martin, Michael Hitt and the participants of the Strategic Management Society Conference in Madrid 2014 and the Academy of Management in Vancouver 2015. The empirical work of this paper was also greatly facilitated by the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education in the UK, and the research project ECO2013-48496-C4 = 3-R, funded by the Spanish MECC.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 British Academy of Management
PY - 2017/10
Y1 - 2017/10
N2 - This study examines the relationship between alternative university governance practices and staff well-being. Specifically, it investigates how people in academic and professional services roles are managed and how various governance mechanisms such as the use of performance measures and targets influence their sense of vitality and stress. Drawing from agency theory and stewardship theory research, the authors expected universities to align their governance practices to the nature of their employment roles to enhance well-being. Based on data collected in the UK, the authors find that, for some academic roles, there is a misalignment between the responsibilities and job demands and the way institutions govern people in such roles, which is shown to affect their well-being. These results suggest that well-being responses to governance mechanisms change, depending on the role an employee performs and the position he or she occupies. Interestingly, these data suggest that the governance and well-being experiences of academic leaders are more closely aligned with those of professional service leaders than with those of academics without leadership positions. Taking these data together, this investigation notes several shortcomings in the internal governance practices of higher-education institutions that can have unexpected consequences and require close attention and further research.
AB - This study examines the relationship between alternative university governance practices and staff well-being. Specifically, it investigates how people in academic and professional services roles are managed and how various governance mechanisms such as the use of performance measures and targets influence their sense of vitality and stress. Drawing from agency theory and stewardship theory research, the authors expected universities to align their governance practices to the nature of their employment roles to enhance well-being. Based on data collected in the UK, the authors find that, for some academic roles, there is a misalignment between the responsibilities and job demands and the way institutions govern people in such roles, which is shown to affect their well-being. These results suggest that well-being responses to governance mechanisms change, depending on the role an employee performs and the position he or she occupies. Interestingly, these data suggest that the governance and well-being experiences of academic leaders are more closely aligned with those of professional service leaders than with those of academics without leadership positions. Taking these data together, this investigation notes several shortcomings in the internal governance practices of higher-education institutions that can have unexpected consequences and require close attention and further research.
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U2 - 10.1111/1467-8551.12249
DO - 10.1111/1467-8551.12249
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85029431310
VL - 28
SP - 711
EP - 730
JO - British Journal of Management
JF - British Journal of Management
SN - 1045-3172
IS - 4
ER -