Abstract:

This paper explores stakeholder engagement, described in higher education institutions, as work that provides some benefit to both the Higher Education Institute (HEI) and its stakeholders. It focuses on engagement with external stakeholders, including government, and considers the influence of proximity on stakeholder salience for a HEI. It uses a case study approach to identify HE stakeholders and the levels of salience attributed to those stakeholders.
The contribution of the paper is twofold. Firstly, the paper increases our awareness and understanding of stakeholder engagement between higher education institutions (HEIs) and their stakeholders. Secondly, it tests assertions by researchers about the influence of proximity on the salience of government as stakeholders.
Stakeholders are defined as all those persons or entities with interest in the activity of an organisation; those that pay for it and/or those that benefit from it, both exerting some form of pressure on the organisation. They comprise any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of an organisation. This research identifies the case HEI’s external stakeholders as: business and industry, prospective students, government and their agencies, other HEIs, professional bodies, communities, and alumni. The salience of these stakeholders is positively related to the cumulative number of stakeholder attributes, usually comprising power to influence the organisation, legitimacy of the stakeholders’ claim on the organisation, and the degree of urgency of the stakeholders’ claim. This paper also considers the influence of proximity, defined as spatial nearness, on the salience of HEI stakeholders.
The findings are drawn from a qualitative case study, which is appropriate in this setting because of the focus on a contemporary phenomenon within a real-life context. This case is a large HEI, which is representative of institutions of its type in Ireland in terms of strategy, structure, funding and performance measurement, quality and qualifications, and mission. The case HEI has embraced its role in supporting the region and considers itself a leader in engagement with external stakeholders. Semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis were used to gather data so participants could provide opinions and perspectives on engagement interactions. Data was analysed using NVivo and stakeholder theory was used as the basis to establish patterns and themes which were subsequently examined and interpreted in an iterative process, whereby the data was revisited as new questions and connections emerged.

Keywords:

HEI stakeholder engagement, proximity, stakeholder salience.