Financial sustainability in Malaysian public universities: coping with or embracing change?

Suaniza Mamat, Nik Nazli Nik Ahmad and Julia Mohd Said

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, 2021, vol. 33, issue 5, 599-617

Abstract: Purpose - This paper explores the institutionalisation of a financial sustainability agenda in Malaysian public universities. Design/methodology/approach - The study uses semi-structured interviews and document analysis. New Institutional Sociology and the institutional logics perspective are utilised to frame the study and explain findings. Findings - The findings reveal that universities manage the conflicting academic and financial logics to co-exist to ensure legitimacy and survival. By compartmentalising the functions of key divisions and through loose coupling, universities are able to support dual logics. Research limitations/implications - The paper provides university management and policy makers with insights into how leading universities in Malaysia cope with a financial sustainability agenda. Originality/value - The present study documents how universities cope with and respond to government reforms and budgetary cuts in the context of a developing country, Malaysia. Most prior research in the area focuses on individual or organisational responses. This paper examines organisational-level responses but goes deeper to understand how universities, through three key divisions; bursaries, corporate strategy divisions and faculties manage to enable the multiple logics to co-exist through compartmentalisation and loose coupling.

Keywords: Public universities; Isomorphism; Institutional logics; Loose coupling; Compartmentalisation; Financial sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:jpbafm:jpbafm-09-2020-0157

DOI: 10.1108/JPBAFM-09-2020-0157

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