This thesis presents the results of a study of institutional innovation in higher education. After 1989 the structures and systems of higher education in a number of countries in Central and Eastern Europe were exposed to turbulent pressures from their radically changing environments, triggered by the fall of the communist regimes in the region. As a consequence, during the period of transition of the post- communist societies towards democratisation and market reform, new higher education institutions emerged, and new actors entered the higher education scene. Despite the potential of these developments to expose how and why innovative higher education institutions develop, there is a deficit of studies which systematically examine the pathways of change in post-communist higher education, especially from a comparative perspective. This research shortage becomes even more evident if thematically relevant areas are considered - comparative higher education research, research on change and innovation, and the burgeoning body of literature on institutions. As a result, individual explanatory factors, as well as causes of the differences and similarities in the institutional transition remain ambiguous. The study reported in this thesis focused on five higher education institutions established after 1989 in four countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The institutions were selected from a network of innovative higher education institutions, supported by one of the principal non-governmental organisations investing in the reform of post-communist higher education. The study was guided by the following research questions: How did the five higher education institutions develop in the period between 1989 and 2005? What descriptive and analytical ideas regarding the establishment and development of their institutions are revealed by participants in the study? The thesis begins with a review of historical developments in higher education in Central and Eastern Europe after the fall of the communist regimes. Chapters One to Four draw on this historical account to build the structure of the analytical and methodological framework of the study, by incorporating analyses of relevant literature on higher education, institutional theories and innovation. Gaps in existing literature are identified and linked with the rationale of the study, which serves to support the formulation of the research questions. The empirical analysis in Chapters Five to Seven seeks to address the two research questions by examining evidence, generated from interviews with members of the five higher education institutions selected for this study, representatives of organisations supporting the institutions, and documentary evidence. The individual histories of the five higher education institutions and the non-governmental programme which supported them are explored. Evidence of participants' ideas about the innovative strategies of their institutions, the evolution of their institutional missions with the change in the nature of their relationship with the state and their funders, and the challenge of achieving sustainability serves to construct an account of institutional innovation as a dynamic balance between processes of imitation, recombination, transfer and invention. Finally, the findings of the study are discussed with reference to existing research. The insights gained in the study map out the fertile ground for exploring further considerations, relating to the emergent view of institutional innovation in higher education. The idea that innovations and institutions, rather than ruling each other out, could be parts in the same continuous process may be a simple one, but it is an idea worthy of further exploration.

The trend towards mergers in higher education is likely to continue, as pressure grows to achieve financial savings alongside greater student choice in the higher education sector. This study examines a merger between a Church College and a post-1992 university in England, focusing on staff feelings. It was a longitudinal case-study, in which data was gathered from interviews and questionnaires, starting before the merger and continuing until seven years after it. Simple models are not able to capture the diversity of people's feelings about the merger. Although there was some evidence of a binary divide at the extremes, many expressed ambivalent feelings, identifying both the advantages and disadvantages of the merger, or recognising that the merger was successful while still being unhappy about it. In the confusion that followed the merger, the merged institution developed the characteristics of a complex system, in which there were multiple, interacting variables. People's feelings, particularly the need for a sense of efficacy, led them to behave like 'self-organising agents' in complexity theory. They achieved 'fitness of purpose' in relation to work outcomes and emotional needs by reducing their participation in organisation-wide activities, focusing on students and developing sub-cultures which supported their values and behaviours. During the post-merger chaos, minor issues became amplified. People's individual biographies, predispositions and outlook led them to interpret events in a way which reinforced their overall feelings about the merger. 'Emotional contagion' also played a role in spreading feelings from one person to another, adding to the effects of amplification. There was evidence that the unhelpful behaviours that developed as a result of people's feelings continued long after the merger. It proved difficult to shift from a directive to a more participatory leadership style and to re-engage staff in organisation-wide activities. People's underlying feelings appeared to be 'Iocked- in': there was little evidence of individuals' emotions becoming more positive over time, although attitudes across the department as a whole became more positive as dissenters left and new staff joined. The study identified a number of recommendations for those leading mergers. Recognising that it is difficult to attend to the 'human side' when operating at a strategic level, the recommendations include creating a communications post to ensure rapid two-way feedback between staff and managers, and making contingency plans for a prolonged period of chaos to ensure that key activities are maintained.

This thesis presents the journey from concept to operation of an innovative multi-stakeholder partnership for education (MSPE), focusing specifically upon: the processes involved in forging, formalising, governing and operating a multi-stakeholder partnership for education, to develop viability and create sustainability in the not-for-profit sector in the twenty-first century. The MPSE under investigation involved a dual-sector educational establishment whose goal was to attain degree-awarding powers and ultimately the title of ‘university,’ and a national third sector organisation whose goal was to ensure its own continued existence. Philosophically, this research enquiry follows an inductivist approach – the mode of engagement of neo-empiricism, comprising objectivist perspectives in relation to the ontological status of human behaviour and epistemology. In terms of theory, it employs an intrinsic case study undertaken over a six-month period and utilising a mixture of documentary analysis, face-to-face semi-structured interviews and focus groups, whilst employing the unobtrusive measure of content analysis. This case study tells the story of how the organisations re-positioned themselves and created a partnership for the training of practitioners – a unique multi-stakeholder partnership for education, or serial collaborative arrangement – and established and operated an institute for the development and provision of courses in respect of, and researching into, couple and family relationships and relationship support services, in the initial phases, from the perspectives of those involved during data collection from October 2007 through to March 2008. The innovative and unique governing and operating practices are challenged and illuminated in terms of their strengths and weaknesses as they co-operated to establish and operate a new Institute. Finally, contributions to the creation and interpretation of new knowledge are documented, paying attention to the dimensions of: the professionalisation of relationship counselling services and the uniqueness of the multi-stakeholder partnership involving a public body and a third sector organisation.