Abstract
This study presents and analyses the process of creating a new university, with special focus on its brand and identity. Current developments in higher education, including an increasing focus on the university as an organisation coupled with marketisation and a global race for reputation and status through rankings and other means, result in universities have an increasing interest in creating and strengthening their brands. As an empirical case study, we take a closer look at how a merger between two universities created a branding opportunity: the launch of a “new” university, namely the Linnaeus University in Sweden. A full-scale merger, as here, creates an opportunity to reconsider or even abandon the old brand and establish a new one. The Linnaeus University did a successful job in creating and marketing its new brand. The study shows that successful identity-formation and branding of a university has the potential to increase the attractiveness of the institution, in particular in terms of increasing applications from students.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
- 2.
We recommend a visit to the website www.lnu.se for an instant look at it.
References
Akademi Sydost. (2007). Fortsatt samverkan eller en framtid som samlat universitet? Rapport från organisationsprojektet, tillsatt av Akademi sydost Oktober 2007 [Continued collaboration or a future as a merged university? Report from an organisation project, commissioned by Akademi Sydost October 2007]. Kalmar/Karlskrona/Växjö: Akademi sydost.
Albert, S., & Whetten, D. (1985). Organizational identity. Research in Organizational Behavior, 7, 263–295.
Aula, H.-M., & Tienari, J. (2011). Becoming “world-class”? Reputation-building in a university merger. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 7(1), 7–29.
Clark, B. (1998). Creating entrepreneurial universities: Organizational pathways of transformation. New York: Pergamon.
Drori, G., Delmestri, G., & Oberg, A. (2013). Branding the university: Relational strategy of identity construction in a competitive field. In L. Engwall & P. Scott (Eds.), Trust in higher education institutions (pp. 134–147). London: Portland Press.
Elsbach, K., & Kramer, R. (1996). Members’ responses to organizational identity threats: Encountering and countering the Business Week rankings. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41(3), 442–476.
Engwall, L. (2008). The university: A multinational corporation? In L. Engwall & D. Weaire (Eds.), The university in the market (Wenner-gren International Series, Vol. 84). London: Portland Press.
Georghiou, L. (2009). Strategy to join the elite: Merger and the 2015 agenda at the University of Manchester. In M. H. McKelvey & M. Holmén (Eds.), Learning to compete in European universities-from social institution to knowledge business. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Geschwind, L., & Melin, G. (2011). Linnéuniversitetets tillkomst. En studie av fusionsprocessen [The making of the Linnaeus University. A study of the merger process]. Stockholm: Faugert & Co Utvärdering.
Hazelkorn, E. (2007). The impact of league tables and ranking systems on higher education decision making. Higher Education Management and Policy, 19(2), 1–24.
Hemsley‐Brown, J., & Oplatka, I. (2006). Universities in a competitive global marketplace. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 19(4), 316–338.
HiK/VxU. (2008). Motivering till valet av namn – Linnéuniversitetet [Justification for the choice of name – The Linnaeus University]. Internal memo 2008-05- 19. Kalmar/Växjö: Högskolan i Kalmar/Växjö universitet.
Krücken, G., & Meier, F. (2006). Turning the university into an organizational actor. In G. S. Drori, J. W. Meyer, & H. Hwang (Eds.), Globalization and organization: World society and organizational change (pp. 241–257). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Linnaeus University. (2011). Linnéuniversitetet. Ett helt nytt och starkt varumärke är lanserat [The Linnaeus University. A brand new and strong brand is launched]. Kalmar/Växjö: Linnaeus University.
Marginson, S., & Considine, M. (2000). The enterprise university: Power, governance and reinvention in Australia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McNay, I. (1995). From the collegial academy to corporate enterprise: The changing culture of universities. In T. Schuller (Ed.), The changing university? Buckingham: SRHE and OUP.
Melin, G. (2013). Ett nytt universitet – Linnéuniversitetets tre första år [A new university – Linnaeus University’s first three years]. Stockholm: Faugert & Co Utvärdering.
Paradeise, C., Reale, E., Bleiklie, I., & Ferlie, E. (2009). University governance: Western European comparative perspectives. Dordrecht: Springer.
Ramirez, F. O. (2010). Accounting for excellence: Transforming universities into organizational actors. In V. Rust, L. Portnoi, & S. Bagely (Eds.), Higher education, policy, and the global competition phenomenon. New York: Palgrave.
Ramirez, F. O., & Christensen, T. (2013). The formalization of the university: Rules, roots, and routes. Higher Education, 65, 695–708. doi:10.1007/s10734-012-9571-y.
Salmi, J. (2009). The challenge of establishing world-class universities. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Slaughter, S., & Leslie, L. L. (1997). Academic capitalism: Politics, policies and the entrepreneurial university. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Stensaker, B. (2007). The relationship between branding and organisational change. Higher Education Management and Policy, 19(1), 1–17.
Stensaker, B. (2014). Organizational identity as a concept for understanding university dynamics. Higher Education. doi:10.1007/s10734-014-9763-8. Published online 04 May.
Stensaker, B., & d’Andrea, V. (2007). Branding in higher education. Exploring an emerging phenomenon. Amsterdam: EAIR Monograph Publications Nr 1.
Studentbarometern. (2009). The student barometer. Kalmar/Växjö: Linnaeus University.
Vaara, E., Tienari, J., & Säntti, R. (2003). The international match: Metaphors as vehicles of social identity-building in cross-border mergers. Human Relations, 56, 419–450.
van Vught, F. (2008). Mission diversity and reputation in higher education. Higher Education Policy, 21(2), 151–174.
Waeraas, A., & Solbakk, M. (2009). Defining the essence of a university: Lessons from higher education branding. Higher Education, 57(4), 449–462.
Wan, Y., & Peterson, M. W. (2007). A case study of a merger in Chinese higher education: The motives, processes, and outcomes. International Journal of Educational Development, 27, 683–696.
Wedlin, L. (2006). Ranking business schools. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Geschwind, L., Melin, G., Wedlin, L. (2016). Mergers as Opportunities for Branding: The Making of the Linnaeus University. In: Pinheiro, R., Geschwind, L., Aarrevaara, T. (eds) Mergers in Higher Education. Higher Education Dynamics, vol 46. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21918-9_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21918-9_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-21917-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-21918-9
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)