Vyacheslav V. Volchik
Doct. Sci. (Econ.), Professor, Southern Federal University

Alexander A. Zhuk
Doct. Sci. (Econ.), Professor, Southern Federal University

Maxim A. Korytsev
Doct. Sci. (Econ.), Professor, Southern Federal University

TERRA ECONOMICUS, 2017, Vol. 15 (no. 3),

p. 178-196
DOI: 10.23683/2073-6606-2017-15-3-178-196

Institutional and organizational change in the field of higher education in Russia occur permanently, though its intensity varies. Reforms in higher education are closely linked to market-oriented rhetoric. This approach to reforms originates from the New public management (NPM) concept, which emphasizes educational services markets building. The effectiveness of change in higher education largely depends on the quality of the competitive environment. The competitive environment is a set of competitive interactions of market agents coordinated by institutional constraints established on each specific market, and exploitation of the relative comparative advantages of each organization. This interpretation of the competitive environment, implies that creation of competitive conditions for institutions of higher education and market for educational services involves institutional and organizational constraints. This paper presents the analysis of the competitive environment development in higher education in the Rostov region (South of Russia). Particular attention is paid to the latest institutional innovations related to the creation of the leading regional universities: Southern Federal University and Don State Technical University. Competitive processes in higher education are associated with a strong influence of state regulation that orient universities to achieve development targets. The institutional traps that are the result of the evolution of the institutional environment of Russian higher education have a big impact on competitive processes. In the context of a competitive environment creation, it should be borne in mind that the reformed universities in the region are faced with the problem of creating markets that will affect the demand for high-skilled personnel, knowledge-intensive products and innovations needed for sustainable growth in the regional economy.

Keywords: institutional change; competitive environment; mergers of institutions of the higher education; institutional traps; Rostov region

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Publisher: Southern Federal University
Founder: Southern Federal University
ISSN: 2073-6606