Investigating the dynamics of managerial dialogue in HE merger reform

Abstract

The paper argues that the empirical study of public policy making almost exclusively deals with structural arrangements and power relations, while giving insufcient attention to how policy entrepreneurs in government develop policy initiatives through venue selection, framing, and dialogue. Drawing on insight from theories of public policymaking and organizational decision-making, public management, and on data from a case study of higher education merger reform in Norway, the article provides a conceptual and empirical contribution by suggesting the signifcance of managerial dialogue — highlighting a specifc combination of dialogue, power asymmetries, managerialism, and venue selection as important elements in higher education reform policymaking.