The change of organizational structure of higher education institutions in Hungary: a contingency theory analysis

Abstract

Abstract The management of higher education institutions has changed considerably over the last few decades. Most analyses in Europe usually focus on how the autonomy of institutions evolved, how the governance structure developed, and what kind of management roles and techniques appeared. Less attention has been paid to the change of formal organizational structure which, according to the contingency theory, has a significant impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of organizations. There is even less research on these issues in Central and Eastern European higher education. In this paper, the evolution of the organizational structure of Hungarian institutions is analyzed from a contingency theory perspective. The relationship between environmental factors (such as size, complexity, and stability of environment) and organizational responses (e.g., centralization and decentralization) is examined.