Higher Education Institutions as Viable Systems: A Cybernetic Framework for Innovativeness

Introduction

Education is becoming a major driver of wealth and economic development, and higher education institutions (HEIs) are expected not only to create knowledge and respond to the needs of students and other relevant stakeholders, but also to facilitate social equality (OECD, 2016). There is a general consensus that the potential for innovation and economic development of a national economy depends on the availability of highly educated staff and their level of knowledge, skills, and competences (Babić, 2018; Babić et al., 2019; McClure, 2016; Tierney and Lanford, 2016a). The assumption of sustainable development of the national economy in conditions of the knowledge economy is precisely linked to the possibilities of mobilizing creative talents through innovative ventures at the individual, organizational, and national level in a supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem. The entrepreneurial ecosystem requires capacity and potential building through networking, partnerships, and the implementation of a strategic approach portfolio. Many higher education institutions (HEIs) are facing enrollment challenges and financial difficulties as a result of increased competition, the financial crisis, changes in student demographics, increased roles of technology and online learning, and decreases in high school graduates and traditional student enrollments (Cleverley-Thompson, 2016).

In this context, the new role of higher education institutions in the knowledge society is of particular importance, as well as the new management to respond to the demands of these roles. In doing so, higher education institution management differs from the business world (Lambert, 2003). It is a more complex process because it is necessary to align the general strategy with the requirements of numerous and very heterogeneous stakeholders, in terms of power, legitimacy, and urgency. Therefore, higher education institutions have less discretion in making strategic decisions. At the same time, they are expected to embrace new design models analogous to new business models, developed to strategically address the challenges of the knowledge economy. In fact, higher education institutions today are changing their position, becoming more diversified, embracing a growing population, involving new stakeholders, programs and modes of their implementation, a global perspective, competitive pressure, and new governance models (Babić and Slavković, 2017).

In addition to these challenges, there is increasing competition between higher education institutions, in line with the increasing mobility of students, teachers, and researchers. Therefore, in the field of higher education, increasing pressure for change and innovation can be observed worldwide. Universities, especially research universities, play a central role in the process of knowledge and innovation creation, and, therefore, in driving economic growth and development (OECD, 2016; Serdykov, 2017; Tierney and Lanford, 2016b; Potočan et al., 2019). The need for educational innovations has become acute. It is widely believed that countries’ social and economic well-being will depend to an ever greater extent on the quality of their citizens’ education: the emergence of the so-called ‘knowledge society’, the transformation of information and the media, and increasing specialization on the part of organizations all call for high skill profiles and levels of knowledge. The importance of the growing quality of higher education through curriculum modernization, more effective funding, and more efficient higher education management is particularly emphasized. At the same time, the importance of new ways of providing educational services, such as distance learning and the development of numerous on-line courses (for example, MOOCs) is highlighted) (e.g. Burd et al., 2015). In these processes, internal factors, such as strategy, organizational structure, and culture of higher education institutions are crucial. Also, the external factors that shape the behavior of higher education institutions need to be considered: social and cultural context; infrastructure; processes by which knowledge is created and transmitted, etc. To overcome the above- mentioned challenges and improve innovativeness, higher education institutions should reshape and transform academic agendas, ambitions and management. Therefore, every institution must find the balance between its aspiration and responsible management.