ABSTRACT

This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book establishes a general framework for symbolic innovations in universities. It focuses on the team-based activities in universities, which are often both the occasion for the development of innovations as well as innovations in organizational structures. The book then focuses on University Studies Programs that are often the occasion for universities to reframe their activities in such a way that they develop signature programs. It also explores how universities have increasingly positioned themselves with their stakeholders to be thought of as the engine for economic development in their states. Universities expand their reach by developing distance-learning programs that often capture the imagination of stakeholders. Higher education institutions are much more subject to symbolic processes in part because so much of their standing with stakeholders is based on prestige hierarchies and ranking systems.