ABSTRACT
The fact that universities do not, in many cases, make any effort to retain staff who have received offers from other institutions contradicts a good deal of academic folklore and demands explanation. This chapter explores why this is so. In many instances, the department perceives the outside offer as the resolution for a difficult situation. Another facet of departmental prestige-sensitivity is the very common reluctance to bid openly against stiff competition and thus run the risk of being publicly outbid by another university. When a university does make an attempt to retain a man who has received an outside offer, it may normally be expected to occur under one of the three following conditions. The counter-offer may be an effort to protect the local prestige of the individual involved; hiring a replacement is impossible or inconvenient; the counter-offer is sometimes made to a professor after he receives an outside offer which was arranged for that very purpose.
