Academic logics in changing performance management systems: An exploration in a university setting

The purpose of this study is to analyze how academic staff cope with the new culture of performance measurement and assessment in universities. In particular, the study aims to shed light on how external pressures related to measurement of research performance are translated into organizational and individual academic responses within the university and the extent to which these responses are related specifically to the operational features of performance measurement systems (PMS). The study is based on a case study conducted in an Italian public university and based on interviews with a cross-disciplinary sample of faculty members. The study provides insights into how linking financial incentives and career progression to research performance metrics at the system and organisational levels may have important reorientation effects on individual behaviours and epistemic consequences for the academic work.