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University decision making and prestige: An empirical study

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  • Cyrenne, Philippe
  • Grant, Hugh

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the factors that influence the reputation or prestige of universities. We first develop a model of university behaviour which indicates how the decisions made by university officials would be chosen in order to maximize their respective reputations. In doing so, we assume that reputation is enhanced by the quality of students produced, the caliber of research and the service provided to the community in terms of the provision of publicly funded education services. We argue that the relative weights placed on these intermediate outputs may vary by university type as well as the means of producing them. Using the results of the reputational survey - a ranking of the institution in terms of reputation - conducted as part of the Canadian magazine Maclean's overall ranking exercise, we then estimate an Error Correction--Ordered Probit Model of the rankings of Canadian universities to determine the factors that influence the change in reputation or "prestige" of the university as viewed by the external community. We find evidence that the change in reputation of a university is based on what might be considered the appropriate "signals" that one might use in estimating the respective quality of the institution given the respective differences in mission.

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  • Cyrenne, Philippe & Grant, Hugh, 2009. "University decision making and prestige: An empirical study," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 237-248, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:28:y:2009:i:2:p:237-248
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Marcel Clermont & Alexander Dirksen & Barbara Scheidt & Dirk Tunger, 2017. "Citation metrics as an additional indicator for evaluating research performance? An analysis of their correlations and validity," Business Research, Springer;German Academic Association for Business Research, vol. 10(2), pages 249-279, October.
    2. Marconi, G. & Ritzen, J.M.M., 2014. "Money counts for a Times Higher Education top-rank," ROA Research Memorandum 006, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    3. Marcel Clermont & Frank Baumgärtner & Alexander Dirksen, 2017. "Analyse der Einflussfaktoren auf die Forschungsreputation betriebswirtschaftlicher Fachbereiche in Deutschland [Analysis of Influencing Factors on the Research Reputation of Business Schools in Germany]," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 69(3), pages 345-379, September.
    4. de Mesnard, Louis, 2012. "On some flaws of university rankings: The example of the SCImago report," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 41(5), pages 495-499.
    5. Mario González-Sauri & Giulia Rossello, 2023. "The Role of Early-Career University Prestige Stratification on the Future Academic Performance of Scholars," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 64(1), pages 58-94, February.
    6. Josselyn Barranco-Santamaria & Mario Lechuga-Calderon, 2025. "Competition for Prestige: The Association Between University Rankings and Major Choice at unam," Sobre México. Revista de Economía, Sobre México. Temas en economía, vol. 1(12), pages 73-102.
    7. Abe, Yasumi & Watanabe, Satoshi P., 2012. "A NEW APPROACH TO ANALYZING UNIVERSITY PRESTIGE AND INTERNAL RESOURCE ALLOCATION: Geometric Interpretations and Implications," University of California at Berkeley, Center for Studies in Higher Education qt2tz763xp, Center for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley.
    8. repec:cgr:cgsser:05-01 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Luana dos Santos Fraga & Tatiane Pelegrini & Izete Pengo Bagolin, 2022. "The Factors Influencing Intergenerational Mobility Levels among Higher Education Graduates in Brazil: A Comparison of the Years 2004 and 2018," Journal of Social and Development Sciences, AMH International, vol. 13(1), pages 59-71.
    10. Zhu, Tian-Tian & Zeng, Hui, 2025. "Does reputation matter? The impact of China’s double world-class policy on the attraction of high-quality students," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).

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