Outpacing reforms: lived realities of organizational change in regional universities in a post-socialist context
研究了后社会主义中央集权体制下五所区域大学的组织变革，发现宏观层面战略目标趋同于绩效和排名，而中微观层面变革更碎片化、适应性更强，受领导更替、地方举措和官僚负担影响。
This study examines how organizational transformation is enacted within regional universities operating under a post-socialist, centralized governance. Drawing on a dual analytical lens – rationalist and emergent – we analyze 15 strategic plans and qualitative data from 63 faculty and administrators across five universities. At the macro level, findings reveal an isomorphic convergence of strategic goals across universities, dominated by performance metrics, global ranking, and managerial reform, despite claims of autonomy and regional responsiveness. At meso and micro levels, however, transformation is more fragmented and adaptive, shaped by leadership transitions, localized initiatives, bureaucratic overload, and constrained agency. Strategic plans overstate coherence, and actual change is negotiated through learning autonomy, emotional labor, improvisation, and resilient professionalism. This study contributes to higher education governance literature by revealing how universities in nondominant systems navigate reform through hybrid strategies of compliance, adaptation, and professional commitment.