Nienhüser, Werner (2019): Machtstrukturen in Hochschulräten. Eine theoretisch geleitete empirische Analyse am Fall der nordrhein-westfälischen Universitäten. In: Hochschulmanagement 14 (2+3), S. 68–78.

Abstract

Hochschulräte (university councils) supervise crucial strategic decisions within German
universities. Of their members, do business representatives have more power than other
groups in North Rhine-Westphalian (NRW) universities? If so, what can this power potential be attributed to? The article is based on the power theory developed by Steven Lukes and uses data on the social composition of the university councils as well as on the university policy activities of their chairmen. The results suggest that the group of business representatives has greater power potential than other groups. The main reason for this is that business representatives constitute eight of the 14 NRW University Council chairs. The chairmen of the university councils use their power potential, among other things, to lobby politically for the reform of university laws.