A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

The Curious Case of Construction of Quality in Nordic Business Schools – The Symbolic Role of Branding




AuthorsKallio, Tomi J.; Kallio, Kirsi-Mari; Suomi, Kati; Funck, Elin K.

PublisherUniversity of Gothenburg

Publication year2025

JournalScandinavian Journal of Public Administration

Article number4

Volume29

Issue3

First page 50

Last page70

ISSN2001-7405

eISSN2001-7413

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.32092

Web address https://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.32092

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/500174549


Abstract

Universities worldwide have increased their competition for the best students and employees. Consequently, business schools are pressured to demonstrate excellence and differentiate themselves through brand building. One essential part of branding is the quality narratives that universities present to the public. We study the presentation of quality in Nordic business schools. Data concerning the presentation and manifestation of quality by the Nordic business schools was collected from 41 business schools’ public web pages. We used content analysis to gather 12 quality narratives and interpret them. We identify 12 items applied in the quality narratives by the studied business schools. Our results show homogeneity in communication stemming from the pursuit of legitimacy and conformity to expectations. We demonstrate that the visible manifest content of the quality manifestos of Nordic universities functions as artifacts similar to tangible and visual representations, heavily laden with market-oriented neoliberal values. We highlight how Nordic business schools have predominantly adopted a uniform approach to branding in higher education, as the universities align with their institutional settings.


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Funding information in the publication
This work was supported by Jan Wallanders och Tom Hedelius stiftelse samt Tore Browalds stiftelse [grant number P18-0143].


Last updated on 2025-26-09 at 08:08