Salience, influence and participation of stakeholders in governance structures and in the decision-making process of public higher education institutions

Abstract

Introduction: studies on the evolution of the concept of stakeholders as well as on the impact of their claims on the strategic process of organizations are highlighted in the literature. A special feature is the understanding of the stakeholders of typically complex organizations, such as Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), and how their demands are prioritized by managers in the deliberative structures. That said, as an objective of this research, it was sought to elucidate how the influence and salience of the stakeholders are presented in the prioritization of demands by the managers of the Public Institutions of Higher Education, as well as the participation of the interested parties in the governance structures and in the decision-making process. decision-making bodies. This work has as theoretical anchor the Salience Model proposed by Mitchell et al. (1997) and the New university stakeholder model proposed by Mainardes et. al. (2012) and studies on governance in the university environment. Method: to observe the phenomenon, the case study was used as a methodological procedure, with the application of questionnaires, documentary research and participant observation in two public HEIs. Results and Conclusion: it was possible to verify that the demands of internal stakeholders prevail in the discussion agenda of the deliberative instances. In the case of IES A, there is still a preference for the demand of teachers. Finally, it is emphasized that the concept of prioritizing stakeholders, as well as the mechanisms for relating to them, need to be disseminated in the organizations surveyed, however it is clear that IES B managers are more familiar with the theme.