Abstract

As a result of increased economic, social, and educational constraints, institutions of higher education are evaluating new approaches to operating in more restrictive environments. To mitigate these external constraints, institutional administrators are implementing organizational change structures that create efficiency, drive down costs and make the best use of human capital and technological resources. Within the last decade there has been strong encouragement from higher education pundits and consultants to implement the shared services organizational structure in higher education enrollment management divisions. Higher education institutions are borrowing the shared services organizational model from other industries and utilizing organizational change protocol from a wide variety of work groups. While much can be said for borrowing proven ideas and concepts from other industry, a lack of results-based research and empirical evidence exists to support the impact of this relatively new organizational phenomenon in higher education on the employees within these environments. In addition, the shared services organizational model has not been examined or vetted in the higher education context utilizing valid and reliable causal organizational change models and measurement instruments. This study examined shared services models that have been implemented in the context of enrollment management divisions in higher education institutions. A total of 121 higher education institutions participated in this study. Each of the institutions operated a shared services unit within their enrollment management divisions. The Burke-Litwin Model of Organizational Performance and change was utilized as the conceptual framework upon which to build the study. Relationships among specific transactional constructs of the Burke-Litwin Model (e.g., management practices, structure, task requirements and individual skills/abilities, and motivation) were examined to better understand perceptions of employees within the shared services units. Further, employee engagement was examined as a moderator of relationships among these constructs within the causal model.

Date of publication

Fall 12-1-2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

english

Persistent identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10950/310

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