The aim of the paper is to focus on how research evaluation, and the use of specific quantitative tools for the assessment purposes, is likely to transform universities into more complete organizations, affecting hierarchy and rationality. The research questions are: is evaluation, by the way of research evaluation, transforming the hierarchies within the universities and the control mechanisms? How evaluation is affecting the vertical diversity within and between universities? We expect research evaluation emerges as a powerful means used by the leadership in order to reinforce the universities as professional organizations, reducing the collegiality; at the same time we expect signals of internal resilience aimed at securing the maintenance of the existing power distribution.
The paper uses a unique dataset developed within the ESF EUROCORE-TRUE Project - Transforming Universities in Europe - through a survey directed to different levels of government within the universities in eight European countries.
