Although research universities represent only fifteen to twenty per cent of national university systems worldwide, they provide the bulk of fundamental research and doctoral training. Written by two veteran university administrators, Leading Research Universities in a Competitive World focuses on the international ranking systems’ uneven distribution of these institutions in industrialized countries, and the organizational factors affecting their efficacy, prestige, and performance. Robert Lacroix and Louis Maheu argue that research universities, despite being embedded within academia’s mindset and rules, have to master market influences and relationships in order to produce new knowledge and attract the rare talent and limited financial assets required for successful research and education activities. Comparing the configuration of higher education systems in the US, UK, France, and Canada, the authors outline the ways in which research universities, which need public funding and have to engage diverse forms of state regulation, may possess sufficient autonomy to behave as independent actors. They demonstrate that reaching an equilibrium between autonomy and state regulation, though challenging, is an essential element in the success of high performing research universities. Leading Research Universities in a Competitive World illuminates the operation of these institutions through substantive quantitative and qualitative datasets to address the fundamental question of why universities perform differently.

Robert Lacroix is professor of economics and president emeritus at Université de Montréal, and fellow of CIRANO (Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis of Organizations).

Robert Lacroix's profile page

Louis Maheu is professor emeritus of sociology at Université de Montréal, fellow of CIRANO, and co-editor of Challenging Genetic Determinism: New Perspectives on the Gene in Its Multiple Environments.

Louis Maheu's profile page

Paul Klassen's profile page

“Leading Research Universities in a Competitive World demonstrates how effective and bold leadership in universities, when combined with imaginative government policies and support from industry and individuals, can significantly enhance the rankings of u

“[Lacroix and Maheu’s] book is much needed at a time when public and private research universities are facing mounting pressure. It is also an important addition to the study of academic evaluation in the neoliberal and increasingly global era.” Michele Lamont, Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies, Harvard University, and author of How Professors Think: Inside the Curious World of Academic Judgment

“Leading Research Universities in a Competitive World is a jewel of information on research in universities around the world. In addition to the comparative analyses it contains, the book makes us reflect on the major challenges facing universities today

“This book is a must-read for anyone who cares about research universities and their multiple and sometimes conflicting roles in advancing knowledge, serving as the fuel that drives innovation, and training the highly skilled workforce required in a knowl