Efficiency and productivity in European Universities. Exploring trade-offs in the strategic profile

In this chapter we take a further step in the articulation of the notion of university strategy. Essential to this notion is the idea that decisions about the offering profile, or the space of outputs, depend on constraints on the inputs. Universities deal with how to make the best use of their existing resources, and procure future resources, in order to make their competitive position sustainable in the long run. Strategic management must build the best possible relation between resources and offerings, or inputs and outputs. One relevant question, in this perspective, is whether the unit is making the best use of existing resources, or whether technical efficiency is in place. Clearly, efficiency is not the only relevant strategic question, but it is one of the most important. The lack of any link between inputs and outputs may be fatal for any strategy, however ambitious it may be. Therefore in this chapter we address the question of technical efficiency, as an important topic in the broader research agenda of university strategy.