Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 PhD Candidate in Higher Education Administration, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Faculty Member, Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
The aim of this qualitative research was to identify the nature of the phenomenon of academic inbreeding and to explain strategic convergence as its essence in Iranian higher education. The research method was exploratory-descriptive, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 31 key informants, including experts, administrators, faculty members, and graduate students from public universities, using the content analysis method. Participants were selected using purposive and snowball sampling methods until theoretical saturation was reached, and the validity of the findings was confirmed by methods such as review by participants and expert peers. The research findings showed that academic inbreeding in Iran is a phenomenon beyond the organizational immobility of individuals and acts as a strategic convergence in intra- and extra-academic social networks to achieve goals, make decisions, and allocate resources. This phenomenon was described from the perspectives of stereotypes, profiteering, protectionism, politicization, and protocolization, which indicates a more structured nature than traditional definitions. As a result, the present study, with an emphasis on strategic convergence, provided a comprehensive definition of this phenomenon and revealed the scope of its impact in various areas of higher education. These findings highlight the need to revise the traditional understanding and adopt intelligent management strategies to confront the dimensions of this phenomenon in universities.
Keywords
- Academic Inbreeding
- Strategic Convergence
- Iranian Higher Education
- Thematic Analysis
- Qualitative Research
Main Subjects
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