My research focuses on the study of institutional change in the field of universities, and their role in society and economy. Major areas of recent research address the regulation, funding and organisation of higher education and research; management/leadership and organisational change in universities.

I have written and (co)edited 15 books, and published more than 50 articles in academic journals, including Organization Studies, Public Management, Public Management Review, Studies in Higher Education, Higher Education and Scientometrics. You can find this work at Google Scholar and Scopus.

I am member of the ESRC-funded Centre for Global Higher Education and Co-Investigator of an ESRC-funded project on 'Governance in Higher Education'. I am elected member of the Academia Europaea and of the German Academe of Science and Engineering, and Honorary Fellow of the Society for Research in Higher Education. My advisory experience includes membership in the Advisory Committee for Research and Knowledge Exchange of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, in the German Advisory Council for Education, and in the R&D Committee of the European Federation for Management Development.