Reference Sets, Identities, and Aspirations in a Complex Organizational Field: The Case of American Four-Year Colleges and Universities

Abstract

This article introduces cluster analysis and reference set analysis as tools for understanding structure, identity, and aspiration in complex organizational fields. Cluster analysis is used to identify the structure of the organizational field in American four-year colleges and universities. The article shows that presidential choices of reference institutions closely parallel the major locations in this structure. By contrast, several widely used classifications of higher education institutions fail to correspond either to the “objective” or to the “perceived” structure of the field. The article also identifies the major locations of presidential discontent within the field, measured as differences between presidents' current and aspiration reference sets. This analysis shows that only presidents in research universities and highly selective liberal arts colleges are content with their current locations. Finally, the article shows that aspirations for change are conditioned by location in the field and that presidents of the stronger institutions within each major category are more likely to indicate mobility aspirations.