Resumen

GALINDO PADILLA, Gabriel  y  POOM MEDINA, Juan. Academics as Agents of Institutional Change: The Case of the Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, 2003-2018. Región y sociedad [online]. 2020, vol.32, e1267.  Epub 27-Ene-2021. ISSN 2448-4849.  https://doi.org/10.22198/rys2020/32/1267.

The objective of this article is to analyze the institutional change in the Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora from 2003 to 2018. The study is carried out following the case study method, using primary sources and semi-structured interviews; this method limits generalization but allows depth. The results demonstrate the constitution of academics as subversive agents that cause institutional change by stratification according to the theory of gradual institutional change. Results are compared to some works at the national level that demonstrate the incidence of public policies, state governments and university authorities as agents which limit autonomy, produce less democratic and legitimate governments, and reduce the power of academics in the university. It is concluded that the academics can influence the course of the universities and have capacities to produce significant changes in the organization using their own resources and strategies even in conditions of restriction to their agency capacity.

Palabras llave : Academics; autonomy; case study; higher education; institutional change; public policies; public university; university government.