Governance of universities and scientific innovation

In this article the tension between the tendency of scientific disciplines to “diversify” on the one hand and capacities of universities to give new scientific fields an institutional “home” is tackled. The assumption is that new scientific fields must find support among scientists and cognitive units of universities in order to be included. As science is a strongly competitive social field, inclusion often meets resistance. It is argued in this article that opportunities of new scientific fields to be included depend on the kind of governance regimes ruling universities. A comparison of the former bureaucratic-oligarchic governance model in most European universities with the existing New Public Management governance model demonstrates that the propensity of universities to include new scientific fields is increased though there may be a price to pay in terms of which fields stand a chance to be integrated and in terms of institutional possibilities for the invention of new ideas.