The Construction and Standardization of Evaluation

Evaluation as an organizational element has spread across countries and organizational fields. Yet little attention has been paid to the comparative analysis of adoption, construction and implementation processes of evaluation within different organizational fields. The article is based on an empirical study of research evaluation and evaluation of education within the Danish university sector. It conceptualizes and explains similarities and differences in adoption processes and constructed evaluation standards within the two subfields. Three models are used for explaining differences and similarities: a stakeholder model, an institutional field model and an institutional heritage model. The article shows how evaluation as an organizational element is used simultaneously for processes of change and processes of reproduction of norms and values.