Untangling the Red Tape of Russian Universities: Administrative Profiles and Relation to Efficiency

The policy of ‘new public management’ led to the introduction of the project management system. As a consequence, there has been an increase in administrative reporting on the main directions of universities' activities and the need for personnel capable of coordinating and synchronising organisational processes. The aim of the study is to analyse the administrative landscape of Russian universities and the contribution of non-academic staff to their efficiency. Using cluster analysis, three groups of universities were identified according to the predominant share of administrative staff: research, teaching and infrastructure. All three groups of universities do not differ in the main indicators of scientific, educational and financial performance, except for the presence of a larger area in infrastructure universities. Using Data Envelopment Analysis, efficiency scores were calculated for research and teaching universities, further, a positive and statistically significant relationship was found between efficiency and the proportion of administrative staff in the total sample of universities, although the relationship ceases to be significant when controlling for the different production functions of universities. Drawing on on neo-institutional theory, the composition of non-academic staff in Russian universities is explained and the role of administrative staff in improving efficiency is analysed. The results of the study contribute to the discussion on the function of administrative staff – whether their increased share is a burden or a resource for universities. Keywords: administrative landscape, university efficiency, administrative burden, production function