Abstract
Considering New Public Management measures in public sector education, pertinent questions are whether the level of marketization and market position affect one particular response to market exposure, namely branding efforts by schools. These issues are explored through analysis of admission statistics and branding statements by upper secondary schools in Oslo, Norway, and the surrounding areas of Follo and Romerike. The study shows that the level of marketization does affect branding efforts, as both branding focus and branding differentiation are more prominent in the marketized city of Oslo than in the less marketized areas surrounding the city. This is understood in light of institutional logics theory. Another finding is that market position affects branding efforts, as the popular, privileged schools generally demonstrate a more effective branding, based on differentiating features, than their less popular, marginalized counterparts. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
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Notes
- 1.
Results are published at www.minosloskole.no.
- 2.
An exception is if they want to apply for a specialization that none of the schools in their zone offer, in which case they may apply to schools in the whole county.
- 3.
Eight of the nine schools offer Specialization in General Studies.
- 4.
12 of these 15 schools offer Specialization in General Studies.
- 5.
Due to lower admission levels in Romerike, the level for the privileged group of schools in Romerike was set to 43 points and above.
- 6.
Not all school web pages had a section for “History.”
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Dahle, D.Y. (2021). Brand on the Run? Marketization, Market Position, and Branding in Upper Secondary Schools. In: Zavattaro, S.M. (eds) Public Branding and Marketing. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70505-3_10
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