Institutional Theory, Resource Dependence, and Organisational Adaptation Strategies of Nigerian Universities: A Comparative Study

This study examines the organisational adaptation strategies of Nigerian universities through an integrated theoretical lens combining institutional theory and resource dependence theory, providing an original comparative analysis of adaptation mechanisms across federal, state, and private university types in Nigeria's rapidly evolving higher education environment. Nigerian universities face compounding pressures including chronic government funding shortfalls, regulatory quality compliance requirements, graduate employment outcome accountability, and global competitive benchmarking, creating adaptation imperatives that existing higher education management theories, primarily developed in Western contexts, inadequately explain. A comparative qualitative case study methodology was employed, investigating six universities, two of each type, across South East, North West, and South South geopolitical zones. Data were collected through 88 interviews with vice-chancellors, registrars, deans, and governance board members, combined with institutional document analysis and stakeholder perception surveys. Cross-case analysis and theoretical integration generate an original institutional-resource dependence adaptation framework that distinguishes ceremonial adaptation, substantive internal change, and strategic repositioning as three qualitatively distinct adaptation modes, each triggered by different combinations of institutional and resource pressures. The study makes original contributions by demonstrating how university type moderates the institutional-resource dependence balance, generating different dominant adaptation modes across federal, state, and private categories. Practical implications address governance reform, resource diversification strategy, and quality assurance system design. Keywords: institutional theory, resource dependence, organisational adaptation, Nigerian universities, higher education management.