Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Educational Development journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijedudev Barriers and drivers of innovation in higher education: Case study-based evidence across ten European universities Anna Lašáková a, ⁎ , Ľubica Bajzíková a , Indra Dedze b a Faculty of Management, Comenius University in Bratislava, Odbojárov 10, 820 05 Bratislava, Slovakia b University of Latvia, Raina b. 19, LV 1586, Riga, Latvia ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Innovation Higher education Management Barriers Drivers GAIHE ABSTRACT The paper advances current knowledge on factors affecting higher education institutions in their quest for in- novation in education. Based on an analysis of ten institutional cases from five European countries, a compre- hensive description and classification of barriers and drivers of innovation are provided. Results indicate certain “disengagement” in relation of higher education institutions and education policy makers, business, and students as well as between higher education institutions’ managers and their subordinates. Based on the findings, major innovation-related challenges in the higher education are discussed and related practical recommendations are presented. 1. Introduction With societal changes rooted in internationalisation and informa- tion technology progress, higher education faces several new chal- lenges, one of which is to upkeep the role of constant innovation leader. Therefore researchers’ attention is quite naturally captured by those aspects that would either positively or negatively impact innovation delivery both in and through higher education. This study delineates prerequisites for a successful story in the context of the Innovation Union (EC, 2010) and presents research results on innovation-related barriers and drivers, as these were perceived by members of the main decisional bodies, which include management and governance boards, administration structures and student authorities at ten diverse Eur- opean universities. The purpose of this study is to unveil particular challenges tied to management of higher education institutions (HEIs) that are associated with excellence in education. This study advances current knowledge on factors that affect HEIs in their quest for innovation in education and its provision. The focus is specifically on management of HEIs. In general, HEIs are vulnerable as changes in government regulations, social and technological conditions strongly affect their operations (Sporn, 1996). Some of these factors are not under the control of HEIs. However, this study is concerned with those aspects that can be directly influenced by these institutions. The authors concentrate on managerial and governance structures and processes that might impede of or support innovations in higher edu- cation. Paraphrasing Winslett’s call (2014, p. 174), instead of adding to the noise of innovation talk that focuses on asking, how do we innovate in teaching and learning, in this study the question is rather which factors of the internal environment at HEIs add value to innovative teaching and learning? Thus, the study provides a description and classification of these factors based on an analysis of ten institutional case studies from five European countries. The sample entailed the ESSEC Business School and University of Strasbourg (France), University of Latvia and Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (Latvia), University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava and Comenius University in Bratislava (Slovakia), University of Salamanca and University of Alicante (Spain), and Anglia Ruskin University and Queen Mary University of London (UK). Case studies have been grounded on uniform scenarios for data collection and conducted by a consortium of partner universities under the project titled Governance and adaptation to innovative modes of higher edu- cation provision (GAIHE). The GAIHE project was built on the premise that an innovation has an increased benefit for all relevant stakeholders. It delineated the in- novation as an “implemented change with an increased added value that replaces an existing product or production method” (McGrath et al., 2016). The GAIHE project has focused on innovations related primarily to the modes of higher education provision, and how the governance and management structures at HEIs support (or hinder) these innovations (for exemplars of innovation found at the researched HEIs see McGrath et al., 2016). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.06.002 Received 27 May 2016; Received in revised form 7 May 2017; Accepted 2 June 2017 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: anna.lasakova@fm.uniba.sk (A. Lašáková), lubica.bajzikova@fm.uniba.sk (Ľ. Bajzíková), indra.dedze@lu.lv (I. Dedze). International Journal of Educational Development 55 (2017) 69–79 0738-0593/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. MARK