Between rigor and impact
Institutional change in the PPGA/UFPB's educational project and its influence on graduates' career paths
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22478/ufpb.2238-104X.2025v15n2.76743Keywords:
Academic training impact on graduates, social relevance, institutional change, institutional logics, institutional workAbstract
Purpose: This study examines the impact of the Graduate Program in Management at the Federal University of Paraíba (PPGA/UFPB) on the professional trajectories of its alumni, analyzing how, over the past 15 years, the Program has undertaken an institutional reorientation that shaped a formative project oriented toward social and professional impact. It also seeks to identify the strategic actions of its leadership that explain the outcomes achieved. Method: Based on an institutionalist approach, this qualitative study draws on 14 semi-structured interviews and documents, both of which were subjected to thematic content analysis. Results: Findings indicate that (i) the PPGA/UFPB primarily trains professors, researchers, and public managers, standing out for its academic and social impact, although with limited engagement in the private sector and still incipient technical-technological production; (ii) recent reforms in its formative project demonstrate efforts to reconcile academic and applied orientations; and (iii) this transformation results from a gradual process of institutional change in which the Program intentionally reinterpreted its historical role and articulated academic, professional, and market logics to enhance the impact and relevance of its training. This trajectory reveals institutional maturation in which scientific rigor and social relevance emerge as complementary dimensions of the same formative commitment. Theoretical contributions: our study demonstrates that institutional change in graduate programs results from interpretive and strategic actions by leaders who integrate multiple logics to redefine organizational identities. Practical contributions: our study offers an inspiring model for graduate program reorientation, illustrating how integrating scientific rigor and social relevance can strengthen the impact and responsiveness of academic training.
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