Abstract

Over the last years, world public universities have been involved in a knotty mark-orientation process. The aim of this paper is to explore the concepts of frame and overflow in order to fully understand how, following the introduction of these changes, Italian universities decide what is needed and what is not. Firstly, the article focuses on the frame-overflow approach, analysing the case of Gelmini's Reform in light of these theoretical concepts. Secondly, it underlines the innovations brought by the frame-overflow approach against other studies that have analysed the consequences of market orientation processes on world universities. Finally, it concerns the development perspectives of the frame-overflow approach, suggesting some useful approaches to understanding the on-going changes in Italian universities.