Academic inbreeding and boundary-making in higher education institutions

Academic inbreeding continues to be a challenge for many universities in both developed and developing higher education systems, and it is not easy to mitigate or eradicate. The practice has been studied from several standpoints, using a variety of methodologies, but efforts to conceptualise academic inbreeding have been limited. In this study, we add to the understanding of academic inbreeding by extending the conceptualisation of this phenomenon. Drawing on the literature, we conceptualise academic inbreeding from an identity-boundary perspective and identify three cultural mechanisms (recruitment, patronage networks, and scientific culture) and two identity mechanisms (beliefs related to immobility and recognition and academic and researcher identity) through which academic inbreeding influences academic agency, behaviour, and work. Our analysis suggests that academic inbreeding can be defined by relational mechanisms linking culture and identity, and that in this identity form academic inbreeding does not entail complete exclusion from groups (inbred vs non-inbred). Based on the identified mechanisms, we propose novel research questions and perspectives that can be used to further the conceptual analysis of academic inbreeding and foster a better understanding of the phenomenon, eventually contributing to its mitigation, eradication, or strategic use.