Abstract

For universities, the “human resources”, in particular the scientific staff, are the most valuable asset for the success of the organization (Van Balen & Van den Besselaar, 2007). The presence of highly qualified academic staff is not only extremely important for the quality of education programs, university research, and the universities' reputation, but also for the knowledge condition in a region (Baldini, Fini, & Grimaldi, 2015; Enders et al., 2011; Lanvin & Monteiro, 2019; Lilles & Rõigas, 2017). In particular during the course of the last decade, higher education (HE) institutes in Europe were ascribed an important role in the strengthening of the European position in the global knowledge economy (Enders et al., 2011). Contributing to the knowledge economy the European HE system had to become more competitive, and for these investments in quality and excellence were deemed necessary, along with increased transparency, accountability, and efficiency (Enders et al., 2011).