Gaming and Performance Metrics in Higher Education: The Consequences of Journal Lists

This article analyses ‘gaming’ in higher education as a response to performance metrics. It shows how scholars react to performance measurement systems in the form of journal lists that define appropriate outlets for their research. Two types of gaming are identified: the adaptation of research methods and topics to align with the perceived ideals of top US journals, and strategic networking with editors and potential reviewers before submitting articles to prestigious journals. We employ scripting theory to analyse performance measurement and its consequences, differentiating between three levels of scripting: cultural scripts, represented by journal lists; interactional scripts, characterised by participants’ redefinitions/enactments of these overarching scripts; and intrapsychic scripts, focusing on participants’ self-scripting and personal attitudes towards gaming in academia. The study is based on qualitative interviews with 173 associate and full professors in the social sciences in Denmark.