‘given the job of trying to balance external and internal needs’ (Frølich et al., 2019)

‘Administrators work in strategic areas such as internationalization, business liaison and research funding support’ (Karlsson & Ryttberg, 2016)

‘clerical staff and professional administrative staff/higher administrative staff’ (Gornitzka & Larsen, 2004)

‘all persons working as support staff in administrative units without managerial competencies’ (Krücken et al., 2013)

Not explicitly defined or described in reviewed document (Hüther & Krücken, 2018; Mcinnis, 1998)

‘focused on the management and support of the primary process’ (Kallenberg, 2016)

‘Academic university management (President/rector, vice-presidents, deans, heads of institutes, etc.): this includes all leading managerial positions within the university that are held by academics, typically only for a limited period of time. 2. Administrative university management (senior administrative managers, heads of offices and service facilities, etc.): this includes full-time administrative management staff with responsibility for staff, organization and resource administration within a specific area.2 3. Administrative staff: this includes all persons working as support staff in administrative units without managerial competencies’ (Krücken et al., 2013)

‘non-academic staff’ (Wohlmuther, 2008)

Individuals ‘whose roles include initiatives associated with the social responsibilities of institutions to their communities, as well as more market-oriented, income generating projects’ (Whitchurch, 2010c)

Not explicitly defined or described in reviewed documents. (Dobson, 2000; Szekeres, 2006)

Not explicitly defined or described in reviewed document (Qu, 2021)

‘not primarily active in teaching and research, although they might be involved in some teaching and some research, but entrusted mainly to prepare and support decisions of the management, establish new services or professionalize existing ones, and actively shape the core activities of the organization’ (Kehm, 2015a, 2015b)

Organizational professionals working in a management role or a support and services role (Schneijderberg, 2015)

Not explicitly defined or described in reviewed document (Daly, 2013)

Not explicitly defined or described in reviewed document (Sprague, 1994)

‘staff who specialize in one type element of academic life’ (Macfarlane, 2011)

‘a large and influential group, responsible for the day-to-day operation, management, and planning of the university or college’ (Wilkins & Leckie, 1997)

‘employees without academic appointment whose jobs require some higher education or equivalent experience, the ability to exercise independent judgement, and minimum supervision’ (Henkin & Persson, 1992)

‘All had management or developmental roles and were not employed on academic staff contracts (although as we will see, many undertook work which was “academic” in nature) and all were employed on HEE Level 7 or above’ (Berman & Pitman, 2010)

‘the graduate and/or professional entry staff that have high levels of autonomy and responsibility for managing and leading business-related functions in the university’ (Kallenberg, 2020)

‘administrative staff, general staff, non-academic staff, allied staff’ (Szekeres, 2011)

Refers to Whitchurch’s (2009) notion of the ‘blended professional’ (Takagi, 2015)

‘staff who increasingly, for instance: have academic credentials such as master’s and doctoral level qualifications, or a teaching or research background in the college sector; work in teams, dealing with institutional initiatives that require a range of specialist, academic and policy contributions, from bids for one-off infrastructure funding to the establishments of more long-term regional partnerships; undertake quasi-academic functions such as conducting study-skill sessions for access students, speaking at outreach events or conducting overseas recruitment visits; and have the possibility of moving into an academic management role, for instance, a pro-vice-chancellor post with a portfolio such as quality, staffing or institutional development’ (Whitchurch, 2008a)

Not explicitly defined or described in reviewed document (Gray, 2015; Whitchurch & Gordon, 2009)

‘individuals in support roles who are commonly highly qualified and have an academic degree. They do not necessarily identify as administrators, nor are they employed as academics. They are situated somewhere in between. According to this research, they may also be viewed as actors in a third space. This is a concept used when exploring groups of staff at HEIs who do not fit the conventional binary descriptors of “academics” or “non-academics” […]’ (Ryttberg, 2020)

‘Their functions typically require highly educated specialists and experts in specific areas of administration […]. Furthermore, they do not identify themselves with the term administrator […], which refers to functions that are more clerical or secretarial […]’ (Ryttberg & Geschwind, 2019)

Not explicitly defined or described in reviewed document (Ryttberg & Geschwind, 2017)

Described as individuals working in ‘an emergent territory between academic and professional domains, which is colonized by less bounded forms of professional’ (Whitchurch, 2008a)

‘groups of staff in higher education who do not fit conventional binary descriptors such as those enshrined in “academic” or “non-academic” employment categories … They are likely to work in a multi-disciplinary or multi-professional environment or team, either for a time-limited period or on a permanent basis. They may also build up new forms of expertise, such as tutoring in academic literacy or the conversion of teaching programmes to online platforms, that represent new space and require a blend of academic and professional inputs’ (Whitchurch, 2015)

‘provide specialist functions to enable other staff to focus on their own areas of competence and responsibility’ (Gibbs & Kharouf, 2020)