Abstract

The development of universities is associated with pertinent, timely and forward-looking strategic decisions, for which it is necessary to quickly execute their implementation. The main ob-jective of this paper is to expose the most significant implications of the strategic decisions taken in relation to the paradigm shift at the Universidad Católica del Maule (Chile), on the implementa-tion of the new management model. To achieve this purpose, the research is carried out from an exploratory qualitative approach, using primary sources (semi-structured interviews) and second-ary sources of information (official institutional documents). The main conclusions regarding the successful implementation of the model point to key factors such as: the importance of a represen tative leadership of the academic body in the faculties and their work teams; the strategic alignment of the different instruments that make up the institutional management model; the defini-tion of concrete, realistic and achievable goals, consistent with the strategic objectives; the importance of effective communica tion mechanisms; the impact of the measurement of management goals and indicators; and the relevance of academic incentives with respect to the strategic objectives of the institution.