This multi-site case study is really the story of three same-state community colleges (Bridge and Buffer Community College, Grants and Reserves Community College, and Crystal Ball Community College) two years after they suffered a potentially catastrophic 50% reduction in state allocations. This study examined their responses to those reductions and attempted to frame those responses according to existing research on strategic activity and strategic positioning.

The theoretical framework used, referenced as a theoretical mesh, consisted of academic capitalism (Slaughter & Leslie, 1997; Slaughter & Rhoades, 2004), resource dependence theory (Pfeffer & Salancik, 1978), state relative autonomy perspective (Dougherty, 1994), and neo-institutional theory (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983). The synthesis of these theories facilitated the analysis of the findings of this study.

This study identified three key phenomena: The Quartering of Community Colleges to conceptualize and organize the abundance of external pressures facing community colleges, Mandates to Neutralize to explain the importance of an aggressive and formal approach to neutralizing external pressures, and Embedded Community Colleges whose strategic positions are strengthened through a deliberate, committed approach to fostering close relationships with their local communities.