How do Higher Education Institutions respond to steering attempts in different disciplines? How can different responses be explained? Case studies have been developed in the Italian Higher Education context and at the departmental level, with a focus on government interventions through funding and evaluation of research. The paper tests the predictions of the model proposed by Oliver (1991) to forecast acquiescence and resistance to external pressures, and develops a new model to interpret and predict organisational response from a wider perspective. (Contains 24 footnotes, 4 tables, and 6 figures.)