Higher education (HE) in many countries has been characterized by increased marketization, external accountability, and managerialism. This article examines how academics feel about and respond to HE reforms in Cyprus, a country whose HE sector is heavily commercialized and affected by austerity measures. We analyzed interviews with twenty-three Cypriot academics in four universities, who had been working in business schools from 3 to 29 years. Interviewees described experiences of being an academic in Cyprus, highlighting contextual factors that triggered emotional events in their day-to-day lives. Integrating previous literature, we present six different behavioral responses to the events they described, including compliance, resistance, and flight. We explain how academics chose different responses at different times based on their interpretations of value congruence/incongruence, their felt emotions, and the need to comply with emotional display rules. Considering these elements together highlighted the emotional labor associated with various behavioral responses. The study contributes theoretically by showing how values, perceived emotional demands within particular events, and emotions influence behavior, including different types of emotional labor. We suggest that further research on academics’ responses to HE reforms should focus on particular events and on particular contested academic values, such as autonomy or collegiality.

许多国家的高等教育（HE）的特点是市场化程度，外部责任感和管理主义的增强。本文探讨了塞浦路斯人对高等教育改革的看法和对塞浦路斯改革的反应，塞浦路斯的高等教育行业已被大量商业化，并且受到紧缩措施的影响。我们分析了四所大学中二十三名塞浦路斯学者的访谈，他们在商学院工作了3至29年。受访者描述了在塞浦路斯学习的经历，并强调了触发日常生活中情感事件的背景因素。结合以前的文献，我们对他们描述的事件提出了六种不同的行为响应，包括顺从性，抵抗力和逃跑。我们根据对价值一致/不一致，对情感的理解以及对遵守情感展示规则的需求的解释，来解释学者们如何在不同的时间选择不同的反应。同时考虑这些因素突出了与各种行为反应相关的情感劳动。该研究在理论上做出了贡献，显示了价值，特定事件中感知到的情感需求以及情感如何影响行为，包括不同类型的情感劳动。我们建议，关于学者对高等教育改革的回应的进一步研究应集中于特定事件和具有争议的学术价值观，例如自治或合议。同时考虑这些因素突出了与各种行为反应相关的情感劳动。该研究在理论上做出了贡献，显示了价值，特定事件中感知到的情感需求以及情感如何影响行为，包括不同类型的情感劳动。我们建议，关于学者对高等教育改革的回应的进一步研究应集中于特定事件和具有争议的学术价值观，例如自治或合议。同时考虑这些因素突出了与各种行为反应相关的情感劳动。该研究在理论上做出了贡献，显示了价值，特定事件中感知到的情感需求以及情感如何影响行为，包括不同类型的情感劳动。我们建议，关于学者对高等教育改革的回应的进一步研究应集中于特定事件和具有争议的学术价值观，例如自治或合议。