Diagnosis of Aberrant Self-Promotion Practices Among Mexican University Academics

Abstract

Market-driven management models have reshaped academic work in Latin American public universities, replacing collaboration and integrity with competition and symbolic performance. This article critically examines deviant self-promotion practices among university academics in Mexico, defined as strategies to gain recognition through hierarchical power, fabricated achievements, and manipulation of institutional networks. Based on a systematic review of 23 studies published between 2001 and 2024, the analysis identifies recurring patterns and enabling factors, such as quantitative evaluation systems, opaque hierarchies, and institutional silence. Findings reveal that these behaviors are not isolated, but part of a broader academic culture oriented toward symbolic capital and self-preservation. Rather than individual misconduct, they reflect structural conditions that reward image management over ethical scholarship. The article calls for structural reforms to reinforce academic integrity, enhance transparency, and reestablish the critical and public mission of universities.