The system of election was exposed to the pressures exerted by
academic cliques, called scuole or ‘schools’ (Mattei and Monateri, 1993),
which could direct large numbers of votes to selected candidates. Although
scandals surrounding various concorsi have been reported in the press (see
for example Ainis, 2009; Stella and Rizzo, 2008), one especially thorough
analysis unveiled the details of how the concorsi were systematically
manipulated to promote desired candidates, independently of their
scientific merit. Roberto Bisson, a well known associate professor from
Padua, produced a detailed report in which he analysed the 1992 concorso
for 39 posts of full professor in biochemistry, and several previous concorsi
in the same field. Being one of the largest in terms of the number of
positions and the universities involved, the 1992 concorso can be considered
to be representative of how academic promotions have taken place in Italy
since the introduction of law no. 382/80 (for further examples, see Carlucci
and Castaldo, 2009).