A comparative study by Whitchurch (2009: 408) on non-academic professionals in higher education institutions in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States of America found that blended professionals are characterised by “a sense of ‘belonging’ and ‘not belonging’ entirely to either professional or academic domains, often working in ambiguous conditions”. One of the non-academic staff in Whitchurch's study mentioned that the blended role exposed them to political dimensions, when they entered contested space and played a part in ‘‘the power struggles and battles that go on’’.