The social context within which universities operate has changed significantly over the past few decades. Globalization, digitalization and the arrival of the knowledge society have changed the way universities perceive their role in the (re)production of knowledge and research. At the same time, there is an increase in the competitiveness of organizations in all sectors, including in the higher education sector. Such new circumstances encourage public universities to reconsider their activities and form strategic principles that serve as a foundation for achieving competitiveness and, consequently, ensure the mere existence or prosperity of the organization. However, the concept of competitiveness arises from the economic sector, and needs to be modified and elaborated in the context of public organizations. Also, it is necessary to account for broader social factors that set broader conditions within which competitiveness can be strengthened or weakened. Through a case study and comparison of four universities: University of Warsaw, Charles University in Prague, University of Helsinki and University of Zagreb, and using discourse analysis, the paper reveals which social factors are important for the development of competitiveness. The results of the research indicate that political circumstances, demographic trends, crises of a supranational nature (for example, the economic crisis of 2008 and the migrant crisis of 2015), the characteristics of the state apparatus with which public higher education is necessarily interconnected, as well as the characteristics of transitional process, are some of the key factors. which can affect the development of competitiveness. The research indicates the existence of three discourses in the case of the analyzed universities that determine the approach to achieving competitiveness: the discourse of reformation, the discourse of adaptation and the discourse of upgrading.