Korea is one of the few countries to have achieved unprecedented economic growth based on the rapid development of not only the education system, but also on science and technology discovery over a short period of time. The contribution of universities to the development of the country's scientific research capacities is significant, and the strengthening of research capabilities of these universities is thought to be caused by a set of special governmental policies based on a global trend known as "university excellence initiatives." Distinct from education (human resource development) mission, since the 1980s, universities were encouraged to focus more on a research mission (knowledge production), and then starting in 1990, the Center of Excellence Program (COE) was a large-scale government excellence initiative policy aimed at strengthening research capacity of a select group of universities to compete globally in a period of rising science production. Although the government spend approximately 3.5 trillion Korean Won (roughly 3 billion US Dollars) over 22-years period on COE, there has never been a full evaluation of the impact of the program on STEM+ (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, plus health research) production. This study evaluates the impact of COE on the growth rate of all STEM+ journal articles, STEM+ articles in higher impact journals, and on the positioning of funded universities among world leading research universities. It also examines whether what impact COE may have is due to mostly a resource dependence model of policy impact or to a legitimization process in the organizational environment brought on by the COE signaling a changing mission of the country's universities. Unlike the more common expectation, the government's support may have non-linear consequences on strengthening the research capacity of universities, which requires a different theory that can be applied to comprehend the phenomenon more accurately and appropriately. For example, from the legitimization process, the fact that a specific institution is selected as a recipient of the government's special support policy acts as a means of legitimacy, and the actual amount of support may not be as sensitive as the selection itself. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]