Incentivising international publications: institutional policymaking in Chinese higher education

Journal article

This study examines Chinese universities’ incentive schemes for international publication in the humanities and social sciences (HSS). It analysed 172 incentive documents collected at 116 research-intensive universities in China, including monetary bonus schemes and career-related incentives. This analysis is complemented by interviews with six senior administrators at six Chinese universities and four journal editors to explore the policy-making process and impacts of incentivisation. The study found that most universities actively promoted international publications, with variations and similarities in their incentive schemes. In general, more benefits were granted for SSCI (Social Sciences Citation Index) and A&HCI; (Arts and Humanities Citation Index) journal publications than domestic publications. We conclude such incentivisation showcased the influence of western standards and global benchmarking in the internationalisation of Chinese HSS, and that the incentive schemes may create a ‘Matthew Effect’ enabling SSCI and A&HCI; journals to flourish, while deepening the divide between these and other journals.

Authors: Xu, X; Rose, H; Oancea, A

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Journal: Studies in Higher Education
• Volume: 46
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 1132-1145
• Publication date: 2019-10-07
• Acceptance date: 2019-09-19
• DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2019.1672646
• ISSN: 0307-5079
• Language: English
• Keywords: humanities and social sciences; China; research incentives; internationalisation; FFR; international publications