Incentivising international publications: institutional policymaking in Chinese higher education

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. T...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Studies in higher education (Dorchester-on-Thames) 2021-06, Vol.46 (6), p.1132-1145
Main Authors: Xu, Xin, Rose, Heath, Oancea, Alis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
China
Citation Indexes
Colleges & universities
Educational Research
Faculty Publishing
Foreign Countries
Global Approach
Higher education
Humanities
Humanities and social sciences
Incentives
international publications
internationalisation
Periodicals
Policy making
research incentives
Research Universities
Social Sciences
Universities
Writing for Publication
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Summary: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 impact 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 that such incentivisation showcases 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.
ISSN:0307-5079
1470-174X
DOI:10.1080/03075079.2019.1672646