Does the tenure track influence academic research? An empirical study of faculty members in China

• Published in: Studies in higher education (Dorchester-on-Thames) 2024-03, Vol.49 (3), p.476-492
• Main Authors: Yang, Xi, Cai, X. L., Li, T. S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic achievement; academic career; academic output; China; Collaboration; Employment; Productivity; Quasi-experimental methods; research excellence; Tenure; Universities
• ISSN: 0307-5079; 1470-174X
• DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2023.2238767

Since the twenty-first century, universities in many countries, including China, have introduced tenure-track employment to attract outstanding faculty. Through a survey of 1099 faculty members from 21 high-level research universities in China, this study used a quasi-experimental method to examine the effect of the tenure track on faculty members' academic performance. The results suggest that the implementation of the tenure track led to an increase in the number of academic publications, but a decrease in the number of high-quality academic articles. The study further analyzed the underlying mechanisms by which the tenure track affected faculty members' academic performance, and found that introducing the tenure track increased cross-institutional collaboration, thereby promoting academic productivity. However, it resulted in a reduction in research collaboration within the institution, which hindered academic publication in high-impact journals. In terms of disciplinary heterogeneity, this study shows that the negative effect of the tenure track on publication quality was more significant in science than in engineering. Based on the research results above, this paper proposed several suggestions for improving the tenure system to ensure research excellence.