What do Chinese and foreign universities value about their strategic alliances? Exploring a dimension of higher education alliances in a cross cultural context

There are now over 5,000 alliances between Chinese and foreign universities but there is little research on how managers from the two sides value the various aspects of their educational alliances. This research finds that both sides valued a range of alliance levels, types, activities, sizes and structures but there were significant differences. Chinese respondents tended to prefer larger and higher level alliances which they perceived as being more long term, viable and indicative of foreign commitment. Foreign alliance managers liked to start their alliance associations in China with smaller scale alliance models which could then be expanded into larger and more complex alliances. Chinese alliance managers preferred an alliance model which aimed to establish a benchmark educational standard in China; foreign staff preferred what has been termed pragmatic alliances which were cheaper to organize and manage. Chinese respondents liked alliances which ensured that at least a range of foreign academic and administrative staff were located in China: foreign respondents preferred to fly staff in and out for particular projects and activities. More generally, foreign respondents discussed the value of alliances in business and income generation terms while their Chinese colleagues conceptualized the key value of alliances in terms of their ability to assist China to develop a highly skilled workforce capable of taking its place in an internationalized market economy.C