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ABSTRACT
The adoption of a corporate style of university management in China has resulted in a context in which performance indicators are the primary means of assessing university faculty members. Most faculty members work under the ‘shadow’ of managerial control. Drawing on the face culture, this article delineates various complex tactics employed by Chinese university faculty and, more importantly, explores what underpins their behavioral responses. Based on a case study of a highly ranked university in China and in-depth interviews with its faculty members, this study demonstrates that most university faculty members’ tactics fall into four strategic responses founded on facets of face culture. This article provides a new perspective on how responses to managerialism are motivated by face among socially admired professionals in Asian cultures and more widely.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to the workshop of the Institute for Empirical Social Science Research at Xi'an Jiaotong University for providing the platform to present this article. The valuable comments and suggestions received from the workshop participants have greatly contributed to the improvement of this research. Special appreciation is extended to Professor Yanjie Bian for his insightful feedback and constructive revisions, which have significantly shaped the final version of the paper. The authors also acknowledge the contributions of Rongcan Qiu as a research assistant in the supplementary data analysis. Lastly, the authors would like to express their thanks to all the reviewers for their helpful suggestions and assistance in enhancing the quality and clarity of this article.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Before 2000, academic jobs in Chinese institutions were held on permanent contracts. However, as the system was criticized for not recognizing research contributions, some research-intensive universities in China began to reform internally by drawing on the U.S. system (Li and Shen Citation2022). University faculty members of each rank may no longer obtain the same salary, seniority is no longer the only criterion for promotions, and work performance determines almost aspect of employment.
2 There are many differences among types of universities in China. Normally, they can be divided into three broad categories: research-oriented universities, teaching-centered universities, and teaching and research universities. The tenure-track system has been introduced primarily to research-intensive universities in China, such as universities in 985/211/double-first-class programs (985 and 211 programs are explained in ‘The research context’ section), and universities of the latter two types implement less demanding evaluation mechanisms. Thus, the pressure and strain are greater at research-oriented universities than among more general academic institutions in China. Although Chinese universities share broader axioms underpinned by face culture, they may differ in their types and organizational climates in terms of the research pressure faced by faculty members.
3 In many highly ranked universities in China, ‘publications’ refers only to journal papers rather than other forms (e.g., book chapters, conference papers), and the faculty members must be the first authors. Faculty across disciplines and ranks are expected to follow strenuous and demanding rules in relation to journal categories, resulting in very competitive publishing processes, including conditions where there are few top journals in a field.
4 The reason is mainly traditional gender role expectations for women. Compared to their male counterparts, who often have access to many sources of support that help them concentrate on work and develop careers, female academics, even when they are employed full-time, must assume family responsibilities (e.g., parenting and housework) (Ren and Caudle Citation2020). The situation worsens when women academics are employed in tenure-track positions(Li and Shen Citation2022). To be successful in their careers and keep their jobs, many women academics may delay childbirth.
5 Face is a universal concept that is not exclusive to people in Asia (Ho Citation1976), although its leverage has been variably identified in different cultures (Redding and Ng 1983).
6 Guanxi represents a connection between two individuals who is both personalized and subjectively close while also holding the potential for resourcefulness (Bian Citation2019).
7 The university is recognized as a double-first-class university in Category A on the ‘Double-First-Class Initiative’ list sponsored by the Ministry of Education of China. The central government supports it financially to establish a world-class university, with its strongest disciplines reaching the first-class level worldwide.
8 All ‘face behaviours’ in are categorized based on the major themes exhibited by the participants. As illustrated above, the total number of cases for this item is 17.
9 Information about departments led to the potential risk of identifying our participants, so it was removed.
10 We used 35 years of age as the cut-off point to categorize our participants’ ages because in current Chinese academia, most application requirements define those below 35 years of age as early-career researchers whose doctorates were awarded within the previous five years and their counterparts older than 35 years of age as senior faculty.
11 That an individual’s inappropriate behaviors have serious ramifications for the reputation of his or her family is a frequent complaint (Ho Citation1976).
12 Readers with individualistic cultural backgrounds may be confused about why we interpret conformity as a ‘positive’ effect of face on faculty actions. The reason is that in China, the ideal image of an employee is total commitment to work. Working overtime for professional achievements is highly encouraged, rather than a sign of inefficient work, and indicates that an individual is self-motivated and diligent.
13 The term ‘meritocracy’ refers to a merit system, such as the political system and academic system based on people’s qualifications, abilities, achievements or efforts rather than their class, family background or connections (Bell Citation2015).
14 China has long been at the epicenter of what is known as the cultural circle of East Asia, which includes Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines; the region is influenced by a shared geography, history, and political landscape and particularly by the values and ethics of Confucianism.