Strategic Alliances Between Chinese and Foreign Universities: Was a Staggered Form of Entry Used?

The Sino-Foreign educational collaboration field is one of the busiest areas of market entry in China, with over 1,000 alliances formed between Chinese and foreign universities. Previous research has identified four levels of alliance activity/agreement available to foreign and Chinese universities, ranging from low level to high level alliances. This paper explores the issue of whether foreign universities moved through these levels of alliances as a form of staggered market entry and whether commitment increased as they undertook higher forms of alliances. The research found that there was almost no movement between the various levels of alliance, and that high levels of commitment were required at all levels to make an alliance successful. This means that foreign universities have to be careful to establish alliances with Chinese universities which initially meet their specific needs rather than assume that alliance programs can simply be moved upwards or downwards in level and scale over time. They also need to be aware that a high level of commitment will be required to make any alliance successful and that this commitment will be measured in tangible (resources) and intangible (relationship) ways. The paper suggests that foreign universities need to ensure that they have undertaken adequate research before entering such a complex and subtle market.