Exploring the role of leadership in facilitating higher education internationalization in Japan: a mixed methods study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Amid stiff competition in the burgeoning East Asian higher education market, Japan has implemented a series of internationalization initiatives to buoy its floundering HE sector. This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed methods design to explore Japanese and non-Japanese faculty and leaders’ views of effective leadership and its role in internationalization processes. Utilizing Bass’s full range leadership model, this study first elicited faculty and leaders’ (n = 162) views on three leadership constructs (transformational, transactional, and passive avoidant) using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). The results of the MLQ informed semi-structured interviews with five Japanese and five non-Japanese (n = 10) faculty and leaders, exploring their views regarding effective leadership and its role in internationalizing their institutions. The results suggest that while both groups identify transformational leadership as most effective, there is a significant difference in terms of how they perceive its efficacy. The qualitative analysis offered further insight into how cultural norms affect leadership in Japanese universities and offered ideas regarding how leaders can more effectively integrate non-Japanese faculty and develop cohesive, diverse faculty units. The results suggest the high degree to which leadership affects the readiness of Japanese institutions to adapt to an increasingly transnational landscape.