Abstract
Early career academics are the key agents for the sustainable development of higher education institutions. In China, those who were educated overseas and have returned to Chinese universities to seek academic positions are becoming a fast-growing group. Good research performance is critical to survive in the increasingly competitive environment in academia. Improving research performance requires an understanding of the factors that facilitate or inhibit research performance. In the light of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, this study, using a mixed-method design (20 interviewees and 136 respondents), elaborates on a number of external factors affecting returned early career academics’ research performance. Understanding these factors is helpful for the building of a favorable environment that can improve the research performance of the returned early career academics, and hence the sustainable development of universities.
Highlights
The findings are organized to demonstrate how elements within each ecological system influenced returned The earlyreturned career academics (RECAs)’ research performance and how prevalent these factors were within the investigated sample
We have revealed a number of factors influencing RECAs’ research performance in the microsystem
We find that more productive RECAs enjoy more time in research, as
Summary
Sustainability is a critical strategic idea for organizations [1], and universities are no exception. Innovative research achievements, such as new knowledge, theory, and patents are the strong foundation for the sustainable development of higher education. In this sense, the sustainability of universities can be promoted by means of research [2]. The sustainability of universities can be promoted by means of research [2] Skilled persons such as researchers, students, and academics have been viewed as the key component of sustainable development strategies by institutions and nations [3]. In the era of internationalization of higher education, academic mobility, which brings “diversity, global connectivity, new perspectives, and innovation” [4] (p. 10) improves teaching, public service, and more importantly research in higher education, thereby promoting the sustainable development of higher education
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