International Branch Campuses as an Entry Mode to the Foreign Education Market

Egle Girdzijauskaite,Asta Radzeviciene,Arturas Jakubavicius,Audrius Banaitis

doi:10.3390/admsci9020044

Egle Girdzijauskaite, Asta Radzeviciene + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci9020044

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Abstract

Higher education institutions (HEIs), especially latecomer institutions, continue to regard exporting education services by creating a commercial presence in a foreign country with caution. The purpose of this paper is to investigate ways of creating and managing international branch campuses (IBCs) and to elaborate recommendations for universities on establishing a branch campus as an entry into the foreign education market. In order to reach this aim, we analyse the trends of IBC development in higher education in the last 30 years, compare the theory and concepts of service export in business and in higher education and, finally, conduct a case study on seven IBCs globally. The analysis shows clear synergy between business theory and higher education (HE); however, no obvious coherence is discovered between the IBC establishment practices and the traditional Uppsala internationalisation model used in international business practices. This research continues by verifying the coherence of IBCs with the revisited Uppsala model based on the relationships and market commitment.

Highlights

From the establishment of the first universities in the 11th century in Europe until the 20th century, the mission of educating society and developing fundamental knowledge has been praised, and the state has assumed the function of financing higher education (HE)
The analysis shows clear synergy between business theory and higher education (HE); no obvious coherence is discovered between the international branch campuses (IBCs) establishment practices and the traditional
The analysis showed that an IBC is applicable as a foreign market entry mode by mature as well as latecomer institutions of HE

Summary

Introduction

From the establishment of the first universities in the 11th century in Europe until the 20th century, the mission of educating society and developing fundamental knowledge has been praised (often stressing the principles of the Humboldtian university), and the state has assumed the function of financing higher education (HE). Since the 1980s, universities have found themselves expected to ensure that their activities cohere with the developing practical needs of society, and that they can provide services that meet market conditions, that is, that can compete for customers and generate revenue for their services (through tuition fees, contracted work, etc.) This illustrates the apparent shift of HE from a public good to a private good, or tradeable service, during the last two decades. Public goods are defined by two characteristics: (1) Non-excludability—it is impossible to exclude non-payers from consuming the good, and (2) non-rivalry in consumption—additional people consuming the good does not diminish the benefit to others Considering the latter definition, it is evident that, in most countries, HE is no longer entirely a public good. People who do not pay for education services may be excluded; there are many countries where individuals, and not the state, cover study costs; and there are more and more paid

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