University presidents’ international education experience and the internationalization of higher education institutions: a study of leadership in China

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the context of deepening globalization, accelerating the internationalization of higher education is the core development mission and important development mode of higher education today. This study investigates the impact of university presidents’ international education experience on the associated Chinese institutions’ internationalization. Based on imprinting theory, we argue that international education experiences received during sensitive periods leave an imprint on presidents concerning overseas countries, which may further impact their cognitive structures, enabling them to make strategic decisions conducive to international expansion. We manually collected multidimensional data from 868 Chinese general higher education institutions (HEIs) and 1,863 university presidents between 2001 and 2017. The results reveal that university presidents’ international education experiences significantly enhance the level of internationalization in HEIs. Additionally, when the country where presidents obtained international experiences has a closer cultural distance to China or the government in the location where presidents serve shows greater attention to higher education, can strengthen the positive impact of presidents’ international experiences on HEIs internationalization. This study makes important theoretical contributions to leadership literature, internationalization of higher education literature, and imprinting theory. It also has practical significance for the development and promotion of university presidents.