Performing under ‘the baton of administrative power’? Chinese academics’ responses to incentives for international publications

Abstract Incentivizing international publications is a current topic of national debate in China and some other non-English-speaking countries, echoing the discussion of managerialism in many other contexts. However, there is a shortage of research to conceptualize academics’ responses with empirical evidence. The study draws on 65 in-depth interviews with humanities and social sciences academics at six Chinese universities. It proposes two typologies to categorize academics’ affective responses (proactive, adaptive, resistant, hesitant, and detached) and behavioural responses (reconciling, rejecting, reforming, and rebelling). Building on the typologies, a framework is developed to explain the complicated relationship between incentives and publications. In addition, findings suggest that incentives imposed through administrative power could challenge academics’ agency. The study thereby proposes a reconsideration and reconstruction of current incentive schemes, to move beyond managerialism and towards the integration of intrinsic academic values.