How do new university presidents affect research performance? Measuring the impact of pervious career paths in China

Who will be more beneficial to the research performance of public universities, an externally recruited president or one promoted from the inside? Data on 392 president successions appointed at Chinese public universities during the timeframe 2000–2019 show that outsider presidents on average make a more positive contribution than ones hailing from within. More particularly, this outsider premium is amplified for younger presidents or for those with advanced work experience, whereas this premium appears to be reduced for presidents transferred from university located far away or for those lacking social ties with the recruiting university. In this study, theories of organizational adaptation and disruption in public universities were leveraged to generate findings which can assist Chinese universities in selecting the most suitable president to maximize research performance. Additionally, this study offers insights into the global implications of these findings.