embracing the tenets of capitalism, albeit a state-centered capitalist model.  Meanwhile, the legislative trajectory in China’s higher education system is characterized by a move from “state control” to “state supervision.” (Neave & Vught, 1994).  Momentum in all three environments is agitating towards more openness.  This has a direct impact on the relationships that Chinese business education institutions are forging with international partners.

Theoretical Constructs for Defining Joint International Educational Alliances

The higher education environment as a whole is changing dramatically.  Established organizational structures and boundaries defining traditional universities are changing due to developments in the academic, policy, and technological domains (Beerkens, 2002).  Major changes occurring in the academic domain are related to a shift in the production of knowledge from knowledge produced in disciplinary structures to knowledge produced across discipline that is more applications oriented (Gibbons, 1998).  In the policy domain, major changes are related to changes in resource dependencies.  Due to the inability of government funding to keep pace with required growth in higher education, universities are facing a more diversified funding base which is leading to increased institutional autonomy (Clark, 1998).  Lastly, within the technological domain, the impact of computer and communications technology has changed higher education delivery models in addition to redefining relationships among students and academics (Mendivil, 2002).  Changes in these three domains have established conditions that make it attractive for individual higher education entities to establish relationships with other associated entities – whether within the higher educational sphere or outside this sphere.

A number of theoretical constructs have been developed to describe the types of alliances that are emerging (Ginkel, 1996; Harman, 1988; Neave, 1992; Pritchard, 1993; Wachter, 2000; Wit, 2002).  Table 2 presents some of the major theoretical constructs that have been articulated to describe higher education alliances.  The organizing principle that defines these models can generally be described as falling along a continuum that moves from casual, weak, and narrow relationships to more formal, strong and wider sets of relationships. 

Table 2 – Models of International Educational Alliances

Additional research has been undertaken that takes a Meta view of how international alliances can be constructed and implemented.  Beerkens has constructed a comprehensive typology around eight types of international alliances by describing them along three dimensions: size and reach (or scope); nature of integration, and; intensity of the linkages (Beerkens, 2002). 

• Size and Reach: Four dimensions
• Number of participants: dyadic or multifaceted
• Interests of participants: individual institutional interests or collective interests (or advocacy)
• Scope: short-term or long-term
• Activities: disciplinary or thematic
• Nature of integration
• Horizontal integration: arrangements within like institutions (i.e., within higher education institutions)
• Vertical integration: arrangements across sectors (i.e., outside higher education sector)
• Intensity of linkages
• Cooperation: informal, loose, voluntary
• Coordination: formal, defined, chartered
• Amalgamation: formal, new decision making structures

Success in international relationships depends on these factors of size, nature of integration, and intensity of linkages, and how complementary, yet different, the individual participants are (Beerkens & Wende, 2006).  Giventhis typology, forty types of inter-organizational relationships can exist (see Table 3).

Whereas Beerkens looks at the mechanics of international alliances, others look at other

Table 3 –Typology for International Educational Alliances (Beerkens, 2002)

aspects of international alliances.  Ayoubi and Al Habaibeh present a general model that looks at strategy development and implementation of international alliances (Ayoubi & Al-Habaibeh, 2006).  They assert that relationships will be successful when the participants do a good job integrating the strategy development element (i.e., objectives design) with the strategy implementation element (i.e., objectives implementation).  Clear design of objectives combined with an orderly implementation yields success; ambiguous design objectives combined with chaotic implementation yields failure (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 –Elements of International Educational Alliances (Ayoubi & Al-Habaibeh, 2006)

Other authors have looked specifically at the elements of success in Chinese educational alliances.  Willis attributes success in large part to the commitment of the participants (Willis, 2005; Willis 2006).  Major elements of commitment are trust, balance, moderation, “face,” reciprocal behavior, stability, and long-term commitment to the venture.  The concept of “guanxi” – the Chinese expression for the relationship formed between two or more people based on shared responsibility, mutual benefit, and shared gain - plays a very important role in the success of higher education alliances with Chinese institutions.

Willis identifies four dimensions of commitment (Willis, 2005):

• Personal: personal and social interaction among participants
• Organizational: resources, planning structures, operating model
• Affective: emotional attachment to the alliance
• Cognitive: objective value of the alliance to others beyond the immediate participants

He also identifies how commitment must become stronger as an international educational relationship matures (Willis 2004).  Whereas personal, organizational, affective and cognitive commitment is minimal in the initial stages when relationships are forming, they must be deep-rooted and real among each of the institutions’ principals as the relationship matures.  Given the many different obstacles there are to developing a successful relationship, without a true sense of commitment on the part of the parties to the relationship, the probability of failure can be assumed to be very high.  Figure 2 illustrates how Willis relates stages and commitment.

Figure 2 – Stages and Commitment (Willis, 2005)

It is also useful to look at international educational alliances from the perspective of the international partner.  Just as developing economies, such as China, are reaching out to form alliances with proven international partners, international partners from more mature economies – and more mature higher education markets – are looking to form alliances with institutions in developing countries.  Whereas in countries with more mature higher education environments alliances are driven from an economic perspective due to funding cuts and competition from untraditional players, less mature markets are driven by lack of resources (Gibbons, 1998).

While the international constructs presented above describe international educational alliances in general, they can be applied to business education specifically.  There is a body of literature that has been developed specifically for business education.  Hawawini describes the three choices that a mature business school can choose from in developing an international presence: the import model; the export model, and: the network model (Hawawini, 2005). 

• Import Model: The import model “brings the world to the school,” that is, it attracts students, faculty and staff from around the world to the school’s campus with a maximum number of nationalities represented in the school’s programs, its faculty, its administration as well as its governing body.  The main advantage of this model is coordinated delivery of the programs.
• Export Model: The export model is defined by sending faculty and students abroad. The faculty deliver courses off-site – often in rented facilities - but the school’s original campus remains at the center of the entire system. The main advantage of this approach is to expose the faculty and to other countries and cultures, thus enriching their knowledge and experience.  This can then be transferred back to the main campus.
• Network Model:  The network model is the most mature approach to globalize a business school.  It moves to create a multiple-site institution with complete campuses in, ideally, each of the main economic regions of the world (i.e. the Americas, Asia and Europe).  

Practical Implications for International Business Education Alliances in China

The above theoretical discussion provides a number of different entrées for international participation in business education in China.  Three avenues are currently available for the Chinese business education infrastructure that can lead to creating a greater awareness of the environment for Chinese students.  Working within these frameworks has the potential to promote peace and development across borders.

These three frameworks are: program, school, and consortia alliances among traditional higher education institutions and beyond; corporate universities and training programs, and; focused faculty development programs.

Program, School, and Consortia Alliances among Traditional Higher Education Institutions

While Chinese government policy currently supports foreign partnered programs, all foreign-introduced business education programs must be sponsored by a Chinese partner.  These alliances are occurring at the undergraduate, graduate, and executive levels. 

Undergraduate Business Education Alliances

There are few alliances at the undergraduate level that focus specifically on business education.  There have been recent announcements in the United States that point to universities opening up entire campuses in China as a direct extension of their brand.  For example, Keane University and Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province announced that Keane will be the first American university to open a new University campus on Chinese soil (Higgins, 2006).  Other universities, looking to reach the huge Chinese higher education market, have developed models to meet Chinese students in the middle. Farleigh Dickenson University, for example, recently opened up a campus for Chinese students in Vancouver, BC, Canada (Jaschik, 2006).

Since experience is mandatory for participation in Chinese MBA programs, Chinese business education can also be expanded to include international alliances with the small, but growing, number of higher education institutions issuing the pre-experience Masters degree in general management (PEMM) which is granted by the Association of Masters of Business Administration (for more information on the AMBA and the PEMM degree see http://www.mbaworld.com).

Graduate MBA and EMBA Alliances

As Table 1 indicates, there are 96 MBA programs (as of 2005) and 30 EMBA programs (as of 2002) recognized to grant degrees in China.  Many of these programs are joint ventures and there is an increasing number of specialized MBAs  As with business schools in more developed economies that offer MBA and EMBA degrees, a certain few rise to the top. (Note: In the interests of not relying upon third party rankings, I will not attempt in this paper to rank or in any way positively or negatively prejudice specific programs.  The “Complete China MBA Guide 2004” lists all 160 Chinese MBA programs.  Business Week and The World Executive Weekly provide information that attempt to rank order MBA and EMBA programs.)  Figure 3 shows a conceptual model of the relationship among MBA and EMBA programs in China as it relates to class admissions, tuition fees, admissions standards, and number of foreign faculty (Rogers, 2004). 

Figure 3: Hierarchy of MBA and EMBA Programs (Rogers, 2004)

When Business Week Magazine chose to feature top MBA and EMBA programs, many of the programs were partnerships between Chinese and international business schools (Lavelle & Rutledge, 2006). 

With the exception of a disproportionate number of males verses females, the demographic of Chinese MBA students very much resembles MBA candidates in more developed countries (Chunjun, 2004).  Chinese EMBA students, on the other hand are very different.  In China, EMBA programs are very expensive and tend to cater to top executives.  Because business education has only recently arrived in China, most of the senior management of Chinese companies never had the opportunity to study for an MBA early in their careers. As a result, it is not unusual to find EMBA programs in China with a high number of CEOs, general managers, presidents, and vice presidents among the student body. EMBA programs are frequently taught in Chinese as many older executives have not studied English (Chunjun, 2004; Hulme, 2004).

Consortia Alliances

Wider ranging alliances that Chinese business education institutions can engage in are regional and global consortia.  Business education can be enhanced through participation in higher education global consortia such as Universitas 21, an international network of research-intensive universities consisting of 500,000 students and 40,000 academics and researchers in 20 member universities located in 12 different countries and territories. 

Individual school participation in internationally recognized accrediting organizaitons such as the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), Association of MBAs (AMBA), Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), and the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) would expose Chinese business education institutions to the latest developments in teaching content and pedagogy (McAliney, 2006a).  Similarly, Chinese business education institutions should seek to actively join such functional specific professional organizations such as the Institute for Higher Educational Policy (IHEP), Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGBUC), Center for Innovation in Social Responsibility (CISR), and the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP).

Lastly, participation in consortia that go well beyond the perimeter of higher education – such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - will help Chinese business education start to become more aware of its role in promoting peace and development in its region and across borders.  ASEAN is chartered to “accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavors that treat all partners equally and through partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian nations.” (see http://www.aseansec.org/).  China could make a significant contribution, as well as learn, from member nations in many areas, including business education.

Corporate Universities and Training Programs

With the expansion of capitalism in China, many foreign companies have established factories and other operations in China.  Whether companies choose a global, international, multi-domestic, or transnational strategy, a common thread is that some level of local employment will be required.  Some level of knowledge will need to be transferred from the home country to China if the foreign firm will achieve competitive advantage from their Chinese operations.  Knowledge management, then, becomes an important core competency that will enable companies to be successful in their international joint venture (Eunni, Kasuganti, & Kos, 2006).

Many firms have established corporate universities to help them leverage knowledge within their organizations (Rademakers, 2005).  Development of corporate universities and specific training of the Chinese work force offers another venue to create alliances in Chinese business education.  International partners of Chinese companies are expanding their corporate universities to include their Chinese business partners.  This has led to increased product, process, organization, and business innovation.

As noted earlier, the shortage of management talent is creating stress on the Chinese economy’s growth due to high turnover rate of top managers.  Companies with Chinese operations are beginning to pursue a number of employee retention initiatives, one of which is expansion of corporate universities (Van Dam, 2005). GE, Deloitte, L’Oreal, McDonald’s, Motorola, and other large multi-nationals have established corporate universities and leadership development programs in China.  These companies have also established partnerships with top-tier Chinese universities.  Training programs at these companies are focusing on professional management competencies such as risk and quality management, international management, communications, cross cultures team building, entrepreneurship, project management, accounting, sales, marketing and other professional management skills.  Of particular note, not surprisingly, is the extent to which Motorola University China has become a world class corporate university in its own right (Shaw, 2005).

Focused Faculty Development Programs

Perhaps one of the largest deficiencies in the Chinese business education infrastructure is the lack of qualified, experienced faculty.  Chinese business schools with an international outlook are aware of the problem and most have formed a three-pronged approach to improve faculty in their business education programs (Shaw, 2005):

1. Attract back Chinese professors who are teaching overseas or recruit new faculty who received their doctoral degrees in the US or Europe;
2. Send existing faculty to train in some of the top business schools, especially in the US, and;
3.  Attract top US and European professors to teach in their programs as visiting faculty and to learn from them.

At Tsinghua University in Beijing, for example, their goal is that for every one Ph.D. they recruit locally, they attempt to hire two Ph.D.s from the United States (Shaw, 2005).

A number of alliances have been developed to conduct faculty development for Chinese business educators.  The first international program addressing faculty training for business educators was established in 1982 between the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Chinese State Education Commission (Deng & Wang, 1992).  Starting from a pilot program with just eight universities participating from Canada and China, the program continues to this day on a much larger scale. 

MIT Sloan established the “MIT-China Management Education Project” in 1996 with two Chinese educational institutions — Tsinghua University in Beijing and Fudan University in Shanghai. Lingnan College at Zhongshan University in Guangzhou joined the project in 1999. MIT Sloan also provides support for the MBA Program at Yunnan University in Kunming through training of its MBA faculty.  This model is unique in that it brings Chinese faculty to MIT Sloan to work with MIT Sloan faculty and take classes with MIT Sloan MBA students. The visiting professors incorporate the knowledge that they have acquired in the Sloan School classroom into the curriculum and teaching formats at their own universities (http://mitsloan.mit.edu/globalmitsloan/china.php).

Harvard Business School's Program sponsors the “Case Method and Participant-Centered Learning” program to Asian business educators.  This program provides guidance and support regarding best practices in management education (Silverthorne, 2006). This ten-day program, gong on its second year, is taught by a team of ten HBS faculty.  It is a highly intensive program and includes six or more classes and seminars each day. The participants learn how to design a course, research and write an effective case, and lead intensive discussions in the classroom based on real-life business situations. Given the cultural inclination for Asian learners to be passive in the classroom (Liu Xiuwu, 1996), this program addresses how to make business courses more participant-centered learning experiences at their home universities.

Conclusion

China’s higher education system is an undeveloped asset.  Macro economic forces, political trends and higher education legislation have all been moving in the direction of creating a new brand of capitalism – Chinese Capitalism – that has become the underlying economic driver contributing to double digit annual GDP growth in China.  This growth, however, is not without cost.  Perhaps the biggest cost this growth has caused China internally has been inefficient input resource usage.  This continues to negatively impact the environment and has caused strains with China’s neighbors.  Human resource efficiency, in terms of productivity, has also been low.  A major contributing factor for this low productivity growth is the lack of trained professional managers within Chinese companies.  This has its roots in a higher education and business education infrastructure that is not equipped to keep pace with the demands being placed on it.

In order to sustain the economic growth that China envisions, it will need assistance from partners outside the country.  Business education, a growing segment of China’s higher education system, in turn has started to obtain support in the form of educational alliances at all levels in the higher education system (undergraduate, graduate, and executive), through the creation and expansion of corporate universities, and through initiatives by foreign educators to educate business education faculty.  

With assistance at all of these levels, the higher education infrastructure can begin to strengthen.  As the higher education system matures, and with the sensitivities that foreign alliance partners bring with them, business education will start to incorporate more socially responsive business practices that will result in a greater awareness of the environment.  This will promote peace and development across borders.

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