Reputation Profiles of Chinese Universities - Converging with Global Trends or National Characteristics?

Abstract

Reputation management varies across contexts, and it is of theoretical importance to compare reputation symbols in different countries. In this chapter we examine reputation management profiles of universities in China, and compare their strategies with other countries. A content analysis of 146 universities reveals that performative and professional symbols are much more presented in official websites than moral ones, suggesting reputation profiles of Chinese universities is converging with global trends but also diverging with national characteristics. Universities in China are rather similar in reputation management, and larger, older, high-ranked, and general and engineering universities are generally more likely to use performative symbols than smaller, younger, low-ranked, and other specialized universities. Our findings generate helpful implications for future research avenues and policy suggestions.