Abstract:
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Drawing on modern management theory, organization theory, and empirical studies in the field of education, this paper seeks to examine inter-organizational collaboration (IOC) effectiveness in the field of higher education. The study focuses on the relationship between Vietnamese Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and foreign academic partners in international joint programs (JPs). The objectives of this study are: 1) to identify the determinants of IOC, aimed at achieving effectiveness of IOC in JPs between Vietnamese HEIs and foreign counterparts; 2) to examine the effects of resource demand and supply, institutional factors, contingency factors, and process factors on the effectiveness of IOC in international JPs. The third objective also seeks to explore the direct and indirect causal effects of the determinants of the effectiveness of IOC in international JPs. A multi-theoretical conceptual framework is therefore proposed to explore the determinants influencing IOC effectiveness. The key notion is that resource supply and demand, institutional factors, contingency factors, and process factors at HEIs in international joint programs all influence IOC effectiveness. Various assumptions were hypothesized to study the direct and indirect causal effects of the determinants of the international joint program effectiveness. Using survey data gathered from 106 HEIs with a response rate of 92 percent, the statistical findings revealed that the proposed model had a significant mediating effect that contributed to IOC effectiveness in international JPs. Based on the causal path model, both internal resource supply and the regulative institutional factor had either direct or indirect positive and significant effects on IOC effectiveness in JPs. In order to achieve effectiveness in international JPs, it is essential to provide more adequate financial support for running the program, qualified human resource capacity, staff competency, and appropriate regulative mechanisms, including policies, laws, rules, and guidelines. In terms of indirect impacts, the normative-cognitive institutional factor had a positive, significant effect on IOC effectiveness through process factors, while external resource demand indicated a positive effect through stakeholders’ participation. These results indicate that the values, social identities, images, experience, quality, and prestige of foreign institution only affect the effectiveness of JPs if there exist a high level of mutual trust and a clear line of communication and information sharing. The study also suggested that when there is greater demand from external resources, with a high level of stakeholder participation in planning and attracting the resources, the IOC effectiveness in JPs is likely to be greater. While the rest of determinants indicated a positive significance, size of city was not significant in determining effectiveness. This explains why the establishment of international JPs in big cities does not guarantee greater student recruitment or lead to its effectiveness. The study further indicates that HEIs in medium and small cities, where population is not a key issue, can also achieve effectiveness in their international joint programs. Therefore, there is a need to consider other major factors regarding effectiveness, such as processes, resources, policies, social values, communication, trust, joint decision making, and stakeholder participation. As a result, this research provides both theoretical and practical contributions for improving the effectiveness of IOC in the international JPs between Vietnamese higher education institutions and their foreign counterparts. Additionally, this study also revealed empirical results regarding the antecedents affecting international JPs effectiveness in terms of either direct or indirect impacts. Therefore, efforts should be invested in the strengthening of internal resource supply, regulative institutional factors, process factors, and stakeholders’ participation in order to competitively meet current and future demands for higher education.
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