The Impact of Internationalization on Organizational Innovation

Internalization is a pressing challenge facing higher education in the current trend of globalization. Many researches have been conducted with respect to the theme of internalization in higher education, while little work has organizational innovation within the university to keep up with the strategies for internationalization. The authors made a case study in a prominent university in China, referred to as U in this paper. Utilizing the qualitative research interview, this paper first discussed the barriers to internationalization at U, and then identified the strategic priorities in the process of internationalization. Applying the strategy-structure model of organizational innovation, this paper further proposed an innovative management structure in order to enhance internationalization. The paper argues that although this management structure was posited with regard to the case of U, it is generalizable in that it was formed based on the general characteristics and connotation of internationalization. The authors believe that this paper is able to provide university administrators with some insight into organizational innovation so as to reconsider their efforts in accelerating internationalized development.