The Configuration of Action Space in the Governance Structures of Chinese Universities: An Analysis of Interview Data

Abstract This paper presents an analytical framework of the configuration of the action space in the governance structure of Chinese universities from the perspectives of formal and informal structures and gives concrete explanations of the factors in the analytical framework based on data from interviews with party committee general secretaries and presidents of 16 Chinese universities. The study found that informal relationships play an important role in governing Chinese universities and are an important aspect in creating the diverse state and action space configuration of university governance. This partially reflects the loose coupling properties of this system.