Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the impact of domestic mobility on Chinese scientists’ academic performance and explores the predictors influencing their chances of moving to more prestigious institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
Using publication and affiliation data from OpenAlex, we identified 2,896 scientists who relocated between cities in China from 2014 to 2017. We applied propensity score matching (PSM) to compare their academic outcomes post-mobility with a matched group of non-mobile peers. Multiple performance metrics were examined, including publication count, citation impact, number of collaborators, and university prestige. Ordered logistic regression was used to analyze factors influencing moves to higher-level institutions.
Findings
Mobility enhances collaboration by increasing the number of coauthors but is associated with a short-term decline in citation impact. Scientists were more likely to move to lower-prestige universities. However, prior collaboration breadth and citation count positively predicted transitions to more prestigious institutions, while the number of publications did not.
Research limitations
This study focuses on intra-national mobility within China from 2014 to 2017 and relies on quantitative data, lacking personal or qualitative variables such as gender, discipline-specific norms, or institutional culture. Data coverage for Chinese-language publications may also be limited.
Practical implications
This research provides insights into academic hiring patterns and the trade-offs involved in scientist mobility. It offers valuable guidance for institutions aiming to enhance faculty recruitment and retention, as well as for researchers considering career transitions.
Originality/value
This is a quantitative analysis of domestic scientist mobility in China using matched comparison and multi-dimensional academic indicators. The integration of university prestige metrics (Double First-Class and citation-based rankings) offers a nuanced view of career dynamics within the Chinese higher education system.