The role of institutional reputation in mediating post-PhD careers. The case of Chinese elite universities
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11166327 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sangge Qi (0009-0007-1553-2842, University of Turku, corresponding author), Ulpukka Isopahkala-Bouret (0000-0002-8535-8874, University of Turku), Hanna Nori (0000-0002-6612-9830, University of Turku) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 193-212 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | British Journal of Sociology of Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0142-5692 • E-ISSN: 1465-3346 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/01425692.2025.2585323 |
| OpenAlex | W4417422962 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 58 |
Amid rising doctoral populations and growing diversification inpost-PhD careers beyond academia, the disproportionate increase inemployment opportunities for doctorate holders has created height-ened pressures on doctoral graduates to improve their relative employ-ability. This is particularly pronounced in high-participation highereducation systems such as China, where post-graduation competitionis complicated by the reputational status of institutions attended.Drawing on interviews with Chinese Social Science and Humanitiesdoctoral graduates associated with distinct institutional affiliations ofC9 and non-C9 League universities, this paper explores the mediatingrole of institutional reputation in graduates’ negotiations of labor marketpositionings. Building on the concept of institutional habitus, the anal-ysis illustrates how institutional reputation is constructed and internal-ized such that it operates as both a structural and emotional mediator,shaping the ways graduates position themselves within the labormarket queue and their strategic responses to positional competition
Elite · Higher education · Institutional theory · Meritocracy · Reputation · Corporate Identity and Reputation · Higher Education Governance and Development · Management and Organizational Studies
Habitus and the psychosocial
Institutional Logics
Gender and Precarious Research Careers
Geography-mediated institutionalised cultural capital
Decision making of PhD students regarding careers and employment in East Asia
The Covid-19 pandemic and post-graduation outcomes
A different ‘feel’, a different will
Let nine universities blossom
The expansion of doctoral education and the changing nature and purpose of the doctorate
Rethinking Doctoral Education
Working-Class Boys and Educational Success
Making our Way through the World
The Logic of Practice
One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis
Rural-urban gap and career preparation trajectories in a Chinese elite university
The rural-urban divide, intergroup relations, and social identity formation of rural migrant children in a Chinese urban school
Isomorphism, Diversification, and Strategic Ambiguity
Massification of higher education, graduate employment and social mobility in the Greater China region
Institutional habitus in context
A future of endless possibilities? Institutional habitus and international students’ post-study aspirations and transitions
Meritocracy and the Gaokao
Gatekeepers or facilitators
The significance of materiality in shaping institutional habitus
The influence of hukou and college education in China’s labour market
Assessing the Effects of University Reputation and City Image on International Student Destination Choice
The Cognitive Origins of Bourdieu's Habitus
Using thematic analysis in psychology
It's all becoming a habitus
Employability in a Knowledge-driven Economy
The field of graduate recruitment
Are postgraduate qualifications the 'new frontier of social mobility
Competing perspectives on graduate employability
Purist or pragmatist? UK doctoral scientists' moral positions on the knowledge economy
Knowledge or science-based economy? The employment of UK PhD graduates in research roles beyond academia
Making a Difference
Symbolic Closure
Ordinary, Ambivalent and Defensive
Bourdieu and organizational analysis
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |