Failure or Not? Talent Policies to Attract College Students in Medium-Sized Cities in China
A Case Study of Yantai
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 16914865 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Shaohong Liao (0000-0002-3181-9161, Shandong Institute of Business and Technology), Chunling Song (0000-0001-6171-0848, Shandong Institute of Business and Technology, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | SAGE Open (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2158-2440 • E-ISSN: 2158-2440 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/21582440251384765 |
| OpenAlex | W4415153909 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 37 |
The intensifying competition for talent among Chinese cities has encouraged local governments to implement proactive talent policies as a strategic priority. Unlike their metropolitan counterparts, medium-sized cities face heightened challenges in talent acquisition and retention. Nonetheless, a conspicuous gap persists in understanding the tangible ramifications of talent policy implementation and the underlying drivers of talent attraction. This research focuses on Yantai City, a coastal urban center in eastern China, as a specific case study to investigate how talent policies in medium-sized cities on the intention of college students to remain in their educational locales, using push-pull theory. In collaboration with university student affairs departments, we used stratified sampling to conduct an online survey of graduates from five major undergraduate institutions in Yantai City, obtaining 1,872 valid responses. Using regression analysis and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), our study reveals that talent policies do not exert a significant effect on the students’ intention to stay in the city, failing to achieve desired outcomes. Conversely, emotional support mechanisms and the overall quality of urban life demonstrate a positive association with the inclination to stay. Notably, insufficient emotional support diminishes the efficacy of talent policies to a certain degree. This study offers valuable insights into the multifaceted determinants shaping the post-graduation decisions of college students, thereby informing the refinement of talent policies
Metropolitan area · Qualitative research · Stratified sampling · Talent development · Talent Management · Global Educational Reforms and Inequalities · Higher Education Learning Practices · Human Resource and Talent Management
Fuzzy-Set Social Science
Population mobility in developing countries
Redesigning Social Inquiry
Configural analysis of the drinking man
The Laws of Migration
Common method biases in behavioral research
An exploration on the flow of leading research talents in China
Configurational Comparative Methods
Set-Theoretic Methods for the Social Sciences
The role of psychosocial risks in burnout, psychosomatic disorders, and job satisfaction
Human capital portability and international student migration
Human capital, housing prices, and regional economic development
What attracts young talents? Understanding the migration intention of university students to first-tier cities in China
A theory of migration
Cities’ attraction and retention of graduates
Push-Pull Migration Laws
Analyzing Migration Decisionmaking
Push-pull plus
| Highly cited | No |
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