Straddling and struggling: TNE expatriate academics as boundary spanners

This study explores the experiences and conflicts faced by expatriate academics in the transnational higher education (TNE) sector in China, one of the major global hubs for TNE. Using Boundary Theory, the research conceptualises expatriate academics as boundary spanners, proposing a conceptual model to provide deeper insight into the conflicts arising from institutional systems, language and cultural norms, work-life integration, and identity alienation. Based on semi-structured interviews with 31 academics across 16 Sino-foreign joint institutions in 10 cities in China, this study uncovers significant challenges, including navigating dual institutional demands, managing language and cultural barriers, and coping with blurred boundaries between work and personal life. The research highlights the strategies employed by expatriate academics, such as deepening their understanding of local systems, leveraging local collaborations, reclaiming personal space, and fostering identity independence. These boundary-spanning strategies not only help manage role conflicts and bridge cultural divides but also contribute to their professional integration and sense of belonging. This study contributes to international higher education research by conceptualising TNE boundary spanning as emotionally demanding and structurally embedded labour. It offers a relational model addressing identity, governance, and cultural dissonance. Practical recommendations urge institutions to move beyond individualised adjustment to promote structural clarity, relational reciprocity, and inclusive support, thus reframing boundary spanning as a collective institutional responsibility within globally entangled academic environments.