Does Institutional Governance Matter in Academics' Job Attitudes? A Comparative Study in Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.

In the past few decades, higher education institutions (HEIs) in East Asia have undergone significant changes, increasing emphasis on global competencies and the rising influence of institutional governance, which have significantly impacted academics' job attitudes toward workplaces (Huang, 2020). This study explores how institutional governance influences academics'Job attitudes (job satisfaction and Job inability) in East Asia, respectively, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. A total of 4,084 participants, including 1,224 Taiwanese, 2,013 Japanese, and 847 Korean academics, were recruited to complete the international Academic Profession in the. Knowledge Society (APIKS) survey, examining the change of academic work in HEIs. Two findings are made: (1) Institutional governance of good communication between management and academics significantly and positively predicts academics' job satisfaction; and (2) The effects of institutional governance of a cumbersome administrative process on academics' job inability were significantly moderated by respondents' tenure, with stronger relationships observed in tenured academics than non-tenured ones in Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. This study provides insight into the relationship between institutional governance and academics' job attitudes toward working environments in these three East Asian countries. It also offers empirical evidence for HEIs and administrators to implement academic policies and leadership to promote better governance and academics'Job attitudes in HEIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]