Cross cultural partnership development in higher education : a case study of a UK Business School and five international institutions

Chapter One: Introduction: This chapter will introduce the background to the study, the focus and significance of the research, and identify the aims and objectives of the research. The chapter will also include the research questions, proposed methodology and contribution to knowledge. Chapter 2: Literature Review: This chapter will provide an overview of cross-cultural relationship management in higher education. A review of the current cultural difference models including Hofstede's cultural dimensions and the concept of psychic distance. The chapter will further explore strategic relationship development, international partnership typologies, and the role of internationalisation in higher education. Staff knowledge, experience, and selection will be discussed in the context of higher education. Identification of a theoretical framework will be made to enable exploration of the entities and processes adopted by the institutions to support the analysis. Chapter 3: Research Methodology: This chapter will contain a critical review of available research methods. A review of the different research stages, research philosophy and approaches will be analysed. The focus of the research will be identified, and the research design and strategy discussed. The case study approach will be detailed including design, questions, propositions, analysis tools and reliability and validity. Case selection will be discussed for both institutions on participants followed by a description of the analysis methods adopted. Chapter 4: Results and Discussion: The chapter will focus on the research collected from the semi-structured open ended interviews with all the participant supported by the embedded observational research and document analysis. Thematic analysis will be employed to identify key themes arising from the data collection in relation to the research questions. Chapter 5 – Conclusions and Recommendations: The chapter will evaluate the findings of the research in relation to the aims and objectives reviewing the theoretical framework to identify key areas of interest. Relationships to the models examined in the literature review will be related to the findings of the case study and any generalisable recommendation will be made.