THE INTERNATIONALISATION OF EMERGING MARKET HIGHER EDUCATION PROVIDERS: EXPLORING TRANSNATIONAL PROVISION

  • Eliza Russell

Abstract

The delivery of transnational higher education by emerging market providers is a relatively new
phenomenon. While much has been written about mainly British, U.S. and Australian providers
delivering higher education programs offshore, this paper explores the transnational delivery
of education by two universities from emerging markets: Mexico's Sistema Tecnológico de
Monterrey (Tec de Monterrey) and Malaysia's Limkokwing University of Creative Technology.
By developing a comprehensive listing of the universities' transnational engagement and
motivations, and comparing them to traditional and contemporary firm internationalisation
theories, the paper is able to highlight some of the key similarities and differences between the
theory and practise in the context of emerging market transnational education providers. The
paper finds that, despite the unique character of the sector, the patterns of internationalisation
of Sistema Tecnológico de Monterrey and Limkokwing University of Creative Technology
are similar to those of firms in other industries. Furthermore, recent theories explaining the
internationalisation of developing country multinationals help to understand the speed at
which both universities have internationalised and some of the business and non-business
advantages gained from delivering programs abroad.
Keywords: Transnational Education; Internationalisation, Emerging Markets,
Internationalisation Theories, Higher Education, Mexico, Malaysia.

Published
2017-11-30
How to Cite
Russell, E. (2017). THE INTERNATIONALISATION OF EMERGING MARKET HIGHER EDUCATION PROVIDERS: EXPLORING TRANSNATIONAL PROVISION. International Journal of Business and Society, 16(2). https://doi.org/10.33736/ijbs.568.2015