Why Do International Branch Campuses Fail? A Systematic Review of Failure Patterns and Pathways

Yuxi Sun

2026

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DOI 10.62051/jedss.v1n4.04

Data confidence 70 medium

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Abstract

Why do International Branch Campuses fail? This systematic review synthesizes literature from 2000 to 2026 to answer this question. Drawing on resource dependence theory, stakeholder theory, and institutional theory, we identify four failure types: financial, governance-related, legitimacy-based, and mixed. We analyze root causes across resource, governance, context, and individual levels. Based on Jones (2023) and case analysis, we identify four failure pathways: rapid collapse, gradual decline, conflict eruption, and legitimacy erosion. Three research gaps are identified: limited comparative analysis of failure cases, lack of longitudinal studies, and undertheorized failure pathways. The review offers a conceptual framework and directions for future research.