Boundary organizations in transnational academic labor markets

Boundary organizations such as EURAXESS China and the Galileo Galilei Italian Institute play a pivotal role in sustaining EU–China academic cooperation amid growing political sensitivity, funding uncertainty, and research-security concerns. Drawing on boundary-organization theory, this managerial insight compares the two intermediaries as “boots-on-the-ground” infrastructures that translate policy priorities into workable institutional routines and individual career opportunities. Using document-based and secondary evidence, the article shows how both organizations maintain dual accountability to funders and mobile researchers, deploy boundary objects, and build bilingual translation capacity and credible neutrality. Cross-case synthesis yields five design principles for managers: anchor legitimacy while preserving flexibility, manage a portfolio of boundary objects, invest in translation as capability, ensure visible neutrality, and treat boundary-spanning roles as strategic talent.