Measuring the knowledge transfer efficiency of social science in Chinese universities from a think tank perspective

This paper aims to observe the transformation of Chinese universities into think tanks and the adoption of new forms of promoting knowledge transfer in the social sciences, addressing the current lack of quantitative research on this topic in academia. The study introduces a two-stage network DEA and Malmquist index to analyze the transfer of social sciences in universities. The transfer process is divided into scientific research and knowledge transfer stages, and their changes from 2011 to 2019 are measured. The findings are as follows: Firstly, from 2011 to 2019, the global efficiency of universities increased from 0.415 to 0.469. Research efficiency improved from 0.506 to 0.597, and transfer efficiency increased from 0.117 to 0.218. This indicates intensified competition in both research and transfer stages, although knowledge transfer is still at a relatively low level. Secondly, the overall efficiency of universities declined by an average of 1.5 % per year. Research efficiency declined by 2.8 % per year, while transformation efficiency improved by 9.6 % per year. Thirdly, the decline in efficiency is not due to a reduction in the academic competence of the university but is influenced by publishing factors. Additionally, the potential for improvement in transfer efficiency is limited by the number of senior officials and their attention resources. Lastly, due to the regulation that research reports are equivalent to journal papers in Chinese universities, there may be signs of knowledge transfer replacing basic research in a few universities. This could potentially harm the basic research of Chinese social sciences. The experience of Chinese universities can provide a reference for promoting the knowledge transfer of social sciences in other countries.