EN
Independent colleges, as transitional form of higher education and spin off organizations
in the Chinese context, are inseparable from the dependence on the resources of parent
organizations. Meanwhile, independent colleges' dual role comes from considering not only
the public good nature of education but also the for profit of investment returns. In view of
the dual role feature and heavy dependence on external resources, this study endeavors to
define the organizational capability of independent colleges and how it is formed and
developed.
From the perspective of the paradox lens and taken Xinhua College as research object,
this study analyzes the capability building process of spin off organizations and their
innovative pattern. The findings are : (1) The process of organizational capability building of
independent colleges can be revealed through the dynamic interactive pattern of internal
replication and internal innovation. (2) The evolutionary path of the independent colleges'
organizational capability is a cyclic construction process with three stages, namely , "fr om
external to internal", "capability retention" and "from internal to external". (3) Affected by
environmental pressures and opportunities, independent colleges explore balances between
public welfare and commercial behaviors. Meanwhile, under the joint promotion of
environmental cognition and paradox balance system, independent colleges build the internal
innovation capability and complete the cyclical construction of organizational capabilities.
The main contributions are: (1) It explores the organizational capabilities of independent
colleges in China and deepens the research on organizational capabilities of independent
colleges; (2) After exploring the evolutionary process of organizational capabilities of
independent college s , this study concludes propositions on the evolution of organizational
capability process; (3) It explores the interaction pattern between the paradox balance system
and the organization’s dual formation role of organizational capabilities. (4) It reveals the
innovation pattern which promotes the innovative motivation of spin off organizations.