Policies in Place but Faculty Remain Silent: A Micro-Level Empirical Study on the Crisis of Institutional Trust in Academic Research Governance

Abstract

As "research-driven development" becomes central to the internal advancement of higher vocational colleges, research governance effectiveness has emerged as a key indicator of institutional quality. However, in many local colleges, despite the frequent issuance of research policies, faculty engagement and research output remain low—revealing a governance paradox of “policy presence but incentive failure.” This study takes C College as a case, analyzing its core research policies from 2020 to 2024. Using the Policy Modeling Consistency (PMC) model, policy design quality is structurally assessed, and a dual-path regression model is constructed based on publication data to test both the direct and lagged effects of policy quality on research performance. Results show a significant positive correlation between PMC scores and research output, with stronger effects over time, indicating that institutional incentives can guide mid-term faculty behavior. However, ineffective policy implementation and mismatched administrative capacity substantially undermine this impact. The study highlights that improving research governance in local vocational colleges requires not only well-designed policies but also enhanced execution grounded in trust and organizational capacity.