| This qualitative case study examines the rationales of the relationship between Arizona State University (ASU)---an American public research university---and Tecnologico de Monterrey (ITESM), a Mexican private not for profit research university. The focus of the study is to document the different meanings participants attached to the rationales of this international interuniversity relationship.;The conceptual framework draws from internationalization of higher education and interpretive policy analysis literature. Qualitative methodologies were utilized in both data collection and analysis. Data consisted of institutional policy documents, a ranking survey, and semi-structured interviews with faculty, administrators, and senior leadership from both universities.;This study demonstrates that the rationales of the ASU-ITESM relationship are complex and dynamic. They have a function (e.g., declared, interpreted, enacted) and meanings attached (e.g., type, scope, and priority). Declared rationales were expressed in an ideal state in institutional policy. Those were interpreted by the participants according to their individual sense-making framework, thus becoming the interpreted rationales. Participants acted upon such understandings; these enacted rationales refer to the real rationales shaping the inter-university relationship.;Findings also show there were three different categories of meanings participants attached to rationales, based on their type, scope and priority. In terms of type, rationales took the form of values, interests and needs, or expected benefits; they can also be academic, economic, political, or social/cultural. In scope, rationales are broad or specific addressing the relationship overall or specific initiatives within; they target individual, organizational, or societal levels. As for priority, participants interpreted and acted upon rationales with high, moderate or low importance influenced by their job position (e.g., faculty, administrators, senior leadership).;In addition, findings reveal the key characteristics and contextual factors of the ASU-ITESM relationship. Participants recurrently refer to it as a strategic alliance or partnership, stressing atypical aspects of its formation, approaches, and comprehensiveness. Emerging evidence suggested factors of both regional macrocontext and organizational mezzo-context that may facilitate or hinder the advancement of the relationship. The study concludes with a discussion on the contributions of this investigation to the field of international education and remaining future research implications. |
