Breaking the Cycle: Integrating Internal and Social Marketing to Unlock Well-Being in Chinese Academia

Most deaths by suicide happen in low- and middle-income countries (World Health Organisation, 2019). China as one of the most populous nations, accounts for 15% of global suicide death, highlighting a need for suicide research (Cheng et al., 2021). Long working hours have been shown to deteriorate mental health amongst workers (Ma, 2023) leading to contributing about 600,000 annual deaths from "Guolaosi" or overwork (Monet, 2014).
Recently, suicides among young academics in Chinese Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have drawn attention to the tenure-track system (Chinadaily, 2025; Mallapaty, 2021). Introduced in 1994 by Tsinghua University, this system selects high performing academics a probation period to enhance university rankings. The "Double First-class Initiative" has further enforced the up-or-out model to attract top talents (Cao et al., 2024; Chinadaily, 2025; Xu et al., 2023). Faculty members must meet strict criteria within six years or face transfer or dismissal, with only 25%-30% passing probation (Wang and Wang, 2024). Therefore, young academics grapple with intensive pressure and serious burnout. The resulting burnout impacts academic performance and governance, prompting public concern over mental health (Xu et al., 2023).
Social marketing - the application of marketing to the solution of social and health problems (Kotler and Zaltman 1971; McDemott et al., 2005) - promotes voluntary behaviour change using tools such as segmentation, targeting, and value exchange (Smith, 2006; Stead et al., 2007; Truong, 2014). In Chinese academic culture, overwork is often as a form of self-exploitation (Ren and Liu, 2021), while seeking mental health support carries stigma. Changing this behaviour is essential, and suicide prevention must consider the specific pressures facing academics (Wu et al., 2025). Collaborative actions from institutions, public health organisations, and policymakers are essential.
However, most research focuses on downstream social marketing - targeting individual behavioural - while upstream strategies that foster institutional change remains largely unexplored (Truong et al., 2019). Internal marketing (IM) treats organisations as internal markets, viewing employees as internal customers, and jobs as internal products (Berry et al., 1976). When employees feel valued, they respond with greater engagement and positive behaviour (Gouraris, 2006; Lings and Greenley, 2010).
This study proposes integrating internal marketing with social marketing – forming an Internal Social Marketing (ISM) – to instigate behavioural and cultural change within organisations (Smith, 2011). ISM can destigmatise access to mental health resources, reward healthy work behaviours and address self-exploitation. Through IM, universities can better respond to young academic needs, making ISM interventions more effective and contributing to broader social impact.
To explore this, a qualitative study using focus groups will be conducted with young academics from Chinese HEIs, public health professionals, and policymakers. Together they will co-design an ISM programme aimed at fostering behavioural, promoting supportive institutional cultures and contributing to suicide prevention and overall wellbeing in academic settings.