Differential Effects of Research Funding Types on Academic Career Achievements

Amid growing reliance on performance-based governance in global higher education, research funding plays a critical role in shaping academic trajectories. This study investigates the differential effects of project-based and talent-related funding on scholarly achievements in China, drawing on Bourdieu's theory of capital. Using a dataset of 17,134 SCI-indexed publications and funding records from E University, we employed stepwise regression models to assess the impact of funding types on research output, collaboration, promotion, talent titles, and technological awards. Findings reveal that project-based funding primarily boosts research productivity and publication quality, strengthening cultural capital. Conversely, talent-related funding is more strongly associated with academic mobility, broader collaboration networks, and institutional recognition, key indicators of social and symbolic capital. For instance, talent fund recipients were 34.2% more likely to be promoted to professorship and 56.9% more likely to secure national talent titles. These results demonstrate how funding schemes act as mechanisms for stratifying academic opportunity, rather than just financial instruments. This study offers critical insights into designing funding policies that foster more balanced and inclusive academic development across diverse higher education systems.