Involvement of China and its close partners in the international open access movement: Quantitative analysis and benchmarking approach

A quantitative assessment of China and its close partners’ involvement in the Open Access movement was conducted using a specially developed index ranging from zero to one. The index is based on three groups of indicators with different weights: Open Access repositories and journals (highest weight), Open Access policies (average weight), and signatories to Open Access initiatives (lowest weight). China's closest partners include 10 ASEAN countries, Russia, and 5 post-Soviet Central Asian countries. The results identify three groups of countries. Indonesia leads with a significant gap ahead of Russia and China, whose index values range between 0.3 and 0.5. The third group of 14 countries trails far behind with index values between 0.0 and 0.08. A correlation-regression analysis was performed to rank the countries according to the index under study, which revealed the stability of this ranking in its upper layer. An explanation for this phenomenon can be found in the Matthew effect and Cumulative Advantage Distribution. Regular index calculations combined with benchmarking methodology are suggested to link target index values to Open Access best practices. The conclusion will propose measures to increase the participation of less developed countries in ASEAN and Central Asia in the OA movement.