This chapter explains how this study is going to be conducted and explains the research process, this includes research approach, framework, participants and sampling, data collection techniques and data analysis.
Research Approach
The research was conducted in qualitative approach. Mertens (2005) noted that qualitative methods are appropriate techniques to be utilized as an understanding of the constructions held by individuals in the context. Sometimes it is not accurate to examine the research based on the absolute reality, but better to be define through community consensus. As for the nature of the research questions (Mertens, 2005), this study focused on the process and development of SIEs. In- depth information was also required for digging up more details about SIEs. Last but not least, this study concentrated on the topic of motivation and integration of SIE. The use of mixed methods such as short questionnaires and semi- structured interview, provided a more detailed and clear picture of the phenomena under study.
In order to achieve the purpose of the study, several research methods were used for data collection and data analysis. The study conducted interviews and short questionnaires to explore the responses of the participants to gather more information.
Data was collected from a survey of Taiwanese SIEs who are working in China.
Research Framework
The aim of the study was to explore both motivation to migrate and motivation to integrate among self-initiated Taiwanese expatriates in China. The research
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framework was adapted from the previous study and based on the research purpose and questions stated in Chapter I.
Figure 3.1. Research framework
Sampling Criteria and Research Participant
The study adopted purposive sampling to collect the data. These participants were selected because they fulfilled the sampling criteria proposed for the study. The sampling criteria were Taiwanese self-initiated expatriates who had been working for at least two years in multinational companies in China as shown in Table 3.1.
Self-initiated expatriates were defined as expatriates who find the job of their own accord without the backing from the organization. In addition, the researcher relied on connections through one SIE who worked as a chief audit executive in a multinational
Motivation to Migrate Gain Framing
Loss Framing
Met Expectations Person-Environment Fit
Person-Job Fit (Positive VS Negative)
Motivation to Integrate
Current Integration Status Job Context
Life Context Integration Process
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company in China. He had connections with many Taiwan expatriates which were needed for the required sample.
Table 3.1.
Bachelor Single 6 Senior Practice
Leader Shanghai
Billy M Accounting
Bachelor Single 6 Internal Audit
Director Shanghai
Bachelor Married 14 Vice President Shanghai
Sam M Architecture
Master Married 3 Project Manager Shanghai Jason M Architecture
Master Married 2 Project Manager Xi'an
Iris F Business
Bachelor Single 2 Sales assistant Shenzhen
Laura F Finance
Bachelor Single 2 Sales assistant Guangdong
Ann F Business
The researcher used semi-structured interview, short questionnaire as data collection methods. The information was collected from eleven SIEs working in multinational companies in China. Examining what is their motivation and what their experience has been like. All the participants have been working in China for a
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number of years. These participants were chosen because this research adopted convenience sampling which means the samples were easy to reach and this was a chance to shed some light on the subject and so figure out the experiences and motivations between Taiwan expatriates going to work abroad.
Additionally, the researcher was part of the data collection tool. How is this possible, because the researcher did a qualitative approach, which included semi-structured interviews plus a short questionnaire, so the researcher had the option to decide, who to interview, what questions to ask and in what order, what to observe from the participants and what to write down and record.
Semi-Structured Interview
Semi-structured interview was chosen for the study as it served more as a guide during the interview. In addition, each participant had their own unique expatriate experiences. Thus, new questions were added in order to explore more about their life in China according to the responses about their different experiences.
Following the four different research questions and research framework, the interview questions were developed afterwards. Here is the table of the relationship between research questions and interview questions:
Table 3.2.
The Relationship Between Research Questions and Interview Questions Research Questions Interview questions
Research Question1:
What is SIEs' motivation to migrate to China for a job?
1. When did you decide to relocate overseas to China?
2. In your opinion, what are the main factors affecting your decision to expatriate?
(continued)
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Table 3.2. (continued) Research Question 2:
What are SIEs' experiences in their integration process?
3. Please introduce your job content in China.
4. How is your working experience in China?
5. Did the company provide any support or set up any integration policies for foreign employees like you?
7. How is your living experience in China?
9. What played an important role in helping you to function well at work and life in China?
Research Question 3:
What is SIEs' current integration status?
11. What actions did you take to adjust to the interactions with subordinates or colleagues in China?
12. What actions did you take to adjust the life in China?
13. How well do you think you have integrated into the society of China in terms of working and living environment?
Research Question 4:
How do SIEs' expectation and
motivation to migrate influence their motivation to integrate and current integration status?
6. Have the working environment met your expectation?
8. Have the living environment met your expectation?
10. To what extent do you think your motivation to integrate is?
14. How has your motivation to integrate affected your integration in terms of job satisfaction and life satisfaction?
15. What are the reasons that motivate you to remain in China for work?
16. If you can start over again, will you still choose to be a SIE?
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Short Questionnaire
On the basis of two previous studies (Cerdin et al., 2014; Rivera, 2014), a short questionnaire was developed. It aimed at providing a clear understanding of perceived motivation to migrate and integrate from the participants' perspective. A Likert scale ranging from" 1= Strongly Disagree" to "7= Strongly agree" was utilized in the short questionnaire. For example, in the short questionnaire, the participants needed to indicate their responses by circling a number on a 7-point Likert scale. The following interviews were utilized as another evidences to support their ratings. Consequently, it was appropriate to use qualitative methods in the context of this study. Rivera (2014) designed a figure as a measurement for the participants to identify their adaptation and mood. According to the different time periods, the participants chose the level of their perceived adaptation from 0 to 10. Each of the dots were connected as a line.
After analyzing the data, Rivera (2014) found out that the shape of the lines are similar to U-shape. In this research, similar methods were adopted. Due to geographical limitation, the researcher provided 7-point Likart scale questionnaire to the participants and analyzed it according to the answers of the short questionnaire.
The researcher also connected the dots to line in order to see whether was applicable to U-shape theory.
Based on the four types of migration in the study of skilled immigrants (Cerdin et al., 2014), the questions in the short questionnaire focused mainly on the level of the participants' motivation to migrate and integrate, followed with categorizing them into those four different types: Felicitous migration, desperate migration, chance migration and dream migration. Felicitous migration applies to individuals with strong gain and loss framing. Desperate migration applies to those who perceive the gains from migration as weak and the losses as strong (weak gain framing, strong loss framing). Chance migrations deals with participants who perceive both gains and
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losses from migration to be relatively low. Dream migration is concerned with those who are weak loss framing and strong gain framing. By using the categorization in the short questionnaire, the researcher identified each SIE's type of migration and compared the results with the coding results.
Figure 3.2. Typology of SIE's mobility according to their motivation to migrate.
Adapted from " Qualified Immigrants' Success: Exploring the Motivation to Migrate and to Integrate," by Cerdin, J. L., Diné, M. A., & Brewster, C., 2014, Journal of International Business Studies, 45(2), p.156. Copyright 2014 by Academy of International Business.
Peer Review
Peer review was conducted on 5 international students in National Taiwan Normal University in order to ensure the validity and reliability of the short questionnaire and interview questions before doing data collection. The researcher had the peers read through the short questionnaire and interview questions and
Weak
Weak
Dream Migration Felicitous Migration
Chance Migration Desperate Migration Strong
Gain Framing
Loss Framing
Strong
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discussed about anything that may cause ambiguity and misunderstandings during the interview process. Through conducting the peer review, the researcher confirmed whether the wording and response choices in the questionnaire and interview were appropriate.
Data Analysis
In this part, qualitative analysis was used as mentioned before. Semi-structured interviews will be used to conduct and collect the necessary information. After the data was collected, it was organized into themes which the researcher coded independently.
Before doing the interview, the participants did a short questionnaire regarding their motivation to migrate and integration. According to different Likert scale points the participants selected, the researcher drew up the results as the figure 3.3 to compare with the results of coding.
Figure 3.3. Perceived motivation to migrate and integrate
0
6th month First year First year 6th month
Second year
Perceived Motivation to Migrate and Integrate
Perceived Motivation to migrate and integrate
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Data analysis process started from reading all the data and then dividing the data into different themes, segments and units (Mertens, 2005). The data analysis process was inductive so the research questions were formed and developed by the researcher.
According to different research questions, the researcher formulated different themes that are corresponded to the data.
For the process of analyzing qualitative data, the qualitative data analysis procedure proposed by Miles and Huberman (1994) was adopted in the study. First, the researcher gave codes to the notes that were written down from interviews and took notes about personal reflections or any other comments that should have been included in the margin. Second, categorized the data into similar themes and identified the processes or differences that could be taken out for the future research.
If there were any controversial points in the coding process, the researcher discussed with two other student peers and figured out what would be the best coding for that part. Student peers comprised two graduate students who majored in international human resource development. Third, new theories or framework were constructed after coding. Lastly, data collection and data analysis were done at the same time until the regularities that were mentioned before emerged from the data.
As for the coding process, coding techniques suggested by Strauss and Corbin (1998) are adopted in order to seek verification for propositions throughout the study.
They are interactional methods which involve comparisons and questions of the data.
Three steps are involved in the process: open coding, axial coding and selective coding. In the study, the researcher only adopted the first two steps: open coding and axial coding. Open coding is part of the analysis during the process to examine and compare the similarities and differences in the data. Then the data continued to be analyzed by using axial coding. Data analyzed in open coding was reviewed again to make connections between themes or categories. Possible relationships were
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proposed.
Research Quality
This section focused on the topic of research quality of the qualitative study. The criteria of the research quality was adopted from Merriam (2014), which are credibility (internal validity), transferability (external validity) and dependability.
Credibility (Internal Validity)
Credibility or internal validity of the study refers to how credible and confident are the findings (Shenton, 2004). Triangulation involves multiple methods will be used to ensure the validity of the findings (Merten, 2005). Denzin (1970) proposed four types of triangulation: data triangulation, investigator triangulation, theoretical triangulation and methodological triangulation. In this study, methodological triangulation and peer debriefing techniques were adopted. As for the methodological triangulation, short questionnaire and interviews were utilized to collect and create over-lapping and cross validating data. In order to enhance the credibility of the audit, peer debriefing were utilized during the data analysis period. Two disinterested coding members joined the coding when there were any controversial or unclear points that needed further discussion.
Figure 3.4. Credibility strategies Credibility
Peer Debriefing Methodological Triangulation
Semi-Structured Interview
Short Questionnaire Triangulation
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Transferability (External Validity)
Transferability or external validity is defined as how applicable the findings of one research is to different contexts or situations. In order to enhance transferability, two strategies were suggested by Merriam (2014) as follows: thick description and maximum variation. In this study, thick and rich descriptions were the strategies used to strengthen transferability. The interviewer recorded every interview, and transcribed the content in the interviews. Based on the transcripts, data analysis and descriptive findings were provided.
Dependability
In qualitative research, dependability is a parallel word to reliability. According to quantitative research, reliability is defined as to what extent research findings can be duplicated (Merriam, 2014). However, in qualitative study, it is nearly impossible to replicate the results due to dynamic human behaviors and unreliable human experiences. Dependability refers to whether the findings are consistent with the collected data (Merriam, 2014). Although the findings cannot be duplicated in the qualitative research, the researcher needed to ensure the readers that they could still replicate the results by using the same data (e.g. transcripts) and following the research procedure.
There are several strategies that can enhance dependability are listed as follows:
triangulation, peer examination, investigator's position, he/she should describe in detail the rationale of the study, design of the study and the subjects and the audit trial (Zohrabi, 2013). In the study, two strategies were adopted. First, peer review technique was used to increase the consistence of the analysis. After the researcher finished coding and categorizing, two peers with human resource background were invited to review the analyzed results. The two peers were required to fill up a rating
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form consisting of 24 items, each rated (1 to 5) on a 5-point Likert scale. Those 24 check points examined if the coding and categorization were appropriate and corresponded. The example of check point was shown as table 3.3. Generally, the two peers had an agreement on the coding and categorization results (mean score: 4.8).
Table 3.3.
Example of Check Point
Secondly, audit trial was used in the study. Every research process and change made in the research was written down. Thus, the readers can examine every process and authenticate the findings by following the research procedure. Additionally, by reading the recorded audit trail, the readers can know how well the techniques that the researcher had followed to meet the standards of credibility and transferability. Lastly, in order to reach higher dependability in coding open- ended data, the researcher found other two graduate students who also had same background as human resources to be the raters to do the peer examination. The two raters were required to fill up a rating form consisting of 24 items, each rated (1 to 5) on a 5-point Likert scale. Those 24 check points examined if the coding and categorization were appropriate and corresponded. The example of check point was shown as table 3.2, and the results of the peer examination shown that the coding and categorization were reliable and corresponded to the theme and research question.
Secondly, audit trial was used in the study. Every research process and change made in the research was written down. Thus, the readers can examine every process and authenticate the findings by following the research procedure. Additionally, by reading the recorded audit trail, the readers can know how well the techniques that the researcher had followed to meet the standards of credibility and transferability.
Research Question #1
Please rate if the categorization is appropriate.
1 Strongly disagree 2 Disagree 3 Neutral 4. Agree 5. Strongly agree 1. What is SIEs' motivation to migrate to China for a job?
Code: Career Development 1 2 3 4 5
First of all, when I was working in Taiwan, I always needed to work overtime.
Second, I thought ten years of working experience in Taiwan was enough, and I had nothing new to learn from the job. Consequently, I was hoping to work in a bigger market to learn and develop my career. At that time, I thought China was a large market so it would have more potential to develop my career. Then I decided to go to China for work and hoped to see how such a large market works.
If you hope to migrate to fast- growing economies like APEC countries for work, you should obtain working experiences in China first because it is very challenging and demanding to work in developing markets. If you do not have any working experience in large markets such as China and apply for job in APEC countries directly, you may not have enough experience and be regulated to doing administrative work.
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Research Procedure
The research procedure included eleven steps that are followed to complete the study (Figure 3.5).
From the beginning of the process, the research problems and objectives were identified and defined, and they are considered as the basis of the current research.
The literature review was conducted in order to get more insightful details and information regarding the topic. After reviewing the articles, the framework was adapted and developed from previous studies. The research method was selected for exploring motivation and integration of SIEs. Then the researcher chose the potential participants who would qualified for the study. The interview questions were developed and designed according to the research framework. Subsequently, the researcher used pilot interviews in order to navigate the possible problems of the interview questions and also acquire practice for the real interviews. The interview was conducted and after the data was collected, the researcher analyzed the data collected from the interviews and questionnaires. Finally, the findings were be reported and the conclusion based on the findings were made.
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Figure 3.5. Research procedure
Identify the research problem
Identify research objective
Review Literature
Construct Framework
Select the Research Methods
Decide Research Participants
Design Interview Questions
Run Pilot interview
Collect Data
Analyze Data
Conclude Research Findings
35 expectations and motivation to migrate to motivation to integrate and integration were proposed.