The Factors Influencing International Students’ Choice of Working in Taiwan after Graduation

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(1)The Factors Influencing International Students’ Choice of Working in Taiwan after Graduation by. Wandile Wiseman William Mntshali. A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Degree of. MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION. Major: International Human Resource Development. Advisor: Chih-Chien Steven Lai, Ph. D.. Graduate Institute of International Human Resource Development National Taiwan Normal University Taipei, Taiwan July, 2016.

(2) The Factors Influencing International Students’ Choice of Working in Taiwan after Graduation by Wandile Wiseman William Mntshali A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Approved:. ____________________________ Dr. Chih-Chien Lai, Thesis Advisor ____________________________ Dr. Shir-Tau Tsai, Committee Member ____________________________ Dr. Pai-Po Lee, Committee Member ____________________________ Dr. C. Rosa Yeh, Director of the Graduate Program. Graduate Institute of International Human Resource Development National Taiwan Normal University Taipei, Taiwan 6th of July, 2016.

(3) Acknowledgement First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge the grace of God for giving me life, intelligence and health to write this thesis. It is also of utmost importance to begin by extending my sincere appreciations and gratitude to my thesis advisor Dr. Steven Lai, for professional and parental guidance, advice as well as constructive criticism that he provided while writing this thesis. During my 1st year, he provided valuable tutorial advice and led me to the development of my thesis research proposal. In my 2nd or final year, he guided me through the stages of writing the remaining chapters of this thesis. His contributions and professional supervision have been very critical in assisting me to produce a document of this quality. However, most of the views and thoughts expressed in this thesis remain essentially mine. Sincere thanks and acknowledgment is also extended to Dr. Rosa Yeh, the director of International Human Resource Development (IHRD) and Dr. Vera Chang who first ignited, nurtured and professionally guided my research interests, as they taught me the research methods course in social sciences during my 1st year. In the course of my study journey I also learned a lot from all the professors and office staff of the IHRD graduate institute. Tracy Lee and Kate my TaiwanICDF project managers as well as Jessica the IHRD office secretary, collectively played a notable role in the course of my two years’ study journey. I cannot express enough thanks to Dr. Tony Cheng-Ping Shih and Dr. Jane Lin, who motivated me to press on in my studies even in the most trying times and circumstances. These two professors always display a positive and joy-full attitude towards life and thus reminded me to look at the brighter side of life even when everything was difficult to handle. Over and above all, my deepest thanks and gratitude goes to my thesis committee members, Dr. Pai-Po Lee and Dr. Ted Tsai. Without their knowledge, academic guidance, insights and valuable feedback as well as assistance, this study was not going to be a success and of good quality. The completion of this study would not have been also possible without the support of all Dr. Lai’s advisees who were my team members; Aiko, Lydia, Cathy and Tim. All my classmates also helped me in one way or the other as well as my 1st-year colleagues while writing this document. Special thanks are further extended to Tatjana, Hildiberto, Gracia, Nancy and Axana who were all TaiwanICDF students and assisted me in one way or the other during my study journey..

(4) Last but not least, I feel indebted to thank all international students in Taiwan who responded to my research questionnaire. Exceptional thanks and dearest gratitude once again, goes to my friend Tatjana Tica for her unwavering academic and emotional support throughout the trying times I endured writing this document. I would like to end by thanking my parents, grandmother, uncles and guardians Petros Sibandze and Ncane Mkhonta for playing a huge role in my upbringing as well as for funding my primary and secondary as well as high school education. I am also greatly indebted to the government of Swaziland and TaiwanICDF who paid for my bachelor’s and master’s degree education respectively. Without the full scholarships of these two organizations, my tertiary education was going to be only an illusion.. May the Almighty God bless you all!.

(5) ABSTRACT This study examined the influence of personal, university experiences and labor market factors on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. Personal factors are individualistic features such as feelings, family ties and career perceptions. University experiences include everything that university life offers. Labor market factors cover all those features of Taiwan’s labor market. The main purpose was to discover the connections between personal factors, university experiences, labor market factors and international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. Other purposes were to build an integrated model and provide a descriptive overview of the factors influencing international students’ choice of working in Taiwan. By so doing, the study aimed to boost Taiwan’s capacity of retaining international graduates as potential future and professional talent for the country. This is made necessary the transition of countries’ economies to innovation-based economies which raises the demand for professional talent. In turn, the demand for professional talent caused the current “global war for talent” (Dicken, 2003; Dobbs, 2012). The global war pushed countries including Taiwan to devise policies such as the National Human Resource Development (NHRD) action program and other strategies to attract and retain foreign talent to supplement locally undersupplies of talented workers. Primary data was collected from 205 international students who are currently studying in Taiwan universities. The Statistical Software for Social Sciences (SPSS) and SmartPLS3 were used to analyze the collected data. Results showed that indeed personal factors, university experiences and labor market factors have an influence on international students’ choice of working in the country after completing their studies. It was also discovered that university experiences and labor market factors mediate the influence of personal factors on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. Keywords: Personal factors, university experiences, labor market factors, international students’ choice of working in Taiwan. I.

(6) TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... I TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... II LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. IV LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................. V CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................1 Background of the Study .................................................................................................... 1 Problem Statement .............................................................................................................. 4 Significance of the Study .................................................................................................... 4 Research Purposes .............................................................................................................. 5 Research Questions ............................................................................................................. 6 Delimitations of the Study .................................................................................................. 6 Definition of Terms............................................................................................................. 7. CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................9 Personal Factors .................................................................................................................. 9 University Experiences ..................................................................................................... 12 Labour Market Factors ...................................................................................................... 14 International Students’ Choice of Working in Taiwan ..................................................... 15 Hypotheses Development ................................................................................................. 17. CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY .........................................................................24 Research Framework ........................................................................................................ 24 Research Method and Procedure ...................................................................................... 25 Measurement ..................................................................................................................... 28 Data Collection ................................................................................................................. 31 Validity and Reliability ..................................................................................................... 32 Results of Demographic Data Analysis ............................................................................ 37 Factors Influencing International Students’ Choice of Working in Taiwan ..................... 42. CHAPTER IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ..................................................48 Results of Demographic Data Analysis ............................................................................ 48 II.

(7) Descriptive Results ........................................................................................................... 51 Factors Influencing International Students’ Choice of Working in Taiwan ..................... 59 Discussions ....................................................................................................................... 63. CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..........................69 Limitations ........................................................................................................................ 71 Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 71 Contributions..................................................................................................................... 73. REFERENCES.........................................................................................................74 APPENDIX A: RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE ................................................80 APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS CODING .........................................89. III.

(8) LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1. Brief Definitions of the Five Facets of University Experiences………….....14 Table 2.2. Determinants of International Students’ Intention …….………..……….…..18 Table 3.1. Correlations Analysis (n=32)….……………………………………… ...…...34 Table 3.2. Construct Reliability and Validity……………….…………………...……...35 Table 3.3. Factorial Analysis…………………………………………...…………….…36 Table 3.4. Construct Reliability and Validity…………………………………...………37 Table 3.5. Demographic Characteristics of the Sample (n=32)…….…………………..40 Table 3.6. Hypotheses Tests Results Presentation (n=32)......................……………….47 Table 4.1. Demographic Characteristics of the Sample (N=205).….………………..…49 Table 4.2. Descriptive Statistics of Personal Factors………………………………..….52 Table 4.3. Descriptive Statistics of University Experiences…………………….………53 Table 4.4. Descriptive Statistics of Labor Market Factors………………………..…….56. IV.

(9) LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1. Fishbein-Ajzen theory of reasoned action ……………………....………….……10 Figure 2.2. Model for determinates of international students intention to stay in Thailand.....12 Figure 2.3. A model of Taiwan and Indonesian students’ study destination of choice............17 Figure 3.1. Research framework……………………………………………………………...24 Figure 3.2. Research procedure…………………………………………………….................27 Figure 3.3. Direct influence of PF on CWT (n=32)…………………………………………..42 Figure 3.4. Complete model results (n=32)……………………………………..…………….43 Figure 3.5. Mediating influence of UE (n=32)………………………………………………..44 Figure 3.6. Mediating influence of LM (n=32)……………………………………………….45 Figure 3.7. Combined mediating influence of UE and LM (n=32)…………………………...46 Figure 4.1. Taiwan NHRD action program…………………………………………………...54 Figure 4.2. Work experience in Taiwan………………………………………………………56 Figure 4.3. Choice of working in Taiwan…………………………………………………….57 Figure 4.4. Direct influence of PF on CWT(N=205).............………………………………...59 Figure 4.5. Complete model results (N=205)…………………………………………………60 Figure 4.6. Mediating influence of UE (N=205)……………………………………………...61 Figure 4.7. Mediating influence of LM (N=205)………….……….…………………………62 Figure 4.8. Combined mediating influence of UE and LM (N=205)………………………....63 Figure 5.1. Integrated model developed by the study………………………………………...70. V.

(10) CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter aims to provide an overall motivation for conducting this study. In the first section, the researcher will discuss the background of the study, followed by motivation, problem statement, research purposes and questions that guided the investigation. Other sections examine the significance and delimitations of the study as well as the definition of key terms.. Background of the Study The interest to research on this topic came while the researcher was on an internship at National Development Council (NDC), one of the government agencies for development in Taiwan. As part of routine duties, the researcher had to proofread some of the policies related to manpower planning, supply and demand. While proofreading the policy for shaping an internationally competitive environment for immigration and employment, the researcher began to wonder what makes it necessary for the policy to be competitive in retaining talented or professional foreign workers in Taiwan. From a sample of literature, the researcher realized that the need for a competitive policy was made necessary by an increasing importance of professional employees in many industrialized and fast developing economies of the world (Brown, Hesketh & Williams, 2004; Choudaha & Wit, 2014; Von Krogh, Ichijo & Nonaka, 2000). This significance led to the current “global war for talent” or “battle for brains” between developed nations (Michaels, Handfield-Jones, & Axelrod, 2001; Beechler & Woodward, 2009). This war is further exacerbated by an uneven distribution and high mobility of skilled workers across and in-between world economies (Straubhaar, 2000). Research has also increased the significance of professional foreign talent by linking innovation with culturally diverse professional employees in companies (Caruso & Wit, 2015). Von Krogh, Ichijo and Nonaka (2000) corroborated that innovation in our current economies which are driven by and are largely dependent upon the expertise and positive attitudes of employees who come from different cultural backgrounds in enterprises. It is the abovementioned significance and global war for foreign talent which compel governments and enterprises all over the world to adopted different strategies to attract professional foreigners into their territories. These strategies include the legislation of friendly immigration policies towards foreign professional workers as a way of attracting and retaining 1.

(11) them. In addition, many governments including the Taiwanese government, have now decided to attract foreign students to their local universities and retain them as potential future foreign talent after graduation. It is within this premise that we need to view Taiwan’s integrated National Human Resource Development (NHRD). We also need to see this policy as a decorated labor market policy package of influencing international graduates from local universities to choose to work in the country after graduation (www.ndc.gov.tw/en). However, the main argument of this thesis is that, it is not an easy task to attract and retain foreign graduates based on only liberal labor market policies. This is the case because foreign graduates are in demand all over the world and thus they have global job opportunities. These job opportunities give them a wide choice set to choose to work for an employer either based on good salaries or on their individualistic or personal factors. Higgins et al., (2008) defined choice as the person’s intentional selection in a choice sets. In a study of why international students from Taiwan and Indonesia do not choose to study in Australia, Mazzarol, Savery and Kemp, (1996) discovered that a student's choice of overseas study was influenced by their personal factors and alternative characteristics. In line with this reasoning, this investigation assumes that international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation is influenced by their personal factors, university experiences and Taiwan’s labor market in comparison to their home country’s labor market. It is also an undeniable fact that the availability of multiple workplace destinations for foreign graduates all over the world force employers to be employers of choice in order to attract and retain them. Employers of choice are able to cream the best talent from their countries’ local universities. But reaching the status of a globally appealing employer of choice is a demanding task, as it calls for the creation of attractive and globally competitive working environments. It also requires governments to construct attractive national infrastructures and to provide efficient and convenient social services. It also pushes enterprises to adorn their workplaces with enticing working conditions and attractive financial rewards. The Taiwan NHRD action program was designed with a sole purpose of exerting a positive influence on international students from local universities to make a choice of working here after graduation. Taiwan NHRD action program is also one of the most proactive strategies that aim to increase the local undersupply of professional workers in the country. This undersupply is caused 2.

(12) by a low birth rate and the “brain drain” effect caused by mainland China’s talent magnet labor market (www.channelnewsasia.com). It is anticipated that the NHRD action program will make a great contribution to Taiwan’s capacity to attract foreign workers, after eliminating the two years’ work experience entrance restriction required from foreign graduates. This elimination gives Taiwan a competitive advantage over and above countries like Singapore, who still abide by this rule (Lee, 2010; Ng, 2011). As much as Taiwan’s NHRD action program has a great potential and is one of the most robust and powerful steps in attracting foreign talent, but the researchers believe that there are other necessary strategies that the government should implement to retain a sufficient amount of internationally competitive foreign graduates. These strategies can be identified only by conducting research on the personal factors, university experiences and labor market factors that influences’ international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. This kind of information can culminate into an integrated model that can help the Taiwanese government and other economic sectors to retain international students to work in the country after graduation. Retention of foreign graduates from local universities can go a long way in supplementing the projected and continuous undersupply of the local working population in Taiwan (www.ndc.gov.tw/en). According to the preceding source, Taiwan’s manpower supply of the working-age population (aged 15-64) will decrease by about 100,000 per year in the near future, and the nation’s aging demographic structure reached a high turning point in 2012. What makes matters even worse is that, there is an undersupply of graduates from the country’s local universities. This demographic dilemma is shocking in nature, and it shows that the government must adopt more proactive actions to address this situation before it reaches a crisis stage. In connection with the above-mentioned dilemma, we must also see foreign graduates from Taiwan’s local universities as an ideal asset to work for the country, mainly because they are not only equipped with essential professional knowledge and skills, but also with an understanding of the societies of both Taiwan and their nations of origin. The NHRD program also points out that some of these graduates might have fallen in love with the people and country during their years of study (www.ndc.gov.tw/en), and thus they need not to first undergo the adaptation process before being productive in their respective places of work in Taiwan.. 3.

(13) Problem Statement Funk and Walenkamp (2013) transmitted that factors for attracting and retaining international graduates in host countries are “understudied”. Even the few studies on this topic are written by policy-makers who are mainly driven by economic and familial factors. These factors are most relevant to general migrants and have limited applicability to international students. Moreover, many studies of this nature have been conducted either in the American or European context (Choudaha & Wit, 2014; Funk & Walenkamp, 2013; Mosneaga & Winther, 2013). Few of this studies have been conducted in the Asian or African context. In practice, there is an uneven distribution of knowledge workers in world economies that are currently in a quick transition to knowledge and innovation-based economies (Lee, 2002). This unequal distribution is made worse by a constant decline of the working population and low birth rates in developed countries (http://www.ndc.gov.tw/en). It is against this background of an “aging society, projected labor market shortages and increased global competition for brains in the globalized knowledge economy,” (Sykes, 2013, p. 4) that this study seeks to find strategies for retaining more and more international graduates in Taiwan, so that the country can win the global war for talent.. Significance of the Study This study aims to make a contribution to scholarship by adding more literature on the understudied factors that influence the immigration and retention of international graduates in host countries. It will also provide more insights into effective strategies for retaining aspiring foreign graduates who are a potential future foreign talent for Taiwan. This study also developed an integrated research model that integrates the influence of personal factors, university experiences and labor market on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. In practice, Funk and Walenkamp (2013) discovered that a large section of knowledge workers in foreign economies first immigrated to their host countries as international students and ended up working and living there as immigrants. This discovery implies that one of the strategies for winning the current demand for foreign talent is through the retention of foreign graduates (Malecki & Ewers, 2007). Foreign talent also boosts the competitiveness advantage and innovation of enterprises and nations (Hendry, 1995; Malecki & Ewers, 2007). This advantages that come 4.

(14) hand in glove with foreign graduates pushes many governments, such as the Taiwanese government to design integrated NHRD action program to aggressively attract and retain international graduates in the country. Another significance of this study is to investigate aspiring foreign graduate’s awareness of Taiwan’s NHRD action program for encouraging them to work in the country after graduation. The researchers believe that the investigation of international students’ awareness of the NHRD action program will contribute a lot in retaining them in the country after completing their studies. The investigators also hope that the research will go a long way in assisting Taiwan’s government efforts to be an employer of choice. At the same time, this research will assist the government of Taiwan and other stakeholders to design policies for retaining internationally talented graduates’ from the point of view of aspiring foreign graduates whom the government aims to retain after graduation. By so doing, the government will avoid the mistake that is usually committed by many governments all over the world by formulating policies using a top-down approach. In most cases, top-down policies ignore opinions, preferences, and interests of the relevant populace (Goldfarb & Henrekson, 2003). This analysis highlights another purpose of this paper which is to help the government of Taiwan to revisit the NHRD action program redesign it from a bottom-up perspective or from the worldview of aspiring foreign graduates.. Research Purposes Based on the research background and motivation, the main research purposes of this study were to: . Provide a descriptive overview of the factors influencing international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. . Discover the interrelationships among personal factors (PF), university experiences (UE), labor market (LM) and international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation (CWT).. . Develop an integrated model of factors influencing international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation.. 5.

(15) Research Questions Drawing insight from the research purposes derived from the motivations and background of the study, the following research questions were formulated: 1. What influence do personal factors have on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation? 2. Do personal factors have an influence on foreign students’ university experiences in Taiwan? 3. Do university experiences influence international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation? 4. What influence do personal factors exert on international students’ perception of Taiwan’s labor market? 5. Does Taiwan’s labor market influence foreign students’ choice of working in Taiwan after completing their studies? 6. Do Taiwan’s labor market and university experiences mediate the influence of personal factors on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation?. Delimitations of the Study In order to manage the horizon of the study, it is necessary to delineate some boundaries. The first delimitation of this study focuses on international students in Taiwan universities. Moreover, because this is “an ex-ante study”, it will collect data only from international students in Taiwan before they make their choice to work in the country after graduation (Musumba, 2007). Delimiting the study to Taiwan universities means that the results of this study will be nationally restraint. Therefore, it should be generalized to another national context with caution. Also, taking into consideration that it is beyond the capacity of this research to solicit responses from each and every international student in Taiwan, the convenient sampling procedure will be adopted to conduct the research survey. The use of the convenient sampling method also implies that the results of the study will not be a perfect representation of all international students in Taiwan, and thus they should be generalized with some consideration to the total population of international students in Taiwan.. 6.

(16) Definition of Terms In this section, theoretical and operational definitions of essential terms will be provided so that it can help the reader to understand the study better. The provision of operational definitions is made necessary by the need to show how the variables should be understood and interpreted. While general or dictionary and other writers’ definitions will help in the provision of a general idea of the concepts. Below are the theoretical and operational definitions of the four main variables of the study and these are Taiwan’s sociopolitical environment, international students’ choice, university experiences, and career expectations:. Personal Factors Theoretical Definition: Individualistic perceptions, beliefs, attitudes and motivation to comply to opinions of referent others to perform a reasoned action (Ajzen & Fishbein,1980; Kruanak & Ruangkanjanases, 2014). Operational Definition: Personal factors are measured by a total of 10 items which are; career perceptions (CP), family ties (FT) and students’ cross-cultural adaptation process (SAP) which were adapted from Kruanak and Ruangkanjanases (2014) study.. University Experiences Theoretical Definition: University experiences means “experiencing everything that university life has to offer” (Wilcox, Winn & Fyvie‐Gauld, 2005, p.713). Operational Definition: University experiences were measured by academic satisfaction (AS), student support (SS) and students’ satisfaction with their universities (SU). There were 13 items that measured these three dimensions of university experiences and they were adapted from the 2015 national Australian Universities research survey report.. Labor Market Factors Theoretical Definition: A labor market is a national or international workplace, where workers find paying jobs and employers find willing workers to work in exchange for wages (Business Dictionary, 2012).. 7.

(17) Operational Definition: Taiwan’s labor market was measured by job opportunities (LB1, LB2), government policies (LB3) job environment (LB4) and salary (LB5). There were 5 items that were adapted from Mazzarol, Savery and Kemp (1996) to measure this factor.. International Students’ Choice of Working in Taiwan Theoretical Definition: Higgins et al., (2008) defined choice as the person’s continued construction of self-identity by making selections in a choice set. The choice set implies that choice is a discrete variable, as it always comes with at least two or more options. Operational Definition: International Students’ choice of working in Taiwan was measured by a single item (CWT) adapted from Kruanak and Ruangkanjanases (2014) to condition international students to choose either “definitely yes” or “definitely not” as an indication of the presence or absence of an intention to work in Taiwan after graduation.. 8.

(18) CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW The increasing significance of foreign talent has increased the necessity to identify factors that attract and retain international students as potential future foreign talents in host countries. In this chapter, the researcher will conduct a review of previous studies related to this research and its variables. The review will attempt to conceptualize and outline personal factors, university experiences and labor market factors that exert influence on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after completing their studies from local universities.. Personal Factors Kruanak and Ruangkanjanases (2014) stated that the social psychology theory of reasoned action, predicts that international students’ actual action to stay after graduation is positively related to their personal beliefs, attitude and feelings, as well as on the opinions of referent others together with the motivation to comply to those opinions. In addition, the staying action is said to be positively related to their free choice as influenced by careers perceptions, and evaluation of the beliefs and attitude towards the host country. This means that international students’ choice of staying in Taiwan after graduation will be dependent upon the influence of a lot of career perceptions and personal beliefs. The theory of reasoned action also clarifies that a person’s attitude towards an action is contingent to the individual’s positive feelings and beliefs about performing that action. Furthermore, Kruanak and Ruangkanjanases (2014) cited Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) as they explained that an individual’s staying behavior is also controlled by the opinions and perception of whether people important to the student or referent others such as family and friends, will approve and praise the staying intention or not. This means that international students staying intention in Taiwan can be predicted on the basis of their ties to their family members and how they think their families and friends would view them after performing the staying action. See figure 2.1. below, which display Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) theory of reasoned action.. 9.

(19) Figure 2.1. Fishbein-Ajzen theory of reasoned action. Retrieved from “An investigation of the theory of reasoned action concerning consumer acceptance of food irradiation,” by N. Frishman, 2008, Retrospective Theses and Dissertations, Paper 15303, p. 13. Copyright 2008 by The ProQuest Information and Learning Company.. According to Hall, (1976) students with a protean career perception migration are selfdirected to migrate to other countries to advance their careers. This protean career theory describes a career from a personal perspective. When applying this theory to this investigation, it can be assumed that international students in Taiwan universities have protean career orientations, hence, they left their countries in search of career advancement in Taiwan. This means that a protean career perception is most likely to have a positive relationship with international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation (Schofield & Honore, 2011). Savickas (2008) also pointed out that career perception is one of the most important considerations for international students when making their choices to work in their host countries. By networking with their country mates who have graduated and work in host countries, aspiring graduates Figure out whether what they hear about employing organizations match their career expectations or not (Gloria, 1999). If hearsays match them, they are conditioned to make a choice to work in the host country, but if not they may consider working in their home country or other countries. Baruch (1995) ‘push/pull’ theory explained that a migrant’s choice of migrating to another country for employment could be explained by a combination of two driving forces. The first force drives people out of their countries of origin while the second force attracts them to the country of 10.

(20) destination. An underdeveloped education system is one of the main forces that drives international students out of their home countries most especially from developing countries. While well developed and internationalized education systems in host countries are the main forces that attract international students to host countries. Drawing insights from this theory, we can predict that international students from developing countries are most likely to make a choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. Furthermore, Baruch (1995) proposed that the adjustment level of international students in host countries have a positive relationship with the intention of whether to stay and work or leave their host countries after graduation. In support of this proposition, Baruch, Budhwar and Kathrin (2007) stated that international students’ cross-cultural adjustment process to the host country include ‘cultural shock,' which usually initiates an intention to quit studies or leave the country as soon as they complete studies. On the other hand, a smooth process of cross-cultural adjustment generates a positive attitude towards the host country and its people and thus increase the desire for the students to stay and work in the host country after graduation (Baruch, Budhwar & Kathrin, 2007). This process implies that international students who experienced a smooth process of adaptation to the culture of Taiwan have a high possibility of making a choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. Kruanak and Ruangkanjanases (2014) reinforced that the higher the level of international students’ adjustment to the host country’s culture, the higher the intention to work in the host country after graduation. These researchers compiled six main determinants or variables of international students’ intentions to work in host countries after graduations which are presented in Figure 2.2. below.. 11.

(21) Figure 2.2. A model of the determinates of international students’ intention to stay in Thailand. Adapted from “Brain Gain for Thailand: the determinants of international students' intention to stay on after graduation,” by K. Kruanak and A. Ruangkanjanases. 2014, International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, 5 (4), p. 339. Copyright 2008-2015 by The IJTEF Publications.. The discussion of personal factors above revealed that international students are driven by intrinsic inclinations such as feelings, beliefs, attitudes, career perceptions and opinions of family members and friends to work in the host countries after graduation. Other factors include the process of cross-cultural adaptation to the host country as well as the cultural distance between the students’ home country and the host country. The following section will discuss international students’ university experiences which were cited by Funk and Walenkamp (2013) as one of the factors that influence international students to work in Netherlands after graduation.. University Experiences University experiences can be defined from different viewpoints. Each definition depends on the purpose that it has been designed to serve. Wilcox, Winn and Fyvie‐Gauld (2005) defined university experiences as everything that university life offers. The government of Australia has quantified students’ university experiences into five different dimensions (Australian National Universities Report, 2015). These dimensions are academic satisfaction, satisfaction with the university, teaching quality, learning resources and student support. 12.

(22) The academic satisfaction index measures university students’ satisfaction with the academic learning pedagogies that help in the formulation of the learner’s intellectual skills such as problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills, and independent thinking. It also assesses to what extent does the student feel he or she has developed knowledge in the pursued field of study. Learner engagement is another meaningful measurement of university experiences. Another focus is on the examination of student’ level of social integration with colleagues and friends at the University. It asks questions like how often do the student interact with classmates and pupils outside the class. In Wilcox, Winn and Fyvie‐Gauld (2005) qualitative university study, one interviewee explained that finding like-minded friends was the most difficult aspect of social integration as a freshman at varsity. Students’ satisfaction with the quality of the taught courses in their university is another important part of university experiences. Offering quality courses, is also a point of interest for university stakeholders and parents. Serving interests of different stakeholders is one of the reasons that pushed the government of Australia to measure this dimension in the annual national surveys (Australian National Universities Report, 2015). In this annual surveys questionnaires, the students indicate their perceptions about the quality of the taught courses and possible applicability in their future places of work. Without the adequate and appropriate learning resources, the learning experience can never be smooth, fruitful and satisfactory to students (Dewey, 2013). It is important to the higher education institutions and stakeholder in Taiwan to provide all the necessary students support services for learning to boost international students’ university experiences. In other words, the availability, affordability, and accessibility of social support centers, such as clinics or hospitals and counseling health centers make university life to be an exciting experience. This means that clinics and counseling health centers are some of the significant factors that offer social support to students and improve the quality of pupils’ university experiences. So, if international students in Taiwan universities are satisfied with the medical and social support services, their university experiences in Taiwan will be great. Below is Table 2.1., giving brief definitions of the five facets of students’ university experiences.. 13.

(23) Table 2.1. Brief Descriptions of the Five Facets of University Experiences Facet. Descriptions. Academic Satisfaction. The learners’ satisfaction with the acquisition of professional skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking.. Satisfaction with University. Any kind of satisfaction a learner feels towards any aspect of the university.. Teaching Quality. This a kind of teaching that transforms students’ perceptions and the way they go about applying their knowledge to realworld problems.. Learning Resources. These are texts, videos, software, and other materials that teachers use to assist students to meet the expectations for learning defined by provincial or local curricula.. Student Support. These are integrated and collaborative programs of school counseling and guidance services provided individually or through a team approach, to all students at all grade levels.. Source. Adapted from “Quality teachers, quality schools: International perspectives and policy Implications,” by D. Hopkins and D. Stern,1996, Teaching and Teacher Education. Hopkins, 12 (5), pp. 501-517.. In the following part the researcher section the researcher will conduct a review of literature that is related to the labor market of Taiwan. Mazzarol and Soutar (2002) indicated that stable host countries’ labor markets are some of the pull factors which attract foreign students to host countries.. Labour Market Factors Choudaha and Wit (2014) argued that stable national economies and fluid labor markets of countries like the UK, USA, and Australia are some of the crucial factors that lure international students to choose to work in these host countries after graduation. In the following extract, Mazzarol, Savery and Kemp (1996) provided a brief positive outlook of Taiwan’s national economy: 14.

(24) The economic performance of Taiwan in recent years has been impressive. Real GNP growth has averaged approximately 9% per annum since the 1970's. Its key exports have been electrical machinery, electronic products, and textiles, with trade focused largely on the United States, Hong Kong, the European Union and Japan. In 1989 Taiwan had a labor force of 7.9 million with male adult literacy levels of around 93% (p. 43). The foregoing extract presents a positive image of Taiwan’s economy as well as the labor market. In line Choudaha and Wit (2014) above mentioned argument it is predicted that Taiwan’s labor market has a positive influence on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. Self-selection theory is one of the theories associated with the migration of international students and skilled migrants which was postulated by Borjas (1987). The main assumption behind this theory is that, individuals compare the incomes of their home country and that of the intended destination country, before making their decision to migrate and work in the destination country. This theory also reveals that people migration decisions usually occur as a result of an income maximizing intention and behavior. It foretells that a student is most likely to intend to work in the host country if the economic income is greater than that of his or her home country. Other writers call this income maximizing intention and decision-making process the ‘utility theory’ (Fouarge, Grip & Sauermann, 2010; Musumba, 2007). From an economic perspective, when technical employees migrate from their country because of the unequal distribution of income. The immigration of these people has a negative connotation, because it will have an adverse impact on the skills mix in the host country. However, the labor market and better salaries in the host country influences and leads to a positive selfselection of international students to work in the host country after graduation. The significance of this theory in human migration is that it explains the shape of migration flow in the world.. International Students’ Choice of Working in Taiwan The choice is defined as the voluntary act of selecting one preferred thing from two or more (Business Dictionary, 2012). This definition shows that in order for the choice to exist there should the availability of alternatives which presents an objective reality. The definition also makes it clear that the concept of choice also involves a subjective process which is the act of preferring one object or option over others. This implies that in order to do justice to international students’ 15.

(25) choice of working in Taiwan, we first need to be aware of the objective reality which is that of the availability of other alternatives such as the students’ home countries and other countries in the world. Thereafter, we also need to examine the factors that influence international students’ subjective process of selecting Taiwan as a place of work over and above other countries in the world. Hsin-Tien (2007) explained that Taiwanese and Indonesian students’ select Australia, the USA over and above other countries as a study destination of choice because of the awareness and availability of knowledge about these countries in Taiwan as compared to the information about other countries. We can note from Mazzarol, Savery and Kemp (1996) that the Taiwanese and Indonesian students’ choice of study destinations is dependent upon alternative option and personal preferences. Alternate characteristics refer to those factors that students compare before making their study destination choices. The model of this study makes it clear that a choice to study or work in a given country or place is dependent upon various alternative and individual influences. When applied to this research, the alternative independent variable was Taiwan’s labor market which international students compared to their home countries. University experiences and personal factors are unique and intrinsic influences and thus they can not be comparable. See Figure 2.3., which depicts Mazzarol, Savery and Kemp (1996) research model that show the decision process of Taiwanese and Indonesian students when faced with the decision to choose Australia or other countries as study destinations of choice;. 16.

(26) Figure 2.3. A model of Taiwan and Indonesian students’ study destination of choice. Retrieved from “International students who choose not to study in Australia,” by T. Mazzarol, L. K. Savery, and S. Kemp, 1996, p. 28. Copyright 1996 by ResearchGate Publications.. Hypotheses Development This part of the research investigates the link between the variables that have been reviewed above. There were 8 hypotheses that were developed and tested. These are; personal factors and choice of working in Taiwan, personal factors and university experiences, university experiences and choice of working in Taiwan, personal factors and labor market factors, labor market factors and choice of working in Taiwan. The mediating influence of university experiences and labor market factors on the direct influence of personal factors on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation.. PF and CWT The reviewed literature revealed that personal factors such as beliefs, attitudes and opinions of family members exert influence on international students’ choice of working in host countries after graduation. For instance, Kruanak and Ruangkanjanases (2014) studied six influencers of international students’ choice of staying and working in Thailand after graduation. These influencers are listed and briefly described in Table 2.2. below:. 17.

(27) Table 2. 2. Determinants of International Students’ Intention to Stay in Thailand after Graduation Determinant. Description. 1. Student’s life and adjustment. International students’ total life experience and crosscultural adjustment in the host country.. 2. Social support. The support received from friends, professors, and university staff, as well as counseling and health services.. 3. Family ties. This refers to the strength of family contact that international students have with family members while in the host country.. 4. Career perception. International students’ stance towards the availability of career advancement opportunities in host countries.. Source. Adapted from “Brain Gain for Thailand,” by K. Kruanak and A. Ruangkanjanases. 2014, International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, 5(4), pp. 337-346. Copyright 2008-2015 by The IJTEF Publications.. Caruso and Wit (2015) reinforced that social factors such as language, colonial ties, the lure of life, regional unity and the stock of citizens of the country of origin enhance the crosscultural adjustment process of international students and influence their choice of working in host countries after graduation. Based on the reviewed literature and this discussion, the researchers predicted that; Hypothesis 1. Personal factors have an influence on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation.. PF and UE The reviewed literature revealed that university experiences comprise academic satisfaction and satisfaction with the university. Personal factors review disclosed that motivation and opinions of family members and friends influence international students to make a choice of working in host countries after graduation. It was also stated that the cross-cultural adjustment 18.

(28) process of international students is positively related to their choice of working in host countries after graduation. It makes a lot of sense to presume that students who receive family support and encouragement as well as support from professors and students in their universities are most likely to be satisfied with their academic studies. Satisfaction with academics will also directly lead to satisfaction with the university. Based on these suppositions, the researchers developed the following hypothesis; Hypothesis 2. Personal factors have influence on international students’ university experiences in Taiwan.. UE and CWT Funk and Walenkamp (2013) study uncovered the mutual influence of university experiences in binding international students and talented workers to the Netherlands. These writers explained that one of their interviewees emphasized cultural diversity in the university as one of the concrete experiences that influenced him or her to work in the Netherland after graduation. This emphasis implies that in addition to personal factors, international students would take into consideration their university experiences when making their choice to work in Taiwan after graduation. If their university experiences were satisfying, they would be more willing to make a choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. The reviewed literature as well as Funk and Walenkamp (2013) findings led the researchers to hypothesize that: Hypothesis 3. University experiences have an influence on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation.. PF and LM Mahroum (1999) stated that international students in technology and science fields preferred to start their careers in the USA because of the level of technological and scientific advancements in the USA as compared to their home countries. Moreover, students in these fields were more likely to pursue their career in the U.S. because of perceived easier access to research funds and the ability to work with peers in their field. Clark (2005) transmitted that female international students found it more attractive to begin their careers in the USA because they felt life was better there in that they can freely express 19.

(29) themselves, have more job opportunities and ability to pursue their professional careers. In the same vein, the present study predicted that international students in Taiwan feel free to express themselves and perceive that they stand more chances of career development in Taiwan as compared to their home countries. It is also most likely that their family members and friends also encourage them to look for employment in Taiwan after completing their studies (Orru, 1991). Gribble (2008) buttressed that students are more focused on fulfilling their careers expectations than with entertainment in host countries. This focus on career aspirations overrides the comfort or discomfort that other aspects of life in host countries may exert upon them. Based on the reviewed and this discussion, the researchers predicted that; Hypothesis 4. Personal factors have an influence on international students’ perception of Taiwan’s labor market as an ideal workplace.. LM and CWT Borjas (1987) self-selection theory informed that individuals compare the incomes of their home country and that of the intended destination country, before making their decision to migrate and work in the destination country. This theory also reveals that people migration decisions usually occur as a result of an income maximizing intention and behavior (Kotler, 2000). It foretells that a student is most likely to intend to work in the host country if the economic income is greater than that of his or her home country. Other writers call this income maximizing intention and decision-making process the ‘utility theory’ (Fouarge, Grip & Sauermann, 2010; Musumba, 2007). Streitwieser (2014, p. 19) explained that the migration and direction as well as the country of destination of choice for international students is “influenced by a complex interplay” of labor market factors. The two most important factors in the first decade of the 21st century are the 9/11 tragic terrorist attack in the U.S.A. and the global financial crisis of 2008. Choudaha and Wit (2014) disclosed that the 9/11 attack made the USA less attractive to international students as study and workplace destination, thus their enrollment dropped drastically. In order to make their point clear, these writers narrated that according to the 2012 OECD report, the USA (23%), UK (11%) and Australia (5%) were leading destinations of study for international students at the commencement of the 21st century. 20.

(30) However, after the 9/11 terrorist attack, there was a 6% percent drop in international students enrollment in the USA and this percentage was redistributed between Australia and the UK (Brooks & Waters, 2009). This fact shows that a country’s political instability affects the choice of international students’ study and workplace destinations. On top of the two main global factors discussed above, Choudaha and Wit (2014) discussed external factors that affect international students’ mobility. These factors include demographic shifts and economic growth which is closely related to the labor market. Papademetriou and Terrazas (2009) transmitted that economic factors such as a good GDP and better standards of living are some of the leading influencers of international students’ choice of working in receiving countries after graduation. In our present day and age of a global digital environment, the level of technology in host countries has a positive influence on international students’ study life (Hart, 2006). Mazzarol, Savery and Kemp (1996) described Taiwan as an export-oriented economy of products like electrical machinery, electronic products, and textiles. This statement underscores that the level of technology in Taiwan is very advanced. Geddie (2013) also support that technological advancement of Canada makes international students choose to work in Canadian companies in order to gain experience and be familiar with new technological inventions. Taiwan is also one of the most technologically advanced countries of the world, and that means international students might be enticed by the technologically savvy working environments to work in Taiwan after graduation. In line with the preceding discussion, the researchers had an assumption that; Hypothesis 5. Taiwan’s labor market has an influence on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan’s after graduation.. PF, UE and CWT Building upon H1, which predicted that personal factors have an influence on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. As well as upon H3, which postulated that university experiences have an influence on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan. The researchers speculated that, it is also most likely that university experiences increase the influence of personal factors on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. This might be the case because if at first, international students have the intention to. 21.

(31) work in Taiwan based on their own personal choice. Then after studying in Taiwan and experiencing enjoyable university experiences in the country. It is most likely that an enjoyable university experience would increase their initial desires, feelings and attitudes of working in Taiwan after graduation. In this case, university experience can be assumed to be institutional choice while personal factors represent free or personal choice. This means that institutional choice is proposed to have an incremental influence on free choice. In correspondence with this discussion and the cited previous hypotheses, the researchers proposed that; Hypothesis 6. University experiences mediate the influence of personal factors on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation.. PF, LM and CWT Drawing insights from the self-selection theory of Borjas (1987), the researchers proposed that Taiwan’s labor market exert influence international students’ choice of working in the country after graduation (H5). In correspondence with Kruanak and Ruangkanjanases (2014) study, the present investigation advanced that personal factors have an influence on foreign students’ perception of Taiwan’s labor market as an ideal workplace destination of choice (H4). In particular, Borjas (1987) disseminated that individuals compare the incomes of their home country and that of the intended destination country of choice, before making their decision of migration. The most interesting part of this theory is that, it illuminates that human beings including international students have an income maximizing intention. Mazzarol, Savery and Kemp (2002) presented the positive performance of Taiwan’s labor market in recent years. Building upon these previous studies and this discussion, the present study developed the following proposition; Hypothesis 7. Taiwan’s labor market mediates the influence of personal factors on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation.. PF, UE, LM and CWT Building from the previous hypotheses such as H1 which hypothesized that personal factors exert influence on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. And also from H6 and H7 which proposed the mediation of university experiences and labor 22.

(32) market respectively, this research proposes the combined mediating influence of university experiences and Taiwan’s labor market on the PFCWT relationship. This proposition is built upon the logical consideration that if both factors mediate this relationship individually, there is also a possibility of mediating the same link in a combination. In short, the current section advances that university experiences in combination with Taiwan’s labor market which are both macro or institutional choices, increases international students’ personal or free choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. On the basis of this logic the following proposition was developed; Hypotheses 8. University experiences and Taiwan’s labor market exert a combined mediating influence on the relation between personal factors and international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation.. In summary, the literature review or foregoing section proposed the influence of personal factors, university experiences and Taiwan’s labor market on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. Other propositions include the individuals and combined mediating influence of university experiences and Taiwan’s labor market on the personal factors and choice of working in Taiwan relationship. The following chapter outlined the methodology for carrying out the investigation.. 23.

(33) CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY This study adopted the quantitative research approach to assess the influence among the study variables. In adherence to expert reviewers’ recommendations, a pilot study was conducted to confirm the factorial validity and construct reliability of the research measurement. This chapter opens with a theoretical framework, followed by; research method and procedure, data collection procedure, composite reliability and validity tests.. Research Framework Following the review of the relevant literature, research purposes, and questions, Figure 3.1., is a research framework developed for the study. The researchers developed the research framework from variables adapted from Kruanak and Ruangkanjanases (2014) and Mazzarol, Savery, and Kemp (1996) studies. The four main variables of the study are personal factors, university experiences, labor market-related factors and choice of working (CWT) in Taiwan.. H6. University Experiences H2. H3. Choice of Working in Taiwan. H8. Personal Factors. H1. H4. H5. Labor Market Factors H7. Figure 3.1. Research framework 24.

(34) Research Hypotheses According to the result of literature review in chapter two, this study proposed the following hypotheses. H1. International students’ personal factors have influence on their choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. H2. International students’ personal factors have influence on their university experiences in Taiwan. H3. International students’ university experiences have influence on their choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. H4. Personal factors have influence on international students’ perception of Taiwan’s labor market. H5. Labor market factors have influence on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. H6. University experiences mediate the influence of personal factors on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation. H7. Labor market factors mediate the influence of personal factors on international students’ choice of working in Taiwan. H8. University experiences and Taiwan’s labor market exert a combined mediating influence on the relation between personal factors and international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation.. Research Method and Procedure Research Method This study adopted a quantitative approach that followed a self-reported survey to gather numerical data and to analyze the statistical relationship between the four variables. The study was delimited to Taiwan universities in order to enable the researcher to analyze the data within a specific context. The power of a quantitative research approach lies in its capacity to explore, describe and illuminate a studied phenomenon (Yin, 2013). One of the advantages of a research survey is that the gathered data are structured around key items and topic and thus it can be easily analyzed. It is also more advantageous in that, it is an efficient data collection method when the 25.

(35) researcher has a specific idea of what is required and how to measure the variables. A self-reported survey is said to be one of the most suitable methodologies for studying individual’s behavior (Howard, 1994). This methodology suited the purposes of this investigation in that the researchers were interested in discovering the staying behavior of international students in Taiwan after graduation. Lastly, a research survey increases respondents’ confidence, most especially when they respond anonymously and in that way provide honest responses.. Research Procedure The quantitative approach was adopted to perform the research process. A survey was conducted to collect primary data from international students in Taiwan universities.. A. questionnaire was designed and used to obtain data from the respondents who are currently studying in Taiwan universities. The research procedure as shown in Figure 3. 2. below, outlines that the research began with the literature review and identification of a research problem. After discovering the research problem, the researcher conducted a further review of relevant literature that culminated in the identification of research questions and purposes. More literature was also reviewed to explain the necessity of this study and to find out the suitable instrument for conducting the research and solving the research problem.. 26.

(36) Review the relevant literature. Identify research problem. Identify research purpose and research questions. Research framework, method and procedure. Develop measurement and assessment instrument. Collect data. Analyze survey questionnaire data. Discussion of findings. Conclusions and recommendations. Figure 3.2. Research procedure. 27.

(37) Measurement Measurement Draft The 5 point Likert-type scale was used to measure personal factors, university experiences and labor market which are the three independent variables of the study. Hence all the independent variables had five response options starting from 1, representing strongly disagree’ (SD) up to 5, which stood for strongly agree’ (SA). The dependent variable was an endogenous variable as it assessed the presence or absence of international students’ future intention of working in Taiwan after graduation with 1 item. See Appendix A, and B, for the questionnaire items scales and coding. The following section discusses the measurements of each of the four main variables.. Personal Factors This part included 10 items statements were adapted from Kruanak and Ruangkanjanases (2014). The dimensions of this variable are career perceptions, family ties and international students’ cross-cultural adaptation process to the Taiwanese society. To measure the extent to which personal factors influence international students’ choice of working in Taiwan, 5-point Likert-type scale type was adopted from Kruanak and Ruangkanjanases (2014). The scale ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree. By choosing strongly agree (SA) option, the international student implied that the measured condition is significantly better and thus exerts a huge influence on his or her choice of working in Taiwan. If the foreign student chose agree (A), he or she meant that the measured item has a much better influence on his or her choice of working in Taiwan. By selecting neutral (N) the foreigner implied that the situation exerted a neutral influence on her or his choice of working in Taiwan. The second option or disagree (D) position, meant that Taiwan exerts a nonsignificant influence on the assessed personal perception. Strongly disagree or the 1st option indicated that Taiwan exerts an extremely insignificant influence on the international student’s personal perception.. University Experiences There were 13 items that assessed international students’ university experiences in Taiwan and they were adapted from the 2015 national Australian Universities survey report. The 28.

(38) dimensions of this variable were academic satisfaction, satisfaction with the chosen university, satisfaction with the education quality and professors as well as student support. Even though the survey report measurement contained 27 items, but the researchers selected only 13 after learning from the report discussion that 14 of these 27 items yielded insignificant results. The 13 items were adapted together with the 5 point Likert-scale in which strongly disagree (SD), meant that the student feels extremely dissatisfied with the measured university experience. The second option that represented the disagree (D) stand, meant that the student is dissatisfied with the measured condition and thus had a little influence. The third or neutral position (N), implied that the student is okay with the assessed university experience. Agree which was the 4th alternative meant that the international student is satisfied with the assessed university experience and thus had a strong influence on the student’s university life in Taiwan. The last or 5th option (SA) implied that the student is extremely satisfied with the measured university experience and thus exerts a remarkable influence on the respondent.. Labor Market Factors About 5 labor market factors items were adapted from Mazzarol, Savery and Kemp (1996), to measure international students’ views about Taiwan’s labor market in comparison to their home country’s labor markets. These items were related to the availability of job opportunities, government policies, job environment and annual salary. Like the two above mentioned variables, the labor market’s five items were also measured by a 5-point Likert-type scale. Where strongly agree (SD) implied that the student perceives that Taiwan’s measured labor market factor was extremely worst in comparison to his or her home country. Disagree (D) meant that the measured factor was worse in Taiwan in comparison to the student’s home country. Neutral (N) meant the assessed condition was the same in Taiwan and in the international student’s home country. Agree(A) meant that the measured labor condition was better in Taiwan compared to the student’s home country. Strongly agree (SA) meant that the measured factor was much better in Taiwan compared to the student’s home country.. 29.

(39) International Students’ Choice of Working in Taiwan A single item, was adapted from Kruanak and Ruangkanjanases (2014) to measure the presence or absence of an intention to work in Taiwan after graduation. If the student chooses definitely yes, it indicated that he or she is having an intention of working in Taiwan after graduation. By choosing definitely no, the student signaled that he or she has no intention of working in Taiwan after graduation. The scale used to measure students’ overall working intention was a binary scale, in which the student was given only two options which were choosing to work in Taiwan or any other part of the world.. Formal Questionnaire Pilot study. The pilot test questionnaire contained the 5 variables of the study measured by 29 quantitative items, and 8 demographic items giving a total of 37 items. It was divided into 5 sections. It opened with a cover letter and the next part contained questionnaires which assessed international students’ personal factors. The third section and page consisted of Taiwan’s labor market-related factors and the fourths part comprised of factors that measured international students’ university experiences. The fifth and the last section featured demographic items and the single item which measured international students’ choice of working in Taiwan after graduation.. Main study. After the pilot study, there were 23 questions that were retained in the questionnaire including items that measured demographic characteristics of the international students as well as the four main variables of the study. The first page of the questionnaire contained a cover letter and instructions. The second page consisted of the items that measured the personal factors variable. Page 3, had items that assessed international students’ perception of Taiwan’s labor market in comparison to their country’s labor market. The subsequent page consisted of items that assessed international students’ university experiences. The last section comprised of question 7 one of the dependent variables of the study. The other questions in this section were related to international students’ individual life experiences as well as demographic information. Please visit Appendix A, for a detailed overview of the questionnaire. 30.