Motivation and Integration of Taiwanese Self-Initiated Expatriates in China

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(1)Motivation and Integration of Taiwanese Self-Initiated Expatriates in China. by. Fang-Yu Chang. A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION. Major: International Human Resource Development. Advisor: Wei-Wen Chang, PhD.. National Taiwan Normal University Taipei, Taiwan June, 2016.

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(3) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I wish to express my most sincere gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Chang. This thesis would not be done without her help! She helped me a lot in improving the quality of thesis and provided me with so much useful information and articles. I have learned a lot from her in the field of qualitative study. Secondly, I would like to extend my gratitude to my family for supporting me through this path. This path has almost come to an end, and there is another intersection awaiting for me to go. I deeply hope that what I have learnt can pay off one day and my wish is to support my family especially my parents to enjoy their retired life and do whatever they want to do. Thirdly, to my dear committee members Dr. Lai and Dr. Yeh, your advice and comments are deeply appreciated. You bring to my attention anything illogical or inappropriate so I can improve my writing skills even further. I am very appreciated for your time and efforts on my thesis! Also, special thanks to my partner Nancy, you are one of the best partners I have ever had. I am glad to have you by my side in this tough and painful process. I think we are similar in some ways. Sometimes we procrastinate together, other times we stay up late and write the thesis until the morning together. We are in this together, I appreciate your support and we finally made it!!! Lastly, I am really grateful to attend this program and met a bunch of awesome people! Thanks to all the professors and staff members. I have grown and cultivated myself as a better HR professional because of your instructions and assistance. Thanks to all the IHRD students for being so awesome and cooperative whenever we faced difficult tasks and challenges. It really makes me feel like home! Although the thesis closed one chapter in my life, another door will open, and I will always remember my home, IHRD!.

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(5) ABSTRACT This study aimed to explore and describe opinions, expectations and feelings of Taiwanese self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) in China regarding their migration, integration and the experiences which influenced the way they think or behave. In order to gather detailed and sufficient data about their life in China, qualitative approach was adopted. In this research, a total of eleven Taiwanese SIEs participated in semi-structured and in-depth interviews, and shared their opinions, experiences about the life and job in China. The main findings were presented and shown that Taiwanese SIEs displayed four types of factors that contribute to their motivation to migrate: career development, financial incentives, self-exploration, family bond and quality of life in Taiwan. With regard to their integration process, it was mainly categorized into four parts: positive job-related experiences, positive life-related experiences, negative job-related experiences, and negative life-related experiences. As for their current integration status, it was examined in the work and life context and found some of them expressed about their career achievement, high mobility, and improvement in communicating with co-workers or subordinates, familiarization with corporate culture or local cultures, and local social circles as the evidence of integration into the Chinese society. Lastly, influences of motivation to migrate and met expectations on motivation to integrate and integration were analyzed and discussed. The findings of the questionnaires revealed that the SIEs seemed to possess the same level of motivation to integrate into the society from the beginning to the second year. Based on the findings, conclusions and implications for SIEs and corporations were provided.. Keywords: motivation to migrate, motivation to integrate, integration, self-initiated expatriate, China. I.

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(7) 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 ................................................................................................. 3 Research Purpose and Questions ........................................................................... 4 Significance of the Study ....................................................................................... 4 Definition of Terms................................................................................................ 5 Research Scope and Limitations ............................................................................ 6. CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................. 9 Self-Initiated Expatriate ......................................................................................... 9 Motivation to Migrate .......................................................................................... 10 Met Expectations ................................................................................................. 12 Motivation to Integrate ........................................................................................ 15 Integration ............................................................................................................ 16. CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY ........................................................21 Research Approach .............................................................................................. 21 Research Framework ........................................................................................... 21 Sampling Criteria and Research Participant ........................................................ 22 Data Collection .................................................................................................... 23 Data Analysis ....................................................................................................... 28 Research Quality .................................................................................................. 30 Research Procedure .............................................................................................. 33 II.

(8) CHAPTER IV FINDINGS & DISCUSSIONS ........................................35 Motivation to Migrate for Taiwanese Self-initiated Expatriates in China ........... 36 Experiences in SIEs' Integration Process ............................................................. 42 Current Integration Status .................................................................................... 55 Influences of SIEs' Expectations and Motivation to Migrate on their Motivation to Integrate and Integration .................................................................................. 61. CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS .........................69 Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 69 Implications.......................................................................................................... 72 Suggestions for Future Studies ............................................................................ 74. REFERENCES .........................................................................................75 APPENDIX A. QUESTIONNARIE.........................................................81 APPENDIX B. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ............................................84 APPENDIX C: CONSENT FORM ..........................................................88. III.

(9) LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1. Profile of the Interviewees.........................................................................23 Table 3.2. The Relationship between Research Questions and Interview Questions.................................................................... .................24 Table 3.3. Example of Check Point............................................................................32 Table 4.1. Findings Framework...................................................................................35 Table 4.2. Findings of Motivation to Migrate.............................................................36 Table 4.3. Summary of Gain Framing Category.......................................................36 Table 4.4. Summary of Loss Framing Category.....................................................39 Table 4.5. Findings of Integration Process………....................................................42 Table 4.6. Summary of Positive Job-Related Experiences Category.......................43 Table 4.7. Summary of Positive Life-Related Experiences Category......................46 Table 4.8. Summary of Negative Job-Related Experiences Category.....................48 Table 4.9. Summary of Negative Life-Related Experiences Category....................51 Table 4.10. Findings of Current Integration Status......................................................55 Table 4.11. Summary of Work Context Category........................................................56 Table 4.12. Summary of Life Context Category..........................................................59 Table 4.13. Data from the Perceived Motivation to Migrate.......................................64 Table 4.14. Data from the Perceived Integration.........................................................65. IV.

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(11) LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1. Theoretical framework of SIE's motivation to migrate and integrate.......11 Figure 2.2. U-curve of cross cultural adjustment.......................................................19 Figure 3.1. Research framework.................................................................................22 Figure 3.2. Typology of SIE's mobility according to their motivation to migrate......27 Figure 3.3. Perceived motivation to migrate and integrate.........................................28 Figure 3.4. Credibility strategies.................................................................................30 Figure 3.5. Research procedure...................................................................................34 Figure 4.1. Summary of influences between themes..................................................61 Figure 4.2. Summary of influence of motivation to migrate to motivation to integrate.....................................................................................................62 Figure 4.3. Summary of influence of met expectations to motivation to integrate.....................................................................................................63 Figure 4.4. Summary of influence of motivation to integrate to integration..............63 Figure 4.5. Perceived motivation to integrate for each participant..............................66 Figure 4.6. Results of perceived motivation to integrate............................................67. V.

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(13) CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. The chapter provides an overview that describes the background of the study, problem statement, purpose of study, research questions and definition of key terms.. Background of the Study As the world is becoming increasingly globalized and competitive, talent mobility and global talent management has become a significant issue. The demand for highly educated and experienced talent has far surpassed the supply since the 1990's. Therefore, it creates a global talent shortage (Chambers, Foulon, Handfield-Jones, Hankin & Michaels, 1998). It arouses companies' awareness of talent acquisition. In the late 20th century, the Taiwanese economy started to grow and expand at a tremendous rate. The population gained an increase in income, social status and standard of living (Lau, 2012). Due to this rapid growth, people started to move to other countries, mainly for higher education. Many people moved to the United States for higher education as it consisted of some of the top education institutions in the world (Chang, 1992). At the beginning of the early 21st century, economies around the world began to slow down and then came the financial crisis in 2008 which saw a loss in jobs and rise in unemployment around the world, Taiwan and its population were also affected (CNN, 2009). However, there was one country which against all odds was still growing and growing at a rapid rate, this was Mainland China. It became an opportunity for people of Taiwan. Moreover, Taiwan has a lot of skilled and talented workers available, both countries also share a common language, so this was a great opportunity for these talented workers. In 2010, it is estimated that about. 1.

(14) three percent of the Taiwan's entire population is working in China (Tsai & Chang, 2010). China's economy grew at a rapid pace, it became the country with the second highest gross domestic product (GDP). China engages many Taiwanese companies to develop their businesses there. The working opportunities in China have intrigued many Taiwanese employees because of the increase in salary and better career opportunities compared to that of Taiwan. Taiwanese workers who are identified as Self-initiated expatriates (SIE) would have no trouble finding a job in Taiwan but they choose to work in China. A growing number of SIEs are moving to China to work for multinational companies, hotels, restaurants or factories (Sui, 2014). Although the number of SIEs continued to grow, a relatively small amount of researches focused on Taiwanese SIEs in China, and most of them applied the "push and pull" view. The push and pull theory simply implies that self-initiated expatriates experience a pull factor or reason to migrate to another country because of the host country's living conditions or financial incentives and a push factor or reason to leave the host country and return home because of family obligations (Mostert, 2013). This shows that not all self-initiated expatriates fully integrate to the host country or have other factors which prevent them from integrating. There have been many studies done on SIEs' motivation and integration of SIEs separately, however, few studies have been done on both motivation and integration of SIEs simultaneously. By examining SIEs' motivation and integration together, we can know how does motivation of migrate in terms of perceived gains and losses influenced their integration, how do those expatriate experiences influence their way of seeing the host country, and even affect their motivation to integrate into the society. Moreover, since few studies have examined the motivation and integration of. 2.

(15) SIEs, this study focused on the motivation for SIEs who decided to go to China, and the influence between their motivation and integration.. Problem Statement With the world becoming globalized, countries opening their borders, and economies around the world still unstable, the demand for talented employees and flexibility in the workplace is growing (OECD, 2008). There are many skilled individuals seeking international career opportunities and expatriating themselves or moving themselves from their home country to another country to find work (Carr, Inkson, & Thorn, 2005). Black and Gregersen (1991) stated that approximately eighty percent of medium to large corporations among multinational enterprises have assigned professional expatriates to overseas subsidiary companies. Thus, globalization is one of the main reasons for individuals having to move cross borders to find work. Furthermore, SIEs who decide to move to other countries do so because of shortage of skilled workers in different countries (OECD, 2012; The Economist, 2011). In the past, Taiwan attracted a lot of foreign labour, with the total number of unskilled labours arriving from South-east Asia estimated at approximately 365,000 in 2008 (Tsai & Chang, 2010). Recently, due to the rise of China, more and more of the population have been migrating to China. There has been a major influx of workers to mainland China, from the US, Europe and all parts of Asia. This presents a problem for Taiwan, as it needs to figure out the reason why Taiwanese expatriates are moving to China for work.. 3.

(16) Research Purpose and Questions This study focused on Taiwanese SIEs and explored their reasons for moving to mainland China. In addition, the researcher examined how the participants integrated to the society and what support or assistance the companies provided for them. By knowing how the organizational integration policies work for the participants, it will benefit other multinational companies set up better orientation, integration policies or working environment for global talents. The study aimed to answer the following questions: 1. What is SIEs' motivation to migrate to China for a job? 2. What are SIEs' experiences in their integration process? 3. What is SIEs' current integration status? 4. How do SIEs' expectation and motivation to migrate influence their motivation to integrate and current integration status?. Significance of the Study Motivation of self-initiated expatriates (SIE) is a significant issue, the world is becoming more globalized and people are moving cross-boarders, as a result, it is beneficial to know the reasons for this phenomenon (Froese & Goeritz, 2007). There are different reasons for workers to find job in other countries, as stated previously in other researches. For instance, family and financial incentives are very important factors that contribute to their expatriation as shown in British expatriate academics (Richardson, 2005). Therefore, there may be different reasons for why people choose to migrate to other countries, this can help shed some light on why Taiwan workers expatriate.. 4.

(17) Definition of Terms Motivation to Migrate Motivation to Migrate refers to an individuals' desire to explore, such as personal fulfillment and development are key factors which contribute to a person's decision of expatriation rather than career development (Froese, 2012). In this study, motivation to migrate is defined as an individual's desire to explore, have a better job or other different factors which contribute to their decision of expatriation.. Motivation to Integrate Motivation to integrate refers to the degree to which qualified immigrants are willing to make efforts to engage and become functionally fit in the host country's environment, it means how far are they willing to fully become a part of the society and assimilate to the culture (Kim, 2001). Qualified immigrants are identified as individuals who have the necessary skills or abilities to work as immigrants in other countries. In this study, motivation to integrate is defined as how much effort are SIEs willing to adapt or integrate into the work or life environment.. Met Expectations Met expectation is the distinction between the pre-conceived expectation an individual has about the host country and actual expectations (Cerdin, Dine, & Brewster, 2014). This means one already has their own expectations about a particular place and what they actually experience is different (e.g. felictious QIs are those who reflect on their migration in terms of strong loss and gain framing, they expect a lot from their host country, even while they may have lost a lot in their home country).. 5.

(18) Integration Integration is defined as life satisfaction, job satisfaction and career success for qualified immigrants in the study of Cerdin et al. (2014). While adaptation seems to possess similar meaning of exploring the process of adjusting to a different culture, it actually differs from the word integration. Adaptation refers to the processes which involves in acquiring certain important skills to fit in or achieve effective interactions in the new environment (Yijälä, Jasinskaja-Lahti, Likki, & Stein, 2012). Based on the meanings of integration and adaptation, it can be concluded that adaptation does not need to necessarily accept the new culture and blend into the new culture while integration needs the acceptance of the new culture which contributes to the satisfaction of life, job and career. In this study, integration is defined as life satisfaction and job satisfaction of self-initiated expatriates.. Self-initiated Expatriate “Self-initiated expatriates” are professionals who choose to expatriate, they are individuals who are not assigned by their companies (Harrison, Shaffer, & Bhaskar-Shrinivas, 2004). Self-initiated expatriates is defined as expatriates who find a job in the host country by themselves, and migrate for career advancement or other reasons.. Research Scope and Limitations Due to the budget and time constraints of the research design, the research scope is explained as follows. First, the participants consisted of Taiwanese SIEs who have worked for at least two years in multinational companies in economically- powerful cities (mainly located in the Eastern part of China) in China. Second, due to the geographical and budget constraints, all the interviews were conducted online. Third, 6.

(19) the researcher adopted purposive sampling. Sampling critera was used to select qualified and appropriate participants for this study. One of the participants was the key informant who introduced his colleagues or friends as potential participants for this research, which means the researcher relied on one informant and his connections. There may be a bias in the research because all the participants are acquaintances with the informant. It is possible that the participants may share similar points of views, opinions and way of thinking with the others. In addition, purposive sampling was adopted because it was difficult for the researcher to acquire the list of all the SIEs working in China. Therefore, the findings of this study can be context specific and may not be applicable to represent the entire population.. 7.

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(21) CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW. This chapter gave an overview of past literature, the factors that were examined in this study and how they are related to each other. The factors include self-initiated expatriate (SIE), motivation to migrate, met expectations, motivation to integrate and integration.. Self-Initiated Expatriate For many researchers, there are different definitions of the term Self-Initiated Expatriate (SIE). According to Froese (2012), Self-initiated Expatriate refers to individuals who, of their own accord find work overseas. They are different from organizational expatriates (OE), they are people who are sent by their organization to an overseas branch, therefore not expatriates by choice. Doherty, Dickmann, and Mills (2011) define self-initiated expatriate, as people who depart for international work without the backing of an organization. Al Ariss (2010) also states that a self-initiated expatriate is an individual who migrates to a country of their choice. The researcher observed from these different definitions that a self-initiated expatriate is someone who moves or relocates to a different country for work without the funding of their organization. When self-initiated expatriates migrate to other countries for work, sometimes they do not have an easy time adjusting to their surroundings. According to Froese (2012), the host country may not provide enough resources for the SIE such as, housing, language assistance and research support. This may affect the SIEs decision to remain in the host country and affect their work performance. Al Ariss (2010) found that SIEs do not always have an enjoyable experience when migrating for work.. 9.

(22) The impact of ethnicity in different countries may affect SIEs performance and social interaction in the host country.. Motivation to Migrate For many of the expatriation studies, they suggested that the motivation to migrate is driven mainly by the person's desire to explore. Namely, personal development and fulfillment, these factors influence people's decision of expatriation more than career development (Frose, 2012; Osland, 1990). In the expectancy theory of motivation proposed by Victor H. Vroom, it stated that perceived outcome will influence people's motivation. In other words, if a person has confidence in doing the job and they find the outcome is desirable, they will possess high motivation (Vroom, 1964). A study done by Kaye (2009) showed that, 2608 New Zealand self-initiated expatriates (SIE) migrating to various countries which revealed the main factors for the move are culture and career. The culture factor refers to the travel opportunities or the chance to experience exotic cultures. Family and financial consideration were their second concern. However, different findings reported by Froese (2012) who studied self-initiated expatriates in South Korea, concluded that international experience and job conditions are the dominant factors for expatriate academics in Korea. It showed that there are differences in the reason for the relocation of SIEs. There has been an ongoing discussion in the literature between what is an assigned expatriate (AE) and what is a self-initiated expatriate (SIE). Assigned expatriates (AE) or Organizational expatriates are individuals who are assigned by their company to work in an overseas subsidiary (Froese, 2012). Suutari and Brewster (2001) revealed that AEs require greater importance of employer initiatives to migrate, whereas SIEs migrate because of poor employment opportunities in the home country. 10.

(23) Cerdin et al. (2014) research has shown that motivation to migrate can be categorized broadly into two areas: gain framing and loss framing. Gain framing refers to SIEs hope of gaining something from the host country as a result of the migration. Loss framing refers to SIEs fears of losing something from the home country, such as social status or family. In social theory, framing theory is the stereotype that individuals depend on to understand and respond to the events. People have their own standards or rules, and they make choices which are influenced by the frame they create (Chong & Druckman, 2007).. Met Expectations Motivation to Migrate Gain Framing. P2 P1. Motivation to Integrate. Loss Framing. P3 P4. Organizational Integration Policies. Integration Life Satisfaction Job Satisfaction Career Success. Figure 2.1. Theoretical framework of SIE's motivation to migrate and integrate. 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.159. Copyright 2014 by Academy of International Business.. There have been other studies which have adopted the socio-economic pull/push 11.

(24) model to examine the reasons for expatriates' decision to relocate overseas. In research, the reason to expatriate, economic recession and individual difficulties are very influential push factors for expatriates (Bierbrauer & Pederson, 1996; Hugh, Paul, & Elaine, 2011).. Met Expectations Met expectation is the contrast between the pre-conceived expectation an individual has about the host country and actual expectations (Cerdin et al., 2014). This means one already has their own expectations about a particular place and what they actually experience is different (e.g. felictious QIs are those who reflect on their migration in terms of strong loss and gain framing, they expect a lot from their host country, even while they may have lost a lot in their home country).. Person-Environment Fit Person-environment fit is defined as the degree of fit a person has with the host country (Nolan & Morley, 2014). Person-Environment fit can be defined as the degree of compatibility or similarity between persons and their work environment (Oh et al., 2014). Person-environment fit is the balance between a person and their environment (Sen & Acar, 2014). We can see there are different definitions for person-environment fit (P-E fit) but all of them generally arrive at the same conclusion, that person-environment fit is the degree of compatibility between a person and their environment. There have been numerous studies on person-environment fit (P-E fit) and they all have different results and findings. According to the study of Nawab, Lib and Nisar (2011), it is important for companies to worry about their employees' adjustment to a new country if they are expatriates. Expatriates have a hard time 12.

(25) adjusting to a new environment and culture and that is a reason why they fail their overseas assignment, which affects their performance and satisfaction. Oberg (2006) stated that everyone is affected by culture shock once you leave your home country for another country for an extended period of time. Moreover, studies of SIEs cultural adjustment have found that successful person-environment (PE) fit has positive impact on their adjustment. Nolan and Morley (2014) examined the relationship from 369 SIE doctors working in Ireland and found that individual characteristics (e.g. beliefs, values and capabilities) and characteristics of work (e.g. job role, job demands) may affect their cross-cultural adjustment. Self-determined theory is a motivation theory that assumes individuals have the. desire to develop their potential to the fullest (Deci & Ryan, 2000). To the extent that people grow their potential depending on their satisfaction for three innate psychological needs: need for autonomy, need for relatedness and need for competence (Greguras & Diefendorff, 2009). Greguras and Diefendorff stated that different types of fit, such as person-environment fit and person-organization fit satisfy different psychological needs. Psychological needs mediate the relationship between perceived PE fit and employee performance. Therefore, we know that psychological needs are also important factors to examine, while we research on the relationship between PE fit and job integration in our study. Sun, Peng and Pandey (2014) have also found that self-determined acts such as, affective commitment (inner sate of employee who has a strong desire to work in an organization) employees with this commitment have a strong desire to work in the organization, willing to accept and internalize goals and values, they emphasize more intrinsic motivation. Some reasons why P-E fit is a good choice to be researched is because there have been some studies which prove it is related to satisfaction. In the study of Duffy, Autin and Bott (2015), they found that person-environment fit and work meaning 13.

(26) have a mediating effect on work volition and job satisfaction. According to Oh et al. (2014), they compared P-E fit to work attitudes (job satisfaction, intent to quit, organizational commitment) and performance and found that it had a strong relationship between them. Therefore, previous studies showed that P-E fit has a strong relationship or can have a strong relationship to job satisfaction and performance. Another reason for person environment fit is a good choice is because this can be examined more in the East, meaning Asia. P-E fit themes (balance among life domains, cultivation) were looked at by Chung, Hsu, Wang and Judge (2015). They found that Chinese individuals experienced P-E fit from a relational perspective rather than an individualistic perspective and that culture plays an important role in this. Chuang et al. (2015) also indicated that other research can examine more on P-E fit in a Chinese or Asian context.. Person- Job Fit There are different definitions of what person-job fit is according to different researchers. According to Grogan and Youngs (2011), person-job (P-J) fit could be understood as the correspondence between employee needs and job supplies. P- J fit tends to be high when individuals possess the abilities that are required to accomplish the job tasks (Kristof-Brown, Barrick, & Franke, 2002). D'Amato and Zijistra (2008) had built on those ideas and found that the interaction between the individual and their work environment is significant to the person's P-J fit. Namely, how well the person fits into the new environment will affect their P-J fit as well. Person job fit could be defined as the match between an individuals' ability and the job demands or what a person needs/desires and what a job provides (Lauver & Kristof-Brown, 2001). According to Lin, Yu, and Yi (2014), person-job fit is the fit 14.

(27) between the abilities of a person and the demands of the job, or between the desires of a person and the attributes of a job. It is the exchange process which involves two kinds of fit: need-supply fit and demand-ability fit. Chi and Pan (2012) stated that P-J fit is divided into two separate dimensions. One is the perception of an individual and what a job supplied. The other one is the relationship between the demands of the job and the abilities of the individual. There have been many studies done on person- job fit and the results are different. In the study of Scroggins (2008), he researched person-job fit in relation to an individual's work performance and retention. Results show that, individuals with higher level of fit and experienced more meaningful work, they would tend to have lower intentions to leave their organization, this was due to a part in attraction and commitment to an organization or work context that provided self-verifying information. For Li and Hung (2010), findings showed that there is a positive relationship for their research dimensions of traditional literacy and computer literacy towards person-job fit. Furthermore, they found that PJ fit, increased task performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The theory was supported which showed that work adjustments and an employee's psychological well being resulted in positive attitudes and behaviors which benefitted the company.. Motivation to Integrate Motivation to integrate has different aspects.. The main aspect is why, what. could be the reasons that make them want to move to other countries and integrate and perhaps continue to stay in that particular country. According to the study done by Froese (2012), there are many reasons why expatriates migrate to another country, such as monetary incentive, family, career development and experience. Based on Froese, family is an important factor for which people choose to migrate and integrate. 15.

(28) If they have a good social network at home and at work, it seems to increase their performance and willingness to integrate. Social bonds are another reason. They already migrate to another country, however, if they receive less or little support or do not have the social bonds around them, they may feel less inclined to continue staying or keeping up their performance and might want to return to their home country. Existing research found that immigrant's initial perception of migration in terms of perceived gains and losses will affect their motivation to integrate (Cerdin et al., 2014). If the person is pushed away from their home country due to reasons such as economic crisis and they have a lot expectations about the new host country, it refers to the highest motivation to integrate to the new society. Furthermore, skilled immigrants' initial expectations of perceived gains and losses may even determine whether organizational integration policies are effective for them or not. Another research also discovered that immigrants who possess higher motivation to adjust are those who have family obligations especially during settlement period in the host country (De Castro, Gee & Takeuchi, 2008). I read and reviewed many articles on databases such as, EBSCO and SCOPUS, that are associated with SIE, but only one of the articles that is proposed by Cerdin et al. (2014) examined the relationship between motivation to integrate and integration.. Integration Integration is a broad term, this study examined integration in terms of an individuals' job satisfaction or life satisfaction after they integrated or moved to another country for work. A recent study (Cerdin et al., 2014) found that highly qualified immigrants' motivation to integrate to a new environment would influence their integration. Cerdin et al. (2014) define integration as job satisfaction, life satisfaction and career success. A successful integration depends on the level of their 16.

(29) motivation to integrate. If they possess higher motivation to integrate, it means they have a higher possibility of achieving successful integration in terms of job satisfaction, life satisfaction and career success. In addition, Bhagat and London (1999) discussed about what is assimilation and acculturation. Assimilation is when immigrants or individuals do not wish to maintain their home country's culture and identity, they become more immersed in the other country's culture and identity. However, when they choose to retain their home country's culture and identity and at the same time choose to interact and participate in the other country's culture, this is called acculturation. These two ideas are presented for different individuals when they decide to go overseas to work. Templer, Tay, and Chandrasekar (2006) looked into motivation and how motivation related to an individual's work adjustment, general adjustment and interaction adjustment to a new environment. Work adjustment refers to the new job, responsibilities and environment in the individual's new cultural setting. Individuals are usually motivated intrinsically by their ability to be able to adapt to new situations and environments. General adjustment just refers to how an individual is able to adapt and integrate to life in the new or foreign environment, some people are more adaptable than others. Interaction adjustment refers to how one is able to adapt and able to interact with other people in a foreign environment, similar to general adjustment. Forese and Goeritz (2007) examined the topic of Merger and Acquisition (M&Q) and how can this affect human and organizational integration. This was explored not only in an Asian setting but also Western and European setting. Results showed that human integration was more important in the Asian setting because the culture was different from a Western and European setting.. 17.

(30) With regard to integration or adjustment for people who are accommodating themselves to a new environment, Lysgaard (1955) proposed the U- Curve Theory of Cross Cultural Adjustment (Figure 2.2.). The results show that their adjustment levels are distributed like U shaped curve, and adjustment is divided with four different time periods as follows: honey moon, culture shock, adjustment and mastery. In the honey moon stage, people are usually excited about new cultures and very keen on interacting with natives. While interacting with natives, they may at times violate the rules or have some misunderstandings, most natives can accept and understand them. Thus, most SIEs in this stage enjoy their brand new life and embrace the new culture with excitement, that is why they called it honeymoon. For the second stage, people will gradually lose their excitement about a new culture, but still need to face their job and environment in the new country. They may start to find some undesirable behaviors that they would not do in their home country (e.g. people who spit in China). Therefore, they are always in a state of uncertainty which will lead to anxiety, frustration and despair, individuals literally hit rock bottom. For the adjustment stage, people gradually get accustomed to the culture and environment, so they start to behave well based on rules or values that natives perceived and have better relationships or even make more friends with natives. In the last stage, people have mastered the new culture and rules, consequently, they can finally bring what they have learned into full play.. 18.

(31) Figure 2.2. U- curve of cross cultural adjustment. Adapted from Black, J.S.& Mendenhall, M. 1991. The U- curve adjustment hypothesis revisited: A review and theoretical framework. Journal of International Business Studies, 22, 225- 247.. Summary On the basis of the above literature, a framework of SIEs' motivation and integration is developed as shown in Figure 3.1 in Chapter Three. The theoretical background of motivation to migrate, person- environment fit, person- job fit, motivation to integrate and integration are provided. The assumed relationship between motivation to migrate and motivation to integrate is proposed with the support of the articles. The supposed relationship between the motivation to integrate and integration is only found in one study done by Cerdin et al. (2014). Therefore, because it has only been examined in one research, we chose to continue the study and hope to add more contribution in this field. 19.

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(33) CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY. 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. 21.

(34) framework was adapted from the previous study and based on the research purpose and questions stated in Chapter I.. Integration Process Met Expectations Person-Environment Fit Person-Job Fit (Positive VS Negative). Motivation to Migrate Motivation to Integrate. Gain Framing Loss Framing. Current Integration Status Job Context Life Context 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. 22.

(35) company in China. He had connections with many Taiwan expatriates which were needed for the required sample. Table 3.1. Profile of the Interviewees Pseudonym. Gender. Carol. F. Edward. M. Helen. F. Billy. M. Terry. M. Alex. M. Sam. M. Jason. M. Iris. F. Laura. F. Ann. F. Educational Background Nursing Bachelor Business Master Business Bachelor Accounting Bachelor Business Bachelor. Marital Status. Married. 2. Single. 3. Single. 6. Single. 6. Married. 9. Architecture Married Bachelor Architecture Married Master Architecture Married Master Business Single Bachelor Finance Single Bachelor Business Bachelor. Years of working in China. Single. Job Position Special Assistant to Executive Director Operation Director Senior Practice Leader Internal Audit Director IT Data Center Technical Director. Work Location. Shanghai. Shanghai Shanghai Shanghai Hong Kong. 14. Vice President. Shanghai. 3. Project Manager. Shanghai. 2. Project Manager. Xi'an. 2. Sales assistant. Shenzhen. 2. Sales assistant. Guangdong. 2.5. Customer Development Sales. Guangdong. Data Collection 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 23.

(36) 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) 24.

(37) 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?. 25.

(38) 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 26.

(39) 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.. Dream Migration. Felicitous Migration. Weak. Chance Migration. Desperate Migration. Gain Framing. Strong. Weak. Strong Loss Framing. 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 27.

(40) 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.. Perceived Motivation to Migrate and Integrate 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Motivation to Motivation to migrate integrate(1st month). 6th month. First year. First year 6th month. Perceived Motivation to migrate and integrate. Figure 3.3. Perceived motivation to migrate and integrate. 28. Second year.

(41) 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 29.

(42) 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.. Methodological Triangulation Credibility. Triangulation Peer Debriefing. Figure 3.4. Credibility strategies. 30. Semi-Structured Interview. Short Questionnaire.

(43) 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 31.

(44) 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 #1 used in the study. Every research process and change made Research Question inPlease the research was down. Thus,isthe readers can examine every process and rate if thewritten categorization appropriate. 1 Strongly disagree 2 Disagree 3 Neutral 4. Agree 5. Strongly agree authenticate the findings by following the research procedure. Additionally, by 1. What is SIEs' motivation to migrate to China for a job? reading recorded audit trail, the readers Code: the Career Development 1 can 2 know 3 how 4 well 5 the techniques that the First of all, when I was working in Taiwan, I always needed to work overtime. researcher had followed to meet the standards of credibility and transferability. Lastly, Second, I thought ten years of working experience in Taiwan was enough, and I had innothing order to reach higher dependability in coding openended data, the inresearcher new to learn from the job. Consequently, I was hoping to work a bigger market to learn and develop my career. At that time, I thought China was a large found other two graduate students who also had same background as human resources market so it would have more potential to develop my career. Then I decided to go totobeChina the raters to do peer to examination. The two raters required to fill up a for work andthehoped see how such a large marketwere works. rating form consisting of 24 items, each rated (1 to 5) on a 5-point Likert scale. Those If you hope to migrate to fast- growing economies like APEC countries for work, 24you check points examined the codinginand categorization appropriate and should obtain working ifexperiences China first because were it is very challenging and demanding to work in developing markets. If you do not have any working corresponded. The example of check point was shown as table 3.2, and the results of experience in large markets such as China and apply for job in APEC countries the peer examination shown thatenough the coding and categorization were reliable and directly, you may not have experience and be regulated to doing administrative work. 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.. 32.

(45) 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.. 33.

(46) 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 Figure 3.5. Research procedure. 34.

(47) CHAPTER IV FINDINGS & DISCUSSIONS The main findings of this study were proposed and divided into four sections. First, the researcher discussed about SIEs' motivation to migrate to China for work. Second, was about the job or life experiences during the integration process. Third, the results of their current integration status were shown. Lastly, influences of expectations and motivation to migrate to motivation to integrate and integration were proposed. Table 4.1. Findings Framework Motivation to Migrate. Integration Process. Current Integration Status. 1.Gain FramingCareer Development Financial. 1.Positive Job-Related Experiences Individual Growth High Income Growth. 1. Work ContextCareer Achievement High Mobility Improvement in Communicating. Incentives Self-Exploration. Open Corporate Culture. with Co-Workers or Subordinates Familiarization with Corporate Culture. 2. Loss FramingFamily Bond Quality of Life in Taiwan. 2. Positive Life-Related Experiences Travel Social Gathering Extracurricular Activities. 2. Life ContextFamiliarization with Local Cultures Local Social Zones. 3. Negative Job-Related Experiences Individualistic Culture Competitive Working Environment Characteristics of Chinese 4. Negative Life-Related Experiences Culture Shock, Loneliness Homesick, Frustration 35.

(48) Motivation to Migrate for Taiwanese Self-initiated Expatriates in China According to the theoretical framework, motivation to migrate was categorized into two parts: gain framing and loss framing. Gain framing referred to what the interviewees thought they would gain from migrating to China for work. Loss framing referred to what would they lose from leaving Taiwan. The findings for this theme were divided into gain framing and loss framing. Table 4.2. Findings of Motivation to Migrate Theme. Category. Key Concepts. 1. Motivation to. 1.1 Gain Framing. 1.1.1 Career Development 1.1.2 Financial Incentives. Migrate. 1.1.3 Self-Exploration 1.2 Loss Framing. 1.2.1 Family Bond 1.2.2 Quality of Life in Taiwan. Gain Framing Gain framing refers to the participants' perceived gains from migrating to China to work. In this category, it was divided into three sections: career development, financial incentives, and self-exploration. Table 4.3. Summary of Gain Framing Category Theme. Category. Key Concepts. 1. Motivation to. 1.1 Gain Framing. 1.1.1 Career Development. Migrate. 1.1.2 Financial Incentives 1.1.3 Self-Exploration 36.

(49) Career development. As for the motivation to migrate, the respondents all indicated one of the main factors was career development. It not only resulted from the strong and large economic in China but was due to the stable and weak economic growth in Taiwan that pushed people away from Taiwan to find a larger market with more potential. In this study, the respondents expressed their eagerness to find a bigger stage and have better career development in China. Simultaneously, they stated that the working environment and career path in Taiwan could no longer satisfy them. Thus, they had to make the decision to move to China for work, as Billy who was a internal audit director working in China for six years stated: 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.. The interviewees also stated that the experience of working in China could be very beneficial if they wanted to find job in another countries, such as the fast-growing economies of the APEC countries. Edward who had three years working experience in China as an operation director said: 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 37.

(50) APEC countries directly, you may not have enough experience and be regulated to doing administrative work.. Financial incentives. Financial incentives were very significant and fundamental factors for SIEs choosing China as their job location, especially for those who had working experiences and were already at the managerial level. Eight of them stated that salary and bonus of jobs in China could be twice or even more than similar jobs in Taiwan, as Terry who worked as an IT data center technical director for nine years stated: If I chose to stay in Taiwan for work, I might not have earned as much as I have now even after twenty years. The payroll growth in Chinese companies are much more higher than Taiwanese companies. For general managers with 5 to 10 years working experience, their annual salary is between 300,000-400,000RMB.. Carol who was a special assistant to the executive director working in China for 2 years also mentioned when people job-hopped to another company for work in China, it was easy for them to bargain the price of their salary, she stated: It is very easy to do job hopping in China, and your salary can increase a lot if you have good bargain skills. For example, my friend is an accountant, and her monthly salary increased from 8000RMB to 25000RMB only after four years. There is no loyalty issue in China. If you can job-hop to a better position, they will consider that you have exceptional abilities.. Self-exploration. Two of the interviewees (Iris and Laura) just graduated and had no previous working experiences when they found the job in China. They stated that nowadays the 38.

(51) salary for inexperienced SIEs in China was almost equal to the salary in Taiwan, and there were no other appealing advantages anymore. In addition to career development, self-exploration was one of the main factors that influenced their decision. They addressed their eagerness to learn new things and explore themselves and different workplaces, as Iris who worked in China as a sales assistant for two years mentioned: I decided to go to China for work during the last semester of college. I had been living in Taichung since I was young, so I was very eager to leave Taichung and explore myself and the outside world .. Loss Framing Loss framing refers to the participants' perceived loss from leaving Taiwan. In this category, two parts were divided as follows: family bond and quality of life in Taiwan. Table 4.4. Summary of Loss Framing Category Theme. Category. Key Concepts. 1. Motivation to. 1.2 Loss Framing. 1.2.1 Family Bond. Migrate. 1.2.2 Quality of Life in Taiwan. Family bond. Eight out of the eleven interviewees left Taiwan without the company of their family. They stated that family bond was the biggest loss for leaving Taiwan. They expected the loss of family bond would be the main problem that they would face, but they still chose to go to China for work. Three of the eight interviewees even left their children and spouse in Taiwan. Although they had some vacation time to go back to 39.

(52) Taiwan, they all expressed they felt a bit alienated from their family, as Sam who had 3 years working experience as a project manager in Shanghai stated: Going to China was a painful decision because I needed to decide between taking them to China or leaving them in Taiwan. At the end, we decided to live apart for better educational opportunities for the child to study in Taiwan. Thus, I cannot accompany them as the normal husband and father do. I think this causes some tension and alienation between me and my family.. Education for children and instability were the two main factors which contributed to their decision of living apart from their family instead of taking the family to China, as Jason who was a project manager working in China for two years said: I think the education system there is not suitable for children's development and future. It depends a lot on how much you are willing to spend on it. Thus, the cost of taking the whole family to China is quite high. As a SIE, our salary and welfare are usually lower than assigned expatriates. Not to mention that I have not settled down here yet. I don't know how long will I stay here.. Although the reasons for not bringing their family to China were education for children and instability, it was clear that the main reason that contributed to those two factors were still economic considerations. They addressed their salary and welfare were not enough for covering the fees and cost they expected to have their family in China. Moreover, instability of work was also the main concern for them. They were required to sign the contract every one or three years depending on the company. One participant Sam stated, "It depends. Some people have to sign three year contract. Some higher level manger are required to sign one year contract. This exists mainly in 40.

(53) foreign companies in China. For Taiwanese companies in China, most of them are still following the same rules as companies in Taiwan which do not require you to sign short-term contract.". Quality of life in Taiwan. Five participants indicated that one of the perceive losses is quality of life in Taiwan. They were comfortable with the life in Taiwan and they loved the living environment in Taiwan. In addition, before they left Taiwan, they had some basic ideas about how the environment was like in the place they were going, as Iris stated, "I knew the living environment in Shenzhen was not going to be good, so I held no expectations either. I went to China for one single reason, work." Two of those five participants who were going to Shanghai expressed their low expectations upon the living environment before they migrated to China, as Billy who had six years working experience as a internal audit director in China indicated: I travelled to Shanghai before my expatriation for a few times, and I never liked the environment there. The city is too crowded with people, and not to mention the serious air pollution. Therefore, I expected nothing from the living environment in Shanghai when I decided to expatriate.. Summary Taiwanese SIEs perceived to have better career development, financial incentives or self-exploration from China. When they were making the choice of migrating to China for work, they also considered some perceived loss from their home country Taiwan, such as family bond or quality of life. Those were main factors which influenced the level of motivation to migrate to China.. 41.

(54) Experiences in SIEs' Integration Process During the integration process, SIEs encountered positive and negative experiences that influenced their motivation to integrate into the environment. Positive surprises increased their motivation to integrate. Negative surprises, by contrast, diminished their efforts to integrate. The theme was divided into four categories: positive job-related experiences, positive life-related experiences, negative job-related experiences and negative life-related experiences. Table 4.5. Findings of Integration Process Theme. Category. Key Concepts. 2.Integration. 2.1 Positive. 2.1.1 Individual Growth. Process. Job-Related. 2.1.2 High Income Growth. Experiences. 2.1.3 Open Corporate Culture. 2.2 Positive. 2.2.1 Travel. Life-Related. 2.2.2 Social Gathering. Experiences. 2.2.3 Extracurricular Activities. 2.3 Negative. 2.3.1 Individualistic Culture. Job-Related. 2.3.2 Competitive Working Environment. Experiences. 2.3.3 Characteristics of Chinese. 2.4 Negative. 2.4.1 Culture Shock. Life-Related. 2.4.2 Homesick. Experiences. 2.4.3 Loneliness 2.4.4 Frustration. 42.

(55) Positive Job-Related Experiences Positive job-related experiences are experiences that the participants' perceived to have good or pleasant influence on them in the working context. The category was split into three parts: individual growth, high income growth, and open corporate culture. Table 4.6. Summary of Positive Job-Related Experiences Category Theme. Category. Key Concepts. 2.Integration. 2.1 Positive. 2.1.1 Individual Growth. Process. Job-Related. 2.1.2 High Income Growth. Experiences. 2.1.3 Open Corporate Culture. Individual growth. All the participants addressed the job in China enables them to learn and improve more in the working context. Thus, they can cultivate their professional skills through those big projects. Furthermore, better stage and opportunity satisfied them and enabled them to have more motivation to integrate to the working environment. Some interviewees mentioned that China provided them a large stage to perform their professional skills and a prosperous career path that Taiwan was not able to provide with. Alex who was a vice president working in China for 14 years stated: China has many large architecture projects. In Taiwan, it is a rare opportunity to participate in big projects. If you want to cultivate your professional skills, it is a must for you to go to China's market. Thus, there was no reason for not integrating to the working environment if you already decided to come to China for better career path. 43.