Career aspirations of business graduates: The willingness to pursue an international career

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Career aspirations of business graduates:

The willingness to pursue an international career

MSc International Business and Management

University of Groningen

Faculty of Economics and Business

MSc thesis December 2009 Lija Chi Turfstraat 9a 9712 JK Groningen Student number: 1737988 l.j.chi@student.rug.nl

Supervisor: Dr. K. van Veen

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ABSTRACT

The aspirations of graduate students are examined toward their intentions to pursue an international career. Several factors are influencing the decision to work abroad. Preference for the type of company and conditions of the future host country are important factors in the decision to pursue an international career. However, differing nationalities show dissimilar preferences and characteristics toward an international career. Whereas graduates from less developed countries are more attracted to developed countries and vice versa. Overall, graduates are willing to pursue an international career but with a preference for shorter assignments.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION... 5

2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ... 6

2.1 Willingness to pursue an international career and actual possibilities ... 6

2.2 Career anchors and expectations of graduates and companies ... 7

2.3 Different international career phases... 8

3. PROBLEM STATEMENT... 11

4. RELATIONS BETWEEN VARIABLES ... 16

4.1 Intentions, expectations and aspirations ... 16

4.1.1 Intentions toward returning home and pursuing an international career... 16

4.1.2 Actions taken toward pursuing an international career... 17

4.1.3 Time plan toward an international career... 17

4.1.4 Main reason to go abroad ... 17

4.1.5 Preference region and type of company ... 17

4.1.6 Important conditions for an international career ... 18

4.1.7 Certainty of foreign job offer... 19

4.2 Home country versus current host country... 20

4.2.1 Conditions of home country versus host country ... 20

4.2.2 Expectations host country beforehand and perceptions during stay in host country ... 20

4.2.3 Change of willingness to pursue an international career during stay abroad... 20

4.2.4 Expectations of employers in home country... 21

4.3 Social integration ... 21

4.3.1 Prior foreign experience... 21

4.3.2 Language facility/skills ... 21

4.3.3 Adjustment to host country and social networks... 22

4.4 Personal circumstances... 22 4.4.1 Partner ... 22 4.4.2 Family support... 23 4.4.3 Stay duration... 23 4.4.4 Scholarships... 23 4.5 Personal details ... 24 4.5.1 Gender... 24 4.5.2 Age... 24 4.5.3 Nationality ... 24

5. METHODOLOGY AND DATA ... 25

5.1 Respondents and data collection ... 25

5.2 Descriptive statistics ... 26

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6.1 Return intentions to home country... 28

6.2 Actions taken to pursue an international career ... 28

6.3 Time plans to an international career... 30

6.4 Main reason to go abroad ... 30

6.5 Preferred region and willing to work in current host country... 31

6.6 Preferred company type... 33

6.7 Important conditions for an international career... 34

6.8 Certainty of foreign job offer ... 38

6.9 Conditions of home country versus current host country... 39

6.10 Expectations beforehand toward current country of residence... 43

6.11 Perceptions changed toward current country of residence... 46

6.12 Change of willingness to pursue an international career during stay abroad... 50

6.13 Expectations of employers in home country... 51

6.14 Prior foreign experience ... 54

6.15 Language proficiency ... 55

6.16 Adjustment to host country and social networks ... 56

6.17 Partner... 59 6.18 Family support ... 60 6.19 Stay duration ... 60 6.20 Scholarship ... 61 6.21 Gender ... 62 6.22 Age... 62 6.23 Nationality ... 62 6.24 Overview relationships ... 62

7. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION... 67

7.1 Research questions... 67

Research question 1... 67

Main research question ... 73

7.2 Limitations and future research... 74

7.3 Acknowledgements... 75

APPENDIX 1... 76

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1. INTRODUCTION

In the present globalized environment, with cultures and countries becoming more interconnected with each other, nationality diversity has taken more prominent roles in different levels of the society. In other words, careers are affected by global influences such as movements in labor markets and technology, which have extended individuals’ career choice beyond their home country and shifting careers into the international field. Most individuals view international positions as an opportunity to acquire skills and expertise usually not available at home. These results suggest that expatriates attach value to international assignments for bringing experience and opportunities for personal development and career enhancement (Cappellen and Janssens, 2005). Tung (1998) concluded that expatriates’ positive attitude toward their international assignments support the emerging notion of boundaryless careers. Other authors (Inkson et al., 1997; Peltonen, 1998) have also suggested that boundaryless careers are becoming the pattern for international assignees.

Van Veen and Elbertsen (2008) report an increase of nationality diversity in corporate boards of multinational companies (MNCs) in Europe over the last years. Not only multinational companies are facing more nationality diversity in their corporate boards and top management teams (TMTs); also universities are becoming more internationally diverse by attracting more exchange and international students from different countries. The University of Groningen has intensified their internationalization campaign four years ago; the Board of Directors compelled intensification in the international ambitions of the University of Groningen in the ensuing years. This policy has resulted in a substantial increase of 91%1 of foreign students applying for bachelor and master programs between 2006 and 2008. Thus, there is a significant increase of nationality diversity noticeable in the top of MNCs and also in the educational environment. While the phenomenon of corporate expatriation is thoroughly established (Black, Mendenhall, & Oddou, 1991; Bossard & Peterson, 2005), an alternative pattern of new international careers is now recognized; increasing numbers of individuals leaving their home country to find international work and related personal challenges. Arguably, these individuals comprise a larger and even more powerful global labor market segment than expatriates, yet we know little about them and their aspirations toward an international career. This reasoning makes it interesting to see whether graduate students also are influenced by globalization and if they are willing to pursue an international career (directly) after their graduation.

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2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1 Willingness to pursue an international career and actual possibilities

There are two main conditions for graduate students in pursuing an international career; the willingness of starting a career abroad, and on the other hand, the options and opportunities they are given by companies to increase the possibility of starting an international career. Various push and pull factors can be employed to explain the willingness of business graduates to pursue an international career (Güngor and Tansel, 2008). Push factors are characteristics originating from the home country’s setting that provoke graduates to migrate abroad. These characteristics comprise a variety of economic, institutional, professional and political factors, which includes unsatisfactory salary levels and work conditions, deficiency in career development opportunities in addition to economic and political uncertainty. Pull factors, on the other hand, are opportunities provided by the host country to attract graduate students to the host country, by providing for example higher income levels and better career and professional development prospects. Table 1 demonstrates the effectiveness of push and pull factors on the easiness and willingness of pursuing an international career. An individual experiencing both strong push and pull factors is more likely to pursue an international career.

TABLE 1

Effect of push and pull factors on pursuing an international career

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2.2 Career anchors and expectations of graduates and companies

The opportunities offered to job candidates by MNCs can be perceived subjectively. Graduates’ knowledge of the job options and opportunities at MNCs can be dissimilar from the actual circumstances in companies. Therefore, it is also worthwhile to distinguish the perceptions of graduate students toward the possibilities and easiness of entering companies. Most people appear to possess a self-concept, a ‘career anchor’ (Schein, 1996; p.1), which holds an individual’s internal career together even in case of experiencing impressive changes in their external career. Most individuals are not conscious of their career anchors until reaching a life stage which requires making choices. Facing the next step after graduation is a moment in which individuals are confronted with their self-images and become aware of their career anchors. The ability to analyze oneself, as well as the ability to figure out what kind of job is available and how that job will evolve, becomes a crucial skill.

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2.3 Different international career phases

Globalization encouraged companies to become more globally oriented; their source of knowledge in the form of employees has to match this increasing globalization. There is an increasing demand for international managers and, on the other hand, it seems that there is also an increase in individuals’ willingness to pursue an international career.

Several authors have created a definition of a career; this phenomenon can be described as a sequence of positions occupied by a person during the course of life-time (Super, 1957) or the evolving sequence of a person’s work experiences over time (Arthur, Hall and Lawrence, 1989). This definition approaches a career as a journey or a movement in different directions, a so-called career path (Inkson, 2004). The definition of career as a path explicitly embraces an evolution over time, a series of career moves. This career definition as ‘a sequence of moves’ acknowledges the trend that organizations no longer provide fixed career paths.

Since the 1980s, the career context has become more complex. Change drivers such as globalization, virtualization, demographic developments or value changes have led to new forms of organizing and of private as well as professional life concepts of individuals (Ruigrok et al., 1999). These developments have not left careers untouched. First, the significance of organizations as the central arena for professional careers decreases. Whether deliberately or because of a lack of choice, people's careers will increasingly take place outside organizations (Arthur and Rousseau, 1996). Secondly, individual careers have already become more diverse and will become even more so in the future, consisting of different professions in or outside different organizations in different places in the world with a great variety of combinations of private and professional activities (Hall and Mirvis, 1996).

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Nowadays, in large corporations, task groups consist of various nationalities and the trend is toward even more of them in the future (Hambrick et al., 1998). Since the internationalization of careers has experienced a rapid expansion, the question is how these multinational groups evolve. According to Ruigrok and Greve (2008, p. 2), several factors have contributed to the international mobility of executives, such as cross-border mergers, English as lingua franca and the increase of international capital, goods and service markets.In addition, Staples (2007) and Van Veen and Marsman (2007) have investigated the increase of international executives within boards. Staples shows a theoretical framework of the increase of multinational boards, whereas Van Veen and Marsman explain the increase in multinational boards. These aforementioned authors all come to the conclusion that there is an increase of national diversity within executive boards.

On the other hand, much research in the area of global careers has primarily concentrated on management-oriented studies of expatriates. The rapid internationalization of U.S. firms after the Second World War initiated the academic interest in expatriate managers. Subsequently, researchers focused on antecedents to expatriate adjustment to explain perceived high expatriate failure rates (Thomas, Lazarova, and Inkson, 2005). On the other hand, several studies addressed expatriation and overseas assignments in relation to career development (Feldman & Thomas, 1992). While most of the initial research on expatriates has taken the perspective of international management researchers, increasing attention has been paid to the careers literature, which addresses how these international assignments fit into individual and organizational career planning (Feldman, 1991). Therefore, literature has concentrated on the willingness to accept international postings (Brett and Stroh 1995; Tharenou 2003). Brett and Stroh (1995) and Yurkiewicz and Rosen (1995) provide an overview of factors that affect the willingness to relocate internationally: these include age, education, race, gender, type of work, career ambition, attitude toward moving, job tenure, having a working spouse, children at home, community links and tenure, openness to change and previous foreign experience. Moreover, Dickmann, Doherty, Mills and Brewster (2008) write about the factors that influence the decision of managers to accept expatriate assignments; they concluded that there are significant differences between employees and companies concerning the assessment of factors driving the decision.

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3. PROBLEM STATEMENT

Earlier is stated that international career intentions are based on individuals’ self-concept (Schein, 1996). These self-concepts will take shape and become more concrete when a significant change is near (Carstensen et al., 1999), such as graduation. In the final stage of the graduation process should graduate students be more conscious of the existing possibilities and requirements for their future career. That is, most graduates have distant ideas regarding their future career instead of clear defined plans. Graduates are more cautious in their decisions with respect to international careers, which is a rational thought as an international career means coping with circumstances and situations that are different from the home country. But students active in an international environment are already more tuned toward an international career. These students are participating in an international study program, have past international experience or are currently studying abroad. These aforementioned groups of students are already submerged with international influences in their study environments and are therefore more linked to international careers compared to graduates with no international experiences or influences.

Although there is little research on graduate students’ postgraduate plans,factors influencing such plans have been examined in studies in other countries, notably Australia, Turkey, and China, albeit with an emphasis on respectively; the development of receptivity to work abroad by taking the social cognitive career theory approach, students’ return intentions, and postgraduate educational aspirations (Tharenou, 2003; Güngör and Tansel, 2008; Li, Li, and Zong, 2007).

This current study tries to identify the key factors influencing graduates students of a university in the Netherlands, hereby taking the opinions of both Dutch and non-Dutch students graduating in the Netherlands, which gives the possibility to compare differences between nationalities. This current study has, considering the lack in academic literature on the subject of business graduates’ career aspirations, an explorative interest; it tries to discover which aspects and factors influence the willingness to pursue an international career. Certain factors, such as having a partner (Suutari and Brewster, 2000; Tharenou, 2008), have proven to be a strong influence on individuals’ decision to work abroad. But several factors, such as influences resulting from graduating abroad, are not yet investigated in the context of working abroad after graduation.

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on the other hand, the options and opportunities to start an international career provided by companies. To provide an answer to this issue, it is necessary to examine the expectations, perceptions and aspirations of business graduate students on the willingness to work abroad. As mentioned before, also the opportunities for starting an international career are an important condition in pursuing an actual international career. Therefore, it is interesting to know what the expectations and aspirations of MNCs are with respect to their international recruiting strategies. However, this present research is focused on the perspective of the graduate students, thereby setting the perspective of MNCs aside for future research.

Obviously students have certain aspirations and intentions toward an international career; some ambitions are more well-defined than others. International career intentions are ambitions to actually pursue a job position in a foreign country. As this current study concentrates on business graduates from the Master International Business and Management (IB&M) at the University of Groningen and the University of Uppsala (double-degree program), these students are already internationally oriented. The vast majority of students participating in the Master program of IB&M have prior international experience as this is mandatory in the Bachelor IB&M. Non-Dutch students in the Master program are currently studying outside their home country which also counts as foreign experience. Moreover, the IB&M Master program is focused on international business and environments, making IB&M students already more internationally oriented than students in non-international programs.

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immersed in different internationalized environments are graduate students surrounded by globalization. But to what extent are graduates positively influenced in order to pursue an international career by their own initiatives? This leads to the main research question of this paper: To what extent do business graduate students have international career aspirations and which factors influence their willingness to pursue an international career?

The research questions are concentrated on the expectations, perceptions and aspirations of business graduates. By answering these questions it becomes clear which factors influence the graduate students to decide to work abroad. The main research question will be divided into three research questions. If graduates have the intentions and aspirations to pursue an international career, it is important to know which factors and circumstances are positively or negatively influencing their decision to work abroad in order for e.g. universities and companies to anticipate on these aspects. This current paper focuses on whether graduates have international aspirations and if they express their ambitions actively by pursuing an international career on one’s own initiative. As this current research is performed in the Netherlands, it is interesting to know which likes and dislikes graduates perceive regarding the Netherlands as a future host country. As this paper focuses on the intentions and aspirations of graduates toward an international career it is interesting to know which conditions and environments are graduates prefer in an international job in the nearby future. These reasoning leads to the following sub questions: (1) What are the key influence factors on the willingness of business graduate students to aim for an international career? (2) What expectations do business graduates have of an international career in the current host country? To what extent is the Netherlands attractive for international graduates as country to pursue an international career? (3) What are the actual aspirations of business graduates toward working abroad and are these aspirations influenced by changes in their perceptions? To what extent are there differences between nationalities?

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The subject of international careers has been studied by many researches, however the aforementioned trends point to an entirely new appearance of globally mobile employee; research on these individuals is considerably less developed than research on expatriates (Suutari, 2003).

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TABLE 2

Causal model of pursuing an international career

Opportunities to pursue an international career Pursuing an international career Willingness to pursue an international career Home country versus host country Intentions, expectations, and aspirations

Social integration Personal

circumstances Personal details

Return intentions Actions taken Time plan Main reason Preference region and company type Important conditions1 Conditions home vs. host country Expectations host country beforehand2 Perceptions during stay in host country3 Change of willingness Expectations of employers in home country4 Prior foreign experience Language skills Adjust host country social networks5 Gender Age Nationality Partner Family support Stay duration Scholarships Foreign job offer 1

Seven conditions: economic conditions; living circumstances; career development; status of job position; salaries; speaking the host language; and feeling related to the host country.

2

Five comparisons: economic conditions; culture; job opportunities; salaries; and living circumstances.

3

Four expectations and perceptions: culture host country; living conditions; job opportunities; salaries; quality of education. 4

Four expectations of employers: International internships; international studies; international work experience; and language skills.

5

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4. RELATIONS BETWEEN VARIABLES

This explorative study aims to identify the most important factors that potentially influence the international career paths of international business students. Inspiration for these factors is based on earlier researches (Güngor and Tansel, 2008; Schein, 1996; Tharenou, 2003). The factors are grouped in several categories: starting with the intentions, expectations and aspirations of business graduates, second; questions related to differences and similarities between the home country and the host country (these questions are only posed to graduates who are residing abroad at the moment of completing the questionnaire), third; the social integration of business graduates, and the final section is dedicated to the personal circumstances of the respondents. The explorative character of this paper has the consequence that not all factors are enabling the construction of consistent hypotheses; this chapter only describes the proposed relations between the independent variables and the willingness to pursue an international career. As a result, the intensity of the relationships between factors that influence the willingness to work abroad and the actual willingness to pursue an international career will be discussed in more detail in the following chapters.

4.1 Intentions, expectations and aspirations

The following factors are tested with the purpose to find out to which extent graduates are interested in an international career. Principally, this paragraph can be regarded as an essential part of this research as the goal is to discover the intentions, expectations, and aspirations of business graduates toward an international career.

4.1.1 Intentions toward returning home and pursuing an international career

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4.1.2 Actions taken toward pursuing an international career

In line with the return intentions can also be argued that graduates who have the intentions to pursue an international career will also express the same intentions after their graduation. It can be argued that graduates who are determined to pursue an international career are more likely of actually taken actions in the direction of realizing an international career.

4.1.3 Time plan toward an international career

Time plays an important role in planning an international career; after all, the total stay duration of residing abroad has an impact on the decisions toward the actual pursuit of an international career. In other words, each graduate has certain career path plans with thoughts about the duration length residing in the host country. It is unknown whether graduate students want to stay abroad for a couple of years or permanently want to emigrate to a host country. Initial career plans are important in predicting the willingness for an international career as they shape the current intentions of graduate students and are likely to remain for the future (Güngör and Tansel, 2008).

4.1.4 Main reason to go abroad

The main reason for graduates willing to work abroad is stipulate for the specifics of their international career. Graduates from developed countries are more likely to work abroad in less developed countries, compared to graduates from less developed countries, as these graduates do not face economic push factors that provoke graduates to work abroad. On the other hand, graduates from less developed countries are more likely to work abroad in developed countries for these same economic benefits (Tharenou, 2008). If graduates are willing to work abroad in order to be more valuable to employers in their home country, the likelihood for a prolonged international career decreases as these graduates eventually want to work in their home country.

4.1.5 Preference region and type of company

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companies regarding overseas work; divergences are especially apparent in the extent to which they prefer countries that are economically well developed, ‘safe’ and not corrupt. The preference of the individual for country safety and stability has not been previously examined, but should affect the decision toward working in less developed countries opposed to developed countries. If graduates prefer a more stable and safe country as work environment, they should be more willing to work in developed than in less developed countries, because the former countries are lower in risk and more safe and stable than the latter ones (Sealy, 1999). Also the main reason for pursuing an international career has an influence on the country choice. If graduates want to work abroad in order to benefit from the better economic conditions in a foreign country, it is more likely that this graduate will choose a developed country as country of residence. Thus, it is more likely that graduates from less developed countries have a preference for work in developed countries.

As graduates have a preference for their future host country, it can also be argued whether graduates have a preference for companies with domestic or foreign foundations. In line with the aforementioned arguments can be assumed that graduates from less developed countries have a preference to work in companies of foreign origin instead of companies with domestic roots.

4.1.6 Important conditions for an international career

Seven conditions in the host country are considered to be important in the decision to purse an international career are tested on their influence on the willingness to pursue an international career. In other words, do graduates value certain conditions to be decisive in their choice to work abroad. These conditions are: economic conditions, living circumstances, career development, status of the job position, financial considerations, speaking the host language, and feeling related to the host culture. Impressions about better circumstances in the host country relative to those of the home country can guide graduates to view an overseas career as an escape route to better conditions, especially if the undesirable situation in the home country is believed to be persistent (Zweig and Chen, 1995). In this case are both push and pull factors strongly present.

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deliberations are also applicable in the case of graduate students, as graduates students are about to enter the labor field.

Financial considerations are important reasons for expatriates to accept an international assignment (Miller and Cheng 1978; Yurkiewicz and Rosen 1995). However, Stahl et al. (2002) argued that the magnitude of financial remunerations has been overstated and that earlier studies have mainly concentrated on American expatriates. Instead, it is argued that different nationalities generate distinguished meanings with regard to the extent of the financial motive. In the research of Stahl et al. (2002) only half of their German sample has put financial considerations in the top five of most important reasons for accepting an international assignment. Fish and Wood (1997) also experienced in their research on Australian managers that the motivation to agree to expatriation was more associated to personal intrinsic results than to instant extrinsic fulfillment. However, the prospect of a higher income level is together with other reasons still important in the decision to pursue an international career.

Several studies show that language differences can be a significant barrier in the decision to pursue a career in a foreign country (Benarroch and Grant, 2004; Finnie, 2004). Language skills are an important factor for international migrants to ease the adjustment of settling abroad. A greater language compatibility of foreign languages makes the transition to a different culture less complicated. In addition, early exposure to foreign languages in the home country is expected to improve language skills and prepare students for foreign study or work experience.It is therefore reasonable to suggest that migrating abroad for work related reasons is inclined to be a selective process that is facilitated by prior knowledge of foreign languages.

Expatriate managers must be competent in transferring technology to the local culture, managing local staff, and adapting business practices to suit local conditions. Specifically, international expatriate managers require cultural adaptation skills to adjust to new environments and to associate with cultural differences. They must also acquire specific knowledge about the particular culture's perspectives, tastes, trends, technologies, and ways of doing business. Learning is thus single country focused, and culturally specific, during the international phase (Adler and Bartholomew, 1992). The integration process in a foreign country will be facilitated by graduates feeling related to the host culture.

4.1.7 Certainty of foreign job offer

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completing their studies face a higher probability of pursuing an overseas career, because they do not face the uncertainty associated with searching for a job after graduating.

4.2 Home country versus current host country

Variables regarding comparisons between the host and home country are specifically concentrating on graduates’ current host country. These variables are still focusing on the willingness to work abroad, but specified to the Netherlands and Sweden.

4.2.1 Conditions of home country versus host country

Graduates are very likely to depart their home country, for instance, to escape from the political environment, due to lifestyle preferences, or because they find the facilities and equipment for research to be insufficient in their home country. In conclusion, graduates who experience a higher living standard in the host country than in their home country show a greater probability of pursuing an international career. Five conditions are tested on their influence on the willingness to pursue an international career: economic conditions, job opportunities, level of salaries, and living circumstances.

4.2.2 Expectations host country beforehand and perceptions during stay in host country

Expectations of a country can differ from actual perceptions obtained from staying in the country concerned. Positive expectations toward the host country before actually entering the particular country give a positive feeling toward the foreign experience. When during the residence abroad these same expectations are positively changed, the perceptions toward staying abroad will increase. In the end, these positive perceptions toward the host country will result in a more positive approach to an international career.

4.2.3 Change of willingness to pursue an international career during stay abroad

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4.2.4 Expectations of employers in home country

When graduate students initially go abroad because international degrees or foreign work experience is highly valued by employers in their home country, the probability of pursuing an international career in the current host country directly decreases (Güngör and Tansel, 2008). That is, when employers give a high importance to international experience, the likelihood of graduates getting a job in the home country will increase. Therefore, the attractiveness of the home country increases in spite of the total stay duration in the host country.

4.3 Social integration

This paragraph discusses the adaptability of graduates to an environment different from their home surroundings. Adaptability to a foreign environment is an important factor in the success of an international career.

4.3.1 Prior foreign experience

A previous stay in a foreign country gives graduates additional experiences compared to graduates who do not have foreign experiences. International work and travel experiences expose an individual to a variety of occurrences that could be considered as career capital and later leveraged to achieve career goals (Inkson and Arthur, 2001). Moreover, foreign experience indicates that the graduate is internationally oriented and more prepared to broaden his international view and thus more willing to pursue an international career. Additionally, previous foreign experience gained by study, work or traveling, before entering the host country may facilitate adjustment to the current country of residence and is expected to increase the willingness to pursue an international career.

4.3.2 Language facility/skills

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career as this aspect will ease the adjustment to a foreign country and increase the employability of individuals.

4.3.3 Adjustment to host country and social networks

The willingness to pursue an international career decreases when the psychic costs, such as adjustment costs, associated with being in a foreign country are high. While having friends of the same nationality at the current institution of study may ease the adjustment to the host country, graduates who indicated that this was an important adjustment factor are less likely to accept an international posting (Güngör and Tansel, 2008). The social environment is expected to be important in explaining differences in decisions to stay of students. Social network ties provide many essential functions which enables the access to support, control, and companionship. But these social networks may also include social constraints or conflicts (Lepore, 1992). Recent research indicates the importance of the social environment in determining current return intentions of graduates (Güngör and Tansel, 2008). Reasonably, those who are less satisfied with their social conditions abroad and face stronger adjustment problems are more likely to pursue an international career.

4.4 Personal circumstances

Earlier research already stated that personal circumstances are important in the decision to pursue an international career. Some factors are discussed in earlier researches but not with the focus on graduate students.

4.4.1 Partner

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international career in the future host country, while a relationship with a partner from the home country may reduce international ambitions of graduate students.

4.4.2 Family support

Family matters, such as family support toward the decision for an international career, are expected to have a significant impact on the willingness of graduates to work abroad. Research indicates that family support is an important determinant in the decision to work in a foreign country. Several studies confirm the importance of individuals’ family roles in accepting an international job position (Niland, 1970; Zweig and Changgui, 1995). Greater family support for the international career aspirations of graduates result in greater willingness of pursuing an international career. On the other hand, families’ condemnation toward individuals’ decision to work abroad diminish the probability of pursuing an international career.

4.4.3 Stay duration

Stay duration is the number of years that a graduate student resides in the host country. When the stay duration increases, the incentive to return to the home country is expected to deteriorate, since graduates become more accustomed to living abroad. More extensive stay duration may also indicate a preference to live abroad, whether existing initially or experienced over time. Moreover, obtaining a job is in some countries dependent on informal networks and the longer the graduate remains abroad the greater is his segregation from these networks (Güngör and Tansel, 2008). Earlier research concluded that expatriates, working in a foreign country for several years, are likely to change or adapt themselves according to the foreign environment (Black, 1992; Stroh et al., 2000). So, while the length of stay enhances familiarity with the host country; it can also initiate or increase a psychological distance with the social and work environment of the home country.

4.4.4 Scholarships

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Scholarships that include obligations to return to the home country after graduation decrease the probabilities of pursuing an international career.

4.5 Personal details

4.5.1 Gender

In previous empirical studies, women have been found to be more eager about working abroad. This is believed to be caused by lack of career opportunities for women (i.e. glass ceiling), as well as certain convenience factors abroad, that offer them a more comfortable lifestyle than they could expect to experience in certain countries. These factors, including less lifestyle freedom, may also be important for women making them more willing to return to pursue an international career. Gender does not has a major impact on the decision to pursue an international career in the case of graduate students, as the vast majority of graduate students are not yet concerned with childrearing expectations (Tharenou, 2003) since this is not yet applicable at the beginning, but in a latter stage of a career.

4.5.2 Age

Older students may be expected to exhibit weaker international career aspirations than younger students who face a longer time frame for working and earning a high salary level in the foreign country (Chen and Su, 1995).

4.5.3 Nationality

Differences in nationalities are widely discussed subjects. Earlier research suggested that nationalities from developed countries will react different from nationalities from less developed countries (Tharenou, 2003). This paper discusses whether differences between nationalities are visible with regard to international aspirations.

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5. METHODOLOGY AND DATA

The entire population of interest entails the business graduates of International Business programs in the Netherlands. The sample of this research is concentrated on business graduates of the University of Groningen and the University of Uppsala (double-degree program with the University of Groningen).

5.1 Respondents and data collection

Final-year business graduates at a Dutch university were surveyed, stating that the aim was to examine the willingness to pursue an international career.The questionnaires were completed by 56 graduate students of the MSc International Business and Management, with a response rate of 75%. The respondents are at the time of completing the questionnaire either studying at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands or participating in a double-degree program at the University of Uppsala in Sweden. The sample included 21 men (37.5%) and 35 women (62.5%). The students ranged in age from 21 to 29 with an average age of 24 years. With respect to ethnicity, the participants were 66.1% European (46.6% Dutch; 5.4% German; 14.3% Eastern European), 28.6% Asian (23.2% Chinese; 5.4% from other Asian countries), and 5.4% Latino.

The results of the current study are collected through self-administered surveys, distributed and collected during June/July 2009. The questionnaires included 26 questions (for students residing abroad) and 20 questions (for Dutch students in the Netherlands) on students’ expectations, intentions and aspirations, home country versus current host country, social integration, personal circumstances, and together with general respondent information.

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As mentioned before, the questionnaires were completed by students from two different universities. This results in coping with different locations and diverse nationalities of graduate students; therefore the sample of business graduates is segmented in four different groups: group 1, non-Dutch students in Sweden; group 2, Dutch students in Sweden; group 3, non-Dutch students in the Netherlands; and group 4, Dutch students in the Netherlands. The following nationalities are represented in the first group in Sweden: Asian (50%); Western European (8.3%); South American (25%); and Eastern European (16.7%). The third group involves Non-Dutch students in the Netherlands; this group consists of graduates from Asia (58.9%), Western Europe (5.9%), and Eastern Europe (35.3%).

The questionnaires consist of the following categories: intentions and aspirations, home versus host country, social integration, personal circumstances and personal details. The group numbers are equivalent to the questionnaires’ numbers. Questionnaires 1, 2, and 3 consist of equal contents; these are including the section ‘home country versus host country’ regarding comparisons between the home country and the current host country (either Sweden or the Netherlands). This section is not present in questionnaire 4 as this part is not applicable for Dutch students in the Netherlands since they are not residing in a foreign country at the moment of taking the questionnaire and for that reason not able to make comparisons.

The definitions of respectively the host country and home country will be given to provide a more lucid illustration of this present research. This paper uses the terms current host country and future host country. The current host country is meaning the country of residence, which is the Netherlands for non-Dutch students and Sweden for Dutch students. Future host country is used to indicate the foreign country outside the home country where the graduate will work after graduation. The home country is the most obvious term as it indicates the country from which the graduate is originally from.

5.2 Descriptive statistics

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international career. The majority of the respondents are not involved in a relationship (68%) with the remaining 32% with no partner.

The dependent variable, signifying the willingness of graduate students to pursue an international career, is based on responses given by graduates to the question ‘What are your current intentions on pursuing an international career?’. Table 3 shows the possibilities presented to respondents, with five specified categories taking on values 1-5. These choices outline a set of ordered categories in which each following category indicates an increase in willingness in the graduates’ intentions to pursue an international career in a foreign country. Because of the way the index is constructed, categories with a higher index value indicate stronger confidence about pursuing an international career.This means that positive coefficients on the independent variables imply an increase in the willingness to pursue an international career, while negative coefficients imply a decrease in the likelihood of pursuing an international career.Independent variables were grouped as follows: first, aspirations, expectations and expectations; second, home country versus current host country; third, social integration; fourth, the personal circumstances; and finally the personal details. At the end of the survey respondents had the possibility to respond to an open-ended question requesting additional comments on pursuing an international career; allowing other influences than the variables measured in the survey to emerge, and providing insight into the quantitative results.

TABLE 3

Willingness to pursue an international career

What are your current intentions about pursuing an international career? Index

I will definitely not pursue an international career 1

I will probably pursue an international career 2

I will pursue an international career but not immediately after my graduation 3

I will definitely pursue an international career immediately after my graduation 4

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6. TESTING RELATIONSHIPS

The different nationalities represented in the sample are classified in nationalities from developed countries and less developed countries according to the United Nations Programme (1997). Developed countries belong to the following continents: Western Europe, Nordic region, Australia, and North America. Less developed regions are Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America.

To provide an overview of the relations between the different variables and the willingness to pursue an international career, Appendix 1 gives a visual summary of the underlying relations.

6.1 Return intentions to home country

Respondents were asked what their current intentions are toward returning to their home country. The correlation coefficient has a positive value of .528 between ‘graduates’ return intentions to their home country after graduation’ and the ‘willingness to pursue an international career’. The coefficient is even higher for exclusively the Dutch students; a significant value of .837 (p<0.01). Return intentions is a possible predictor for willingness to pursue an international career. The results show that the majority of Eastern European students (62.5%) are unlikely to return or definitely not return to their home country after graduation. The majority of Chinese students (69%) will return to their home country, but not immediately after graduation. The Dutch students studying in Sweden show the strongest return intentions, as 71% indicates to return to their home country immediately after their study program abroad. The total percentages per answer possibility are given in Table 4.

6.2 Actions taken to pursue an international career

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Eastern European students are relatively most active compared to other nationalities, as 50% is already actively applying for an international career. The level of actions taken is a possible predictor for willingness to pursue an international career. Table 5 shows the answer possibilities and percentages.

TABLE 4

Return intentions to home country

What are your current intentions about returning to your home country? Percent

Return to my home country immediately after my graduation 30.6%

Return to my home country , but not immediately after my graduation 36.1%

Probably return to my home country after my graduation 8.3%

I do not think that I will return to my home country after my graduation 16.7%

I will definitely not rot return to my home country after my graduation 8.3%

TABLE 5

Actions taken toward an international career

Which actions have you taken to actually pursue an international career? Percent

I haven’t put any effort in pursuing an international career 43.1%

I collected some information about potential locations (countries) 21.6%

I already approached/contacted companies (e.g. business courses, in-houses) 11.8%

I am actively applying for an international job position (e.g. sending application letters) 21.6%

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6.3 Time plans to an international career

Respondents were asked how they would picture their international career in a time perspective, in other words, the total duration they would like to work outside their home country. Table 6 shows the answers given by respondents. The correlation coefficient has a significant value of .649 between the ‘time plans for an international career’ and the ‘willingness to pursue an international career’ (p<0.01). As expected, almost the entire group of graduates that consider an international career indicated to work abroad for the shortest period (until 3 years; 63%), whereas graduates definitely desiring an international career after their graduation indicated to work abroad for 3 till 10 years or until their retirement (25%). The time plans variable is a possible predictor for willingness to pursue an international career. There are no great differences between nationalities, but striking is that the majority of German (100%) and Eastern European students (75%) indicate to plan their international career for 3 -10 years.

TABLE 6 Time plan

How do you consider your career in a time perspective? Percent

Work in a foreign country for 1 till 3 years and then return to my home country 64.7%

Work in a foreign country for 3 till 10 years and then return to my home country 25.5%

Work in a foreign country until my retirement 9.8%

6.4 Main reason to go abroad

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broadening their worldview. Almost equal numbers of graduates indicate to work abroad for economical reasons (12%) and to gain experience in order to increase their attractiveness for employers in the home country (16%). To stress the importance of being involved in a relationship, respondents used the open-ended question option to add the answer ‘because of partner’ as they are pursuing an international career because of their partners’ residence in a foreign country. A large difference is apparent between graduates residing in Sweden and the Netherlands regarding their main reason to pursue an international career: 90.9% of students in Sweden indicate to broaden their worldview as opposed to a majority of graduates residing in the Netherlands indicates to increase their attractiveness to home employers (50%) with broadening their worldview being 31.2%.

TABLE 7

Main reason to pursue an international career

What is your main reason to pursue an international career? Percent

Because of economical reasons 5.9%

Gain experience in order to be more valuable to employers in home country 17.6%

To broaden my worldview 72.5%

To be with my partner 3.9%

6.5 Preferred region and willing to work in current host country

Respondents were asked in which region they would prefer to work. This was an open-ended question; therefore, respondents could indicate their preference. Based on the responses there are seven different continent clusters: Western Europe and Nordic countries, Eastern Europe, Australia, Asia, North America, Latin/South America, and Africa.

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The results show that 57% of Dutch students, 67% of Chinese students, and 63% of Eastern European students are enthusiastic to work in Western Europe, as these three nationalities are the highest represented in the sample this also explains the overall popularity for Western Europe as future host country. Graduates indicating their preference for working in less developed countries are all nationalities from developed countries (17.7%). There is no significant correlation between preferred region and the willingness to pursue an international career.

Graduates were also asked if they are willing to work in the current host country. This question was only posed to respondents residing in a foreign country. In this case the question was posed to Dutch students in Sweden and non-Dutch students in both the Netherlands and Sweden. Respondents could indicate whether they would consider working in the current country of residence, answering 1 (Yes) and 2 (No), in case of the second option respondents were asked what their reasons are for not willing to work in the current host country.

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6.6 Preferred company type

Respondents indicated in which type of company they would prefer to work focusing on the, whether domestic or foreign, roots of the company. The results show that graduates from less developed countries are more likely to prefer work at companies with foreign roots compared to graduates from developed countries. The majority of Dutch students (61%) prefer to work for companies with domestic foundations, such as Heineken, Philips, and Unilever, whereas German graduates prefer to work for companies with foreign roots (100%). Also graduates from Eastern Europe (75%) indicated their preference for companies with foreign backgrounds. 57% of Asian graduates prefer a career at a company with foreign roots located in their home country, this focus on the home country is partly explained by contracts between students and companies in the home country holding restrictions to return to the home country after graduation. To conclude, Asian and South American students have stronger intentions to work for companies with foreign roots located in the home country, whereas Eastern European students are focused on foreign companies located outside their home country. Table 8 shows the responses given by all graduates, remarkable is that a majority of 55.9% prefers to work in a foreign country and companies with domestic roots in the home country are least attractive to graduates. The correlation coefficient shows a positive relationship of .622 (p<0.01), meaning that preference for work at companies with foreign foundations has a positive influence on the willingness to pursue an international career.

TABLE 8 Preference company type

At which type of company would you prefer to work? Percent

Company with domestic roots located in home country 13.7%

Company with foreign roots located in home country 30.4%

Company with domestic roots located in foreign country 25.5%

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6.7 Important conditions for an international career

Seven different conditions, assumed to be important for graduates in their decision to choose a future host country, are analyzed on their influence on pursuing an international career. Respondents denoted how important they would consider certain conditions in their decision to pursue an international career. Respondents rated the following conditions: economic conditions; living conditions; job development; status of job position; salaries; speaking the host language; and feeling related to the host culture.

The vast majority of the respondents indicated that economic conditions are important or very important (78%) in their decision to pursue an international career; these students have a preference for working in developed countries. As the majority of the graduates indicated to attach value to economic conditions in their work environment, only Dutch students consider this as not important or not important at all (39%). There is no statistical evidence to support an association between the importance of economic conditions and willingness to pursue an international career. Table 9 illustrates how important graduates value economic conditions in their decision to work abroad.

TABLE 9

Important condition to career: economic conditions

How important are economic conditions in your decision to choose a host country? Percent

Very important 29.4%

Important 49%

Not important 13.7%

Not important at all 7.8%

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between good living conditions and the willingness to pursue an international career, meaning that good living conditions have a positive influence on the willingness to pursue an international career. Also in this case, graduates from developed countries indicate that good living conditions are not a necessary requirement in their decision to work abroad. Remarkable is that graduates attach higher value to better living conditions compared to economic conditions. It can be concluded that graduates are willing to work in less developed countries, but that their own circumstances should be higher than on average in the host country. The total responses given by respondents are demonstrated in Table 10.

TABLE 10

Important condition to career: living conditions

How important are living conditions in your decision to choose a host country? Percent

Important 43.1%

Not important 9.8%

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TABLE 11

Important condition to career: job development

How important is job development in your decision to choose a host country? Percent

Very important 47%

Important 47 %

Not important 4%

Not important at all 2%

A large part of the respondents attach great value to a high status of the job function (73%) by indicating it as important or very important. The correlation coefficient is 0.059, which is essentially a zero correlation coefficient (p=.682). Table 12 gives an overview of the responses given to the importance of status of job position.

TABLE 12

Important condition to career: status job function

How important is status of job function in your decision to choose a host country? Percent

Important 58.8%

Not important 23.5%

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TABLE 13

Important condition to career: salaries

How important are the level of salaries in your decision to choose a host country? Percent

Important 64.7%

Not important 15.7%

Not important at all 2%

More than half of the sample (63%) indicates that proficiency in the host language is important or very important in pursuing an international career. Contrasting is that 44% of Dutch graduates and 42% of Chinese students do not attach high value to speaking the host language, as they consider this to be not important or not important at all. This relationship is not supported by statistical evidence. Table 14 provides an overview of answers given by respondents.

TABLE 14

Important condition to career: speaking host language

How important is the host language in your decision to choose a host country? Percent

Important 41.2%

Not important 31.4%

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denotes that feeling related to the host culture is important in deciding to work abroad. But there is no significant relationship between feeling related to the host country and pursuing an international career. Table 15 shows the total responses on the importance of feeling relates to the host culture.

As foreseen, the highest absolute correlations between the aforementioned predictors are between job development and job function (.574, p<0.01) and between economic conditions and salaries (.506, p<0.01).

TABLE 15

Important condition to career: feeling related to host culture

How important is the host culture in your decision to choose a host country? Percent

Important 43.1%

Not important 29.4%

6.8 Certainty of foreign job offer

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respondents indicated to prefer shorter job assignments. As foreseen, are 80% of the respondents who initially declared to definitely not accept a foreign posting persuaded to at least consider accepting the foreign job offer. There are no noticeable differences between nationalities. The correlation coefficient has a significance level of .248 which means that there is no significant relationship between the certainty of an international job offer and the willingness to pursue an international career.

TABLE 16

Certainty of foreign job offer

In case of being offered a foreign job offer, would you accept this offer? Percent

Definitely not accept this offer 1.8%

Consider to accept this offer 89.3%

Definitely accept this offer 8.9%

6.9 Conditions of home country versus current host country

Five comparisons are made between conditions of the home country and the current host country (either the Netherlands or Sweden). Five 4-point items measured the extent to which the conditions of the home country differ from or are similar to the conditions in the current country of residence. The conditions included: economic conditions; culture; job opportunities; level of salaries; and living circumstances.

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willingness to pursue an international career. Table 17 shows to which extent the economic conditions differ or are similar between the host and home country according to the respondents.

TABLE 17

Conditions home country versus host country: economic conditions

Do you consider the economic conditions in the host country different from or similar to your home country?

Percent

Very different from home country 27.8%

Different from home country 47.2%

Similar to home country 16.7%

Very similar to home country 8.3%

Even more students consider the cultural habits of the current host country to be different from their own country (83%). The graduates who sensed similarities in cultural habits between both countries are especially Dutch students relating to Sweden (29%) and German students to the Netherlands (50%). Differences between the host and home country have no significant relationship to the willingness to pursue an international career. Table 18 shows to which extent the host culture differs from the home culture according to the respondents.

TABLE 18

Conditions home country versus host country: culture

Do you consider the host culture different from or similar to your home country? Percent

Very different from home country 25%

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The job opportunities in the current host country are different from the home country according to 44% of the respondents. Large percentages of Asian students (46%), Western European (100%), and Eastern European students (50%) indicate similarities between the home country and the current country of residence. Also Dutch students notice similarities in job opportunities between the Netherlands and Sweden (86%). Only South American students are seeing solely differences between countries. There is no significant relationship between the differences in job opportunities in the home and host country and the willingness to pursue an international career. Table 19 provides an overview of the results on job opportunities between host and home countries.

TABLE 19

Conditions home country versus host country: job opportunities

Do job opportunities in the host country differ from your home country? Percent

Very similar to home country 2.8%

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TABLE 20

Conditions home country versus host country: salaries

Do salaries in the host country differ from your home country? Percent

Very similar to home country 0%

69% of the respondents noticed differences in living conditions between the home country and the current country of residence. It is not unexpected that Dutch students perceive similarities in living circumstances between the Netherlands and Sweden (71%); also Western European students notice similarities between both countries (50%). More unanticipated are the responses of Asian students, as 23% indicates to have the same living conditions in their home country as in the Netherlands. The South American students only notice differences between both countries. Table 21 shows the responses on differences in living conditions between the home and host country. The relationship between the differences between living conditions of the home and host country and the willingness to pursue an international career is not significant.

TABLE 21

Conditions home country versus host country: living circumstances

Do living circumstances in the host country differ from your home country? Percent

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6.10 Expectations beforehand toward current country of residence

Testing this variable requires a retrospective view to the moment before actually entering the current host country, as the expectations of graduate students were asked toward the current country of residence. Respondents can indicate how they expected the following conditions: culture of host country; living circumstances; job opportunities; level of salaries; and quality of education.

The majority of the respondents have positive or very positive expectations (50%) toward the culture of the current host country before actually entering the country, opposite to 8% of negative reactions, meaning that the Dutch and Swedish cultures overall are positively rated. These particular negative reactions are shown by Dutch students referring to Sweden. The correlation between the expectations of the culture of the current host country is not statistically grounded. Table 22 reflects the expectations of graduates toward the culture of the host country.

TABLE 22

Expectations host country: culture

Which expectations did you have toward the culture of the host country? Percent

Very negative 2.8%

Negative 5.6%

Not negative/not positive 41.7%

Positive 38.9%

Very positive 11.1%

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negative reactions. Table 23 demonstrates the expectations of graduates toward living conditions in the host country.

TABLE 23

Expectations host country: living conditions

Which expectations did you have toward living conditions of the host country? Percent

Very negative 2.8%

Negative 11.1%

Positive 44.4%

Very positive 33.3%

TABLE 24

Expectations host country: job opportunities

Which expectations did you have toward the job opportunities of the host country? Percent

Very negative 2.8%

Negative 8.3%

Positive 38.9%

Very positive 11.1%

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students toward the Netherlands. The correlation between the expectations of job opportunities and the willingness to word abroad is not supported by statistical evidence. Table 24 shows the expectations of graduates toward job opportunities in the host country.

Graduates have high expectations of the level of salaries in the current host country (72%), which results in a significant correlation with the willingness to pursue an international career (.344; p<0.05). Almost the same percentage graduates having negative expectations toward job opportunities in the current host country show negative expectations toward salaries in the current host country (14%); the positive expectations are in contrast with a higher percentage of 72%. Table 25 reveals the expectations of graduates toward salaries in the host country.

TABLE 25

Expectations host country: salaries

Which expectations did you have toward the salaries of the host country? Percent

Very negative 8.3%

Negative 5.6%

Positive 58.3%

Very positive 13.9%