International Orientation Research Articles

The Effects of International Orientation on the Dimensions of the Environmental Performance of Agri‐Food Companies: A Chilean Perspective

ABSTRACTLike other Latin American economies, Chile has significantly increased its presence in international agriculture markets. Agricultural commodities are primarily developed within specialized exporters or multinational enterprises and exported to several different countries. In Chile, the fruit sector accounts for almost half of total exports. Internationally oriented companies explore business opportunities in foreign markets and invest adequate resources in international operations. In addition, more internationally oriented companies could be more inclined to invest in green practices due to external pressures and, consequently, achieve higher environmental performance. In this context, environmental performance is related to the extent to which available natural resources are protected during the production, delivery, and consumption of agricultural products. To the best of our knowledge, there is scattered evidence of the relationship between international orientation and the environmental performance of agri‐food companies, especially in Latin America. Grounded on the natural resources‐based view theory, this study assessed the effects of environmental collaboration on five dimensions of environmental performance (greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, food loss and waste, food quality and safety, and water footprint management) in agri‐food companies with a survey with Chilean firms. Data were analyzed using the partial least square—structural equation modeling. We found that international orientation positively influences all five dimensions of environmental performance. Our study identified that the dimension most impacted by international orientation is water footprint management, and the least impacted is food quality and safety. With the aid of multi‐group analysis, we concluded that there are no significant differences in these relationships between micro/small and medium/large companies. A significant difference was observed in food loss and waste between fruit and nonfruit producers. We expect the outcomes of this study will support exporting‐related decisions and public policies in Latin America.

In search for a balance: the authorship structure of the journal “Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya” [Sociological Studies] (2014–2023)

The article deals with the problems of selection and formation of the authorship of the journal Sotsiologicheskie Issledovaniya [Sociological Studies] (SocIs). The parameters of their scientific and official statuses, affiliation with research organizations and educational institutions, gender mix, regional and international affiliation are used as the basis for the analyzing publication activity of the authors of the journal for the period 2014–2023. A comparative retrospective analysizing of the above parameters for the first and last (current) decades of the journal’s functioning was also carried out. On the basis of the analysis of formal indicators of effectiveness and efficiency of the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) the special leading place of SocIs in the hierarchy of domestic periodicals of sociological profile was stated. The long-term traditions and trends in the work of the journal’s editorial staff, related to the realization of a balanced approach to the selection and attraction of promising researchers to publications, are revealed. The conclusion is made about the journal’s publication accessibility for both high-level professionals and beginner researchers, as well as about the broad thematic, regional, and international orientation of the published materials. In general, the authors’ composition of the journal to a certain extent represents the national sociological community with all its achievements and problems.

Interpretation of WFAS Clinical practice guideline on acupuncture and moxibustion: smoking cessation

The paper interprets the formulation, main content and characteristics of Clinical practice guideline on acupuncture and moxibustion: smoking cessation issued by World Federation of Acupuncture Societies (WFAS 007.2-2023, short for Guideline). The Guideline focuses on the clinical value of acupuncture regimen for smoking cessation and its abstinence rate, and attaches the importance to the actual needs of patients, the counseling and management of smoking cessation. The Guideline is characterized by its international orientation, the integration of Chinese and Western medicine, and the advantages of acupuncture for smoking cessation. It is formulated concisely in content and highlights the clinical practicability. During the guideline development for smoking cessation in future, the consideration should be paid on improving the evidence quality of acupuncture, preserving the characteristics of acupuncture and emphasizing patients' demand, the counseling and management of smoking cessation, as well as the scenarios of implementation so as to improve the quality and applicability of the guidelines.

‘Beyond the nation state’: does China’s ‘new era’ education facilitate an international orientation to citizenship education?

ABSTRACT Despite a strong commitment to patriotic education, China has attempted to adopt an international perspective in its education policy for the Xi administration’s ‘new era’. This to some extent echoes China’s traditional culture and the Chinese Communist Party’s embrace of Marxism. Developing students’ international vision is one of the learning objectives of the current administration’s new-era educational campaign, with the aim of cultivating a worldview within the framework of Marxist ideology. Through an analysis of compulsory civics teaching materials supplemented by interviews with a group of youth educators, this study reveals how internationalisation has been envisioned in China’s recent educational campaign to balance commitment to the nation with the development of a worldview.

New democracy and centre-right dominance in Greece: a new normal?

ABSTRACT In the parliamentary elections of 2023, the ruling New Democracy (ND) party of prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was re-elected triumphantly. ND’s victory marks an unprecedented moment of centre-right dominance in Greece since 1974 and goes against the trend of the so-called ‘crisis of the centre-right’ elsewhere in Europe. This article claims that ND’s strategy under Mitsotakis has been typical of the winning formula of other centre-right parties in Europe in previous decades. Yet, that this formula is now so successful in Greece owes much to the country’s post-crisis context, out of which the Mitsotakis leadership emerged. Given the geopolitical position of Greece and the historical intertwining of the question of its international orientation with major cleavages of domestic politics, the article argues that the success of Mitsotakis draws particularly on a certain form of posturing in foreign and European policy that allows him to reconcile contradictions inside ND’s electoral coalition.

Neoclassical Realism and Armenia’s International Orientation: An Attempt to Determine Patterns or Mechanisms of their Application?

The article examines neoclassical realism and Armenia’s international orientation as one of the directions in the transformation of the theory of international relations of small states. In this article, neoclassical realism is analyzed from the point of view of subjective aspects of policy formation and the influence of domestic political features of a small state on its foreign policy. Taking into account that neoclassical realism is a completely independent development of neorealism with a complementary elemental level of analysis of international politics. In terms of content, neoclassical realism of Armenia clarifies such concepts as resilience, national security, balance of power, balancing policy and others. The neoclassical model of Armenia’s foreign policy as a small state allows us to study the conditions under which great powers and small states deviate from the policy of balancing. From this point of view, the article proposes to analyze international politics through the prism of a global rollback to state-centric politics. The article takes into account that globalization presents new challenges for small countries such as Armenia, which risks being marginalized as a result of the restructuring of both global and regional economic relations.

The importance of firm’s capabilities and international orientation: An examination of innovative start-up processes and growth through the firm’s evolving life cycle

The importance of firm’s capabilities and international orientation: An examination of innovative start-up processes and growth through the firm’s evolving life cycle

The new international orientation towards a multipolar world: China and Russia as a model

تتناول هذه الدراسة أحد المواضيع المهمَّة في مجال العلاقات الدولية، الذي يُظهر توجُّه القوى الجديدة نحو تشكيل عالمٍ متعدِّد الأقطاب، وإنهاء أحاديَّة القطب للولايات المتَّحدة الأمريكيَّة المهيمنة على النظام الدوليّ، فقد شهد العالم في القرن الحادي والعشرين- ولا سيَّما بعد انهيار الاتِّحاد السوفيتي، تغيُّراتٍ عدَّة أدّت إلى ظهور قوىً منافسةٍ للولايات المتَّحدة الأمريكيَّة، مثل: روسيا والصين. وقد أُعِدَّت هذه الدراسة لتبيّن مسار ذلك التنافس الذي يسعى بناءً على المتغيِّرات السياسيَّة والاقتصاديَّة الحاصلة بين عامي (2011-2023)، إلى إحداث تغييرٍ في القطبيَّة الدوليَّة، ووجود نسقٍ دوليٍّ مختلفٍ لا تسيطر عليه قوّةٌ واحدةٌ متمثِّلةٌ في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية، بل تتوزَّع فيه القوّة والأدوار بين لاعبين جدد من روسيا والصين، وفاعلين من غير الدول كالمنظَّمات الدوليَّة والتكتُّلات الاقتصاديَّة.

The research landscape of bipolar disorder in Germany: productive, but underfunded

BackgroundThe recurrent mental illness bipolar disorder is a major burden on the healthcare system, which underlines the importance of research into this disease. Germany is one of the most productive countries in this research activity. This bibliometric analysis aims to outline the social and conceptual structure of the German research landscape on bipolar disorder over the last decade. Furthermore, we provide a short overview over current public funding.ResultsConcerning the social structure, most of the German publications were collaboration projects, both with a national but also international orientation, in the latter case predominantly with countries of the global North. Analysis of the conceptual structure of German research activity identified psychiatric genetics, early recognition of bipolar disorder, neuroimaging, and pharmacological interventions as important topics within the field. In the context of a survey, only few publicly funded research projects were reported, many of which did not exclusively investigate bipolar disorder but followed a transdiagnostic approach.ConclusionsOur bibliometric analysis revealed internationally well-networked German research activities on bipolar disorder. In stark contrast to its high prevalence and correspondingly high financial burden to the healthcare system, current grant support for research on this illness is strikingly low, particularly concerning the development of novel treatments.

Capital humano y grado de internacionalización. Un estudio empírico sobre empresas costarricenses

This study examines the influence of managers’ international orientation, international experience, and export risk perception on the degree of internationalization achieved by their SMEs. Based on the existing literature and previous research in the field of International Entrepreneurship, a research model was developed and empirically tested using structural equation modeling techniques on a sample of 132 SME managers. The main results indicate that the international experience of managers has only an indirect effect on the degree of internationalization. Managers’ risk perception regarding exports seems to be a key factor explaining the variation in the degree of internationalization of SMEs

L2 listening in a digital era: Developing and validating the mobile-assisted self-regulated listening strategy questionnaire (MSRLS-Q)

Mobile technologies have transformed L2 listening. These technologies provide learners with an abundance of materials that transcend the limitations of traditional classroom instruction. Understanding how learners engage with such materials is crucial if teachers are to facilitate students' development of self-regulated listening strategies. This study reports on the development and validation of a new instrument, the Mobile-assisted Self-Regulated Listening Strategy Questionnaire (MSRLS-Q). Informed by a social cognitive understanding of self-regulation, items were generated from existing literature and semi-structured interviews with 16 Chinese undergraduate students. The questionnaire was validated through an exploratory factor analysis with 309 Chinese undergraduate students, followed by a confirmatory factor analysis with a separate sample of 327 students. Results confirmed a 31-item, five-factor model covering students' pre-, during- and post-listening strategies: Goal setting and mobile resource planning, Cognitive and metacognitive multimedia listening, Mobile-assisted motivational control, Structuring online social space, and Listening evaluation and adaptation. Structural equation modelling revealed that four of the five factors significantly predicted students’ international orientation to use English. The results emphasize self-regulated listening as a cyclical process reflective of cognitive, motivational, and social dimensions of strategy use. Implications for research and pedagogical use of the MSRLS-Q are discussed.

Training to Achieve Sustainable Employment for Youth and Young Adults

This paper presents the outcomes of the “Training for Sustainable Employment of Youth and Young Adults” project, originally developed with the assistance of a consortium of institutions in six countries. These countries comprised five EU member states, Portugal, Italy, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Spain, and an EU candidate, Turkey. The main objective of the project was to analyse the gap between the needs of employers and the skill sets of youth and young adults, in order to assess the training needs of young people to equip them to be sustainably employed. In addition, the project set out to create a course programme that contained targeted training to meet the identified training needs of both employers and young people. The data collection was performed using a focus group (n = 144) and an online survey aimed at a convenience sample of the target groups (n = 244) in the six participating countries. The data were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. The findings indicated six main competencies to develop in training: flexibility, inclusivity, diversity, and wellbeing; innovation and knowledge management; mobilisation of human resources; international orientation; entrepreneurship; and presentation. In conclusion, this study illustrated the need for a course programme to be established, structured around the six categories that correspond to the main topics obtained through the consortium’s research. Therefore, the main gain of the project study was the creation of a course programme, focused on improving young people’s inclusion in the job market and meeting companies’ needs for skilled employees.

English in Germany as a foreign language and as a lingua franca

AbstractThe massive expansion of English in Germany over the past few decades has not challenged a robustly exonormative orientation, which still by and large recognises standardised British and American English as the most authentic and prestigious representations of the language. Attitudes to the use of English in the national context are diverse, ranging from enthusiastic embracement via grudging acceptance to active resistance. This diversity of opinion reflects the fact that English is currently transitioning from a foreign language (EFL) to a lingua franca (ELF). On the national scale, ELF use is promoted in business, academia and, more generally, among young and well‐educated Germans with an international orientation, but deeply resented by sectors of society. This paper argues that English (in its lingua franca function) has become the only language other than German that has open prestige. The task ahead will be to develop strategies of intelligent multilingualism that will help to ‘domesticate’ English in the national sociolinguistic context.

Policy approaches to stimulate exports: The case of Georgia

AbstractThis report examines exporters’ challenges and possible solutions for public intervention to promote foreign trade. Based on fieldwork conducted in Georgia, we explore which policy approaches can help to stimulate Georgian exports further. Our outcomes show that exporters face substantial barriers such as navigating complex trade regulations, lack of knowledge about target markets, trade finance gaps, as well as new export promotion programs (EPPs) in competitor countries. Other upper‐middle‐income countries can learn from our results that exporters can significantly benefit from a comprehensive export promotion strategy combined with an ecosystem‐based “team” approach. EPPs related to awareness and capacity building in Georgia should be part of this strategy, focusing on challenges such as a lack of knowledge about trade practices and international business skills. Other EPPs must help to mitigate related market failures, as information gathering is costly, and firms have no incentive to share this information with competitors. Furthermore, targeted marketing support and customer matchmaking can answer Georgian exporters’ challenges, such as lack of market access and low sector visibility. Our results also show that public intervention through financial support and risk mitigation is essential for firms with an international orientation. The high‐quality, rich outcomes provide significant value for other upper‐middle‐income countries by exploring the example of Georgia’s contemporary circumstances in an in‐depth manner based on extensive interviews and document analysis. Limitations include that our work primarily relies on qualitative data and further research could involve a quantitative study with a diverse range of sectors.

The Effects of Workshops on International Orientation and Self-Other Understanding: Attempts at CEFR A2 Level Classes in a Japanese Music College

This study evaluates the effectiveness of workshops within English classes for Japanese music college students. The objective is to enhance the international orientation of music students and to foster intercultural understanding, as well as self- and other-understanding. The participants were 42 second-year students classified as “false beginners” at the CEFR A2 level of English proficiency. These students had limited basic English abilities and little practical use experience, with a background of low motivation for learning English. The study, designed as an alternative to traditional English remedial education, involved eight workshop-based lessons over one year. The post-workshop survey revealed that students recognized the importance of the workshops, gained a deeper understanding of internationality, and improved their communication skills and self-other understanding. However, limitations of the study include its focus on a small group of music students, reliance on self-reported data, and the absence of long-term follow-up. These factors hinder the generalization of the results and assessment of long-term effects. Future improvements and effective implementation of workshop-based programs are anticipated to address these limitations.

Zeitenwende: German Foreign Policy Change in the Wake of Russia's War Against Ukraine

Russia’s war against Ukraine has severely damaged the European security architecture. This article examines the consequences of this rupture for German foreign and security policy. Just a few months before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Germany saw the transition to an unprecedented three-party coalition government of Social Democrats, Greens, and Liberals. In a special address to the Bundestag three days after the invasion, Chancellor Olaf Scholz described Russia’s war initiation as a historical Zeitenwende (“watershed”) that called into question long-held beliefs about European security. In the wake of this, Scholz proclaimed far-reaching changes, including the announcement that military expenditure would be drastically increased, additional military capabilities would be procured, and new deployments would be committed to NATO’s eastern flank. This article argues that the Zeitenwende amounts to an international orientation change in German foreign and security policy. Apart from identifying areas of significant change, the article also documents political contestation over the Zeitenwende’s nature and extent as well as gaps between proclaimed changes and actual implementation.

Market making and the production of nurses for export: a case study of India–UK health worker migration

BackgroundHigh-income countries increasingly look to the international recruitment of health workers to address domestic shortages, especially from low-income and middle-income countries. We adapt conceptual frameworks from migration studies to examine...

The perception of Russia as a subject of world processes by Russian and foreign students of faculties of international orientation (the results of associative experi-ment)

The perception of Russia as a subject of world processes by Russian and foreign students of faculties of international orientation (the results of associative experi-ment)

Effect of sustainability readiness on digital transformation adoption in SMEs

SMEs face the problem of sustainability and readiness to implement digital transformation as part of the industrial revolution. Therefore, a process is needed to identify sustainability factors that can increase the readiness of SMEs to adopt digital change. This study aims to determine the influence of sustainability factors in the form of people, process, and technology that influence SMEs' readiness to adopt digital transformation. The research object is SMEs in various sectors with a literature study approach to develop a conceptual framework and data collection using a questionnaire. Construction testing and data analysis used statistical methods from confirmatory factor analysis, while the data testing process used the Partial Least Square (PLS) method. The results of the study show that toward international orientation (IO) and digital transformation readiness (DT), the sustainable people (SPe) and sustainable process (SPo) factors have a substantial direct influence. However, on the contrary, the sustainable technology factor (STe) has a weak direct impact. In comparison, the IO factor has a significant effect on DT. As a mediator of DT, IO has an invalid role in mediating SPe and STe but significantly mediates SPo. The results also show that an independent attribute of 71.4% influences DT. While IO has an independent attribute effect of 49.4%.

Perubahan Kebijakan Luar Negeri Amerika Serikat dalam Mengatasi Imigran Ilegal di Perbatasan Dengan Meksiko

The United States, particularly illegal immigrants from the Mexico border, is the primary destination country for these immigrants. In addressing the threat posed by illegal immigrants, the US implements foreign policy measures. Research aims to explain the factors contributing to these changes and examine the extent of changes in the US foreign policy concerning illegal immigration. The factors and levels of changes are analyzed using the foreign policy change theory developed by Jakob Gustavsson. The factors of change consist of international and domestic factors, encompassing political and economic elements. The levels of change categorized as adjustment changes, program changes, problem/goal changes, and international orientation changes. The research methodology employed is qualitative, utilizing a descriptive analytical approach and relying on secondary data. The international factors within the political realm include increasing criminal activities, while the economic aspect pertains to issues regarding low wages for workers. Domestic factors within the political sphere involve changes in foreign policy resulting from the fulfillment of campaign promises influenced by political parties, and the economic aspect relates to the declining income of the American population, affecting the average income of U.S. citizens. The observed levels of change predominantly fall under program changes and international orientation changes.