Past International Experience Research Articles

What future for EU foresight? A critical perspective on the institutionalisation of foresight

AbstractWhat are the potential strengths and weaknesses in the current reconstruction of foresight at the EU level? In questioning foresight's institutionalisation processes from both a historical and a political sociology perspective, the article claims that charting the future is an issue of political power and that, hence, foresight's institutionalisation can never be taken for granted. More precisely, we identify two factors that determine how such process plays out. First, it depends on the definition and importance of the future according to specific contexts (war, economic or health crisis, periods of growth, etc.). Second, this changing definition intertwines with socio‐institutional structures and agents that are crucial for this institutionalisation to be sustainable. The analysis is twofold. First, we provide an overview of past international experiences of projections into the future (both foresight and forecast). Second, we illustrate how these issues may resurface and rebound within the EU’s unique power context.

International Experience of US Pediatricians and Level of Comfort Caring for Immigrant Children and Children Traveling Internationally

ObjectiveTo determine whether international experience is associated with greater comfort in providing care to US children who are immigrants, refugees, and traveling internationally.Study designFollowing enrollment into the 2018 American Board of Pediatrics Maintenance of Certification program, general pediatricians and subspecialists received a voluntary, online survey with questions about their experience and self-reported comfort caring for immigrant, refugee, and internationally traveling children and previous international experiences. Using multivariable logistic regression, we examined how previous international experiences, and other personal characteristics, were associated with self-reported comfort.ResultsA total of 5461 eligible participants completed the survey; 76.3%, (n = 4168) reported caring for immigrant children, 35.8% (n = 1957) cared for refugee children, and 79.8% (n = 4358) cared for children traveling internationally. High levels of comfort caring for immigrant children were reported by 68.5% (n = 3739), for refugee children by 50.1% (n = 2738), and for children traveling internationally by 72.7% (n = 3968). One-third of respondents (34.1%, n = 1866) reported past international experiences. In multivariable analysis, respondents with previous international experience and of Hispanic origin were significantly more likely to report high levels of comfort caring for all 3 populations.ConclusionsThe majority of pediatricians report caring for children in the US who are immigrants, refugees, and traveling internationally, and previous international experience was associated with greater comfort with care. Training programs and professional organizations should consider ways to encourage a more diverse workforce and to support all pediatricians in achieving the skills and confidence required to care for children in our highly mobilized society.

Top management teams and investment decisions: A study of executive experience and cultural diversity

We employ an empirical study of mining companies in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) using the upper echelons theory (UET) to explore how the top management team (TMT) perceptions and experiences influence investment decisions. UET is used as it is consistent with the Uppsala internationalization model, which best fits mining companies. We assess past international experiences, nationality diversity, age, and education levels of the TMT in order to determine if these demographics impact the decision to invest in SSA countries. This study also assists in closing the gaps in the literature on how executive experiences impact the investment decision process in an international setting as well as how the cultural composition of the TMT influences corporate decisions.

Optimizing the governance model of urban villages based on integration of inclusiveness and urban service boundary (USB): A Chinese case study

Due to rapid urbanization and urban-rural dual structure, urban villages in China have gradually become populated areas dominated by a large number of migrants. Similar to slums, the problems of urban villages need to be solved urgently and the governance of urban villages is a serious issue in urban management. Therefore, combining the past international experience of governance of slums with a case study of urban villages in Hangzhou, this paper develops a governance model framework for an urban village. This framework is designed to integrate inclusiveness with urban service boundaries (USB) and to take the social service system as the key to achieve people-oriented governance through active participation of government, the market, the community and social organizations. This paper proposes that wealth distribution, housing security, social integration, cultural identity should be combined with infrastructure to form three differentiated models: a high-quality service model, a gradual and comprehensive model, and a social security model, which are suitable for different urban villages and the needs of different groups. The policy implication of this paper is to put forward a way to alleviate the problems of urban villages and make the inhabitants of urban villages, especially low-income migrants, fit into the city.

How Faculty Members Develop Views on Internationalization: The Case of a Top-Ranked Indian Business School

Internationalization of higher education is considered to be among the most widely researched as well as one of the most misunderstood topics. In this study, we take a phenomenological approach to better understand what internationalization means to faculty members at a leading business school in India, as the country has emerged as one of the largest providers of management education in the world today. This is important because faculty members are considered to be the key drivers of internationalization at their institutions. We find that internationalization means different things to different faculty members, and that these views are strongly shaped by each faculty member’s unique set of past international experiences. We are able to link these views to De Meyer’s three strategic drivers of globalization/internationalization, and find that for Indian management faculty, the desire to enrich the home base emerges as the dominant driver of internationalization, followed by the desire for global learning. Although not a prominent driver, the desire to leverage India’s unique knowledge base was also evident. We expect that these views will drive the future internationalization endeavors of this and other similar leading Indian business schools.

Acquirer-to-target relatedness and target country unfamiliarity in acquisitions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze corporate scope decisions in acquisitions with a focus on the relationship between target country unfamiliarity and acquirer-to-target relatedness and on the moderating effects played by product diversification and international experience.Design/methodology/approachUsing a dataset of 689 acquisitions completed in the period 2007-2013 by acquirers located in 60 countries, this paper utilizes an ordered logistic regression analysis.FindingsWith greater target country unfamiliarity, acquirers are encouraged to pursue greater acquirer-to-target relatedness. This finding suggests that acquirers tend to seek a balance between product and international diversification to reduce the sources of uncertainty in their acquisition moves. While past international experience strengthens this relationship, diversification experience has a negative moderating effect and hence encourages acquirers to reduce relatedness at increasing market unfamiliarity.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper is twofold. First, the authors extend the traditional internationalization-diversification framework to an unfamiliarity-relatedness relationship in the context of acquisitions. Second, the authors propose a construct of target country unfamiliarity in acquisitions that goes beyond the traditional domestic vs cross-border dichotomy by including previous experience in the target country.

What do managers look for in candidates for international assignments?

Globalization of business highlights the need for individuals with the right skills and experiences for international assignments. Gender, age, ethnicity, family situation, professional qualifications, past international experiences, as well as psychological characteristics can be counted among the selection criteria of a candidate for such assignments. This current study examines the role of assignment context and selecting manager characteristics in the selection process. First, these candidate characteristics are considered together with features of the assignment such as duration, destination, and task performed to examine if their consistency are critical. Second, whether managers draw from their own past and consider their own family situation and international experiences, or select a candidate with same gender, age, or ethnicity is investigated. The findings suggest that without matching manager characteristics and assignment features, candidate characteristics are of little importance.

Cultural immersion through international experiences among Japanese nurses: Present status, future intentions, and perceived barriers.

Given limited exposure to various ethnicities, languages, and cultures, providing health care to an increasing foreign population in Japan will likely be challenging for Japanese nurses. This study aimed to examine past and intended future international experiences of Japanese nurses to assess their cultural immersion level. A cross-sectional electronic survey was conducted among 2029 nurses in 2010. Participants were categorized by travel purpose, and the frequency of non-holiday travel was analyzed. To examine participants' desire for and perceived feasibility of future non-holiday international experiences by background characteristics, logistic regression analyses were performed. Of 1039 participants, 10.1% had past non-holiday international experiences, with 80% having traveled to high-income, English-speaking countries. The median value for travel frequency was once, and the median duration of travel was less than 1 month. The most common purpose of travel was participation in short-term programs (e.g. professional training, language study). Fifty-one percent of female nurses reported a desire for future non-holiday international experiences. Of these, 37.2% considered such experiences feasible. Age of the youngest child, having nursing specialization, English proficiency, and past international experience were significant predictors for feasibility. Japanese nurses with foreign experience were considered valuable human resources for culturally appropriate care. Efforts should be made to integrate them into the Japanese healthcare setting. The present study revealed room for improvement in foreign language proficiency and cross-cultural training with a focus on non-English-speaking and developing countries. A supportive workplace environment should be created that allows nurses to pursue the international experiences they desire.

Learning from international activities? A microeconometric analysis of first-time innovators

Cet article évalue dans quelle mesure les firmes exportatrices, importatrices et multinationales ont une propension plus élevée à démarrer des activités d’innovation. Nous montrons que les firmes à la fois exportatrices et importatrices sont plus enclines à démarrer des activités d’innovation, mais que l’expérience sur les marchés étrangers n’affecte pas l’intensité de R&D. Enfin, la production de connaissances augmente la productivité des firmes à la période suivante. Classification JEL : D22 ; F23 ; O31.

Effects of Past Experience, Learning Capabilities and Overall Motivation on the Performance of Chinese Outward FDI and the Mediating Role of Learning

Existing theoretical models of internationalization do not fully explain the international venturing of emerging economy private ventures (Yiu, Lau & Burton, 2007; Lu, Liu, & Wang, 2010; Zahra, 2003). Using survey data of midsized private Chinese firms that have already made outward foreign direct investments (OFDI), this paper introduces how past international experiences, learning capabilities and overall motivations of a firm influence the performance of its OFDI. We hypothesize that each of these variables will have a positive effect on the performance of the current OFDI project and that the firm's learning mediates these relationships. Our results show that the relationship between the firm's potential absorptive capacity and its OFDI performance is fully mediated by what the firm learned from the OFDI project. Also we find that the firm's overall motivation has a direct effect on performance and is partially mediated by what the firm has learned. What the firm has learned from the firm's international business in the host country has a direct and positive effect on the performance of the OFI. However, diverging from prior research, our analysis indicates that neither the founder's international experience nor the firm's prior international experience has a direct impact on the OFDI performance.

Real Estate Bubble and Financial Crisis in Dubai: Dynamics and Policy Responses

Dubai experienced one of the world's most massive real estate bubbles in 2003-2008. This paper examines the dynamics of this bubble. There are several key questions. What were the multiple drivers of Dubai's bubble? What was the impact of the global financial and economic crisis of 2007-2009 on Dubai's economy during the bust? Why has the restructuring of Dubai World's debt and of its real estate companies been a core strategic component of Dubai long-term recovery? Drawing on past international experiences, what are the public and private actions needed to restructure Dubai's real estate sector? How effective have these measures been so far? What are the prospects for rebalancing Dubai's economy away from real estate?

Learning from international activities? A microeconometric analysis of first-time innovators

This paper investigates to which extent exporters, importers and multinational firms have a greater propensity to start innovation activities. We merge two consecutive French Community Innovation Surveys (CIS), and apply the model of Crépon et al. (1998) to a sample of first-time innovators (“switchers”), which are compared to firms that do not engage in innovation activities. We estimate the probability of becoming an innovative firm depending on past international experience, which allows us to test the idea that firms learn from foreign markets. It appears that firms that both export and import are more likely to start investing in R&D, but international activities do not affect R&D intensity. Regardless of size, industry, ownership and R&D intensity, firms that both export and import and multinational firms are found more likely to become innovators, by introducing new products for their markets and/or new patents. Finally, knowledge production is found to increase productivity in the next period. These findings are consistent with the existence of learning effects through international activities. This study also contributes to comparing the innovation process of longtime innovators and switchers, and suggests that the latter less depend on R&D expenses, market power and size in order to produce knowledge.

An Integrative View of International Experience

Integrating multiple theoretical perspectives, we differentiated international experience into current and past experience. In addition, we organized past international experience along two dimensions: domain (work/travel) and cultural specificity (U.S./ non-U.S.). We examined the effects of expatriates' current assignment experience and past international experience on cross-cultural adjustment. The results indicate that past international experience moderates the relationship between current assignment tenure and general and work adjustment and also that general and work adjustment directly affect expatriates' early return intentions.

The Asian financial crisis: How long will the downturn last?

This paper analyses the likely length of the economic downturn currently being experienced in many Asian countries following their financial crises. Past international experience following financial crises is examined, and data is marshalled to demonstrate the severity of the “credit crunch” being experienced in a number of “tiger” economies. This evidence, coupled with the high profile banking problems in a number of these countries, leads to the conclusion that most of the affected countries will not experience a significant rebound in growth for some considerable time.