Transnational or Social Capital? Returnee Versus Local Entrepreneur (Working Paper No. 7). Hong‐Kong: Center on China’s Transnational Relations (original) (raw)
Related papers
“You are not as localised as I need”: employability of Chinese returning graduates
Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning, 2021
Purpose-International student employability has been accorded increased emphasis in the internationalisation agendas, especially in major destination countries as it shapes universities' attractiveness to prospective international students. Having insights into returning graduates' employability in their home country has become critical given that a majority of international graduates return home after their overseas study. This study responds to this critical need by examining how foreign credentials are valued by employers in the field of accounting in China, based on in-depth interviews with employers, alumni and policymakers. Design/methodology/approach-This study draws on a qualitative approach involving literature review and in-depth interviews with 28 key stakeholders: employers, returning graduates and policymakers in China and India. The key research question of the study is how foreign credentials are valued by employers in the field of accounting in China and India. This article focuses on the Chinese context. In-depth interviews with employers and policymakers focused on eliciting nuanced socio-cultural understandings as to perceptions and decisions associated with desirable graduate attributes and the relative value of credentials. Interviews with returning graduates aimed to understand how different capitals were mobilised to gain employment in the Chinese labour market. Findings-The empirical findings of the study show that Chinese returning graduates could be seen to lack the localised knowledge needed to work in Chinese companies and ability to adapt to the local environment. However the possible development of a dual local and international guanxi through overseas study can be regarded as a marker of distinction in the home labour market. The associated value of such a dual guanxi signals the importance for Chinese international students to develop transnational networks while simultaneously maintaining their kinship, social and business networks locally during their overseas education. Originality/value-The study provides fresh insights into a marked shift in China, with less of a preference for Western credentials, as compared to 10 years ago when overseas credentials were often regarded more favourably. Even though overseas study generally provides Chinese graduates with an exposure to international practices and global perspectives, whether such an overseas exposure and foreign language competency would be an advantage also depends on the business needs and sometimes the business model of organisations.
Organizational Learning in China: The Role of Returners
Journal of Asia-Pacific Business, 2006
, the Chinese imperial government of the Qing Dynasty sent a student to the United States for the first time in the country's history in order to gain and bring back fresh knowledge ("Yeguang xinwen," 2002). Over subsequent years, a hundred and thirty thousand more Chinese students studied abroad (Wei, 2002), until Mao Tse Dung's policy of Self-Reliance closed the door to the West for 30 years. Then, in 1978 Deng Xiaoping introduced significant reforms, and on December 26 of that year, the Communist government sent the first fifty students to study abroad and acquire new knowledge and skills that would benefit their home country and speed up its economic development ("Yeguang xinwen," 2002). Since the door was reopened in 1978, three hundred and eighty thousand 2 Chinese have taken advantage of government sponsorship 3 to study in other countries, especially in the United States, England, Australia, Canada, Germany, France and Japan ("Yeguang xinwen," 2002). The surge in willingness to gain knowledge and experience overseas continues unabated. Over the next four years, the number of Chinese who will leave to study abroad is expected to double from 30,000-50,000 a year to 50,000-100,000 a year (Cheng, 2001). The investment of public funds in sending students to learn in other countries only pays off if the students return and put their knowledge to use in organizations in their home country, either directly after completing their studies or after a period of work experience abroad. The exact number of returners to China is difficult to calculate, especially those who went on their own expense rather than through government sponsorship, but it is estimated that approximately a third of those sent to learn abroad have brought their improved skills back to China (Liang,
Innovation in Business Education in Emerging Markets, 2013
China has been a great source of human talent to the world. Since 1978, the country has sent two million students and scholars overseas, but only one third of them have returned so far. Has China suffered a loss of skilled talent due to massive brain drain to developed countries, or has it benefited from global brain circulation? What is the impact of overseas study and returnees on the development of higher education, especially management education, in China? To address these questions, this article will first review the history of Chinese overseas study, followed by an examination of management education in China, and then it will explore the roles played by Chinese academic returnees, the challenges they have faced and the contributions they have made towards the rapid advancement of business education in China.
During the last decade China has become an important international investor and its firms have also begun to invest in Europe targeting strategically important and high-tech industries. However, there are many Chinese firms that have learned some hard lessons from European acquisitions. Among the various factors that can hinder or facilitate the success of Chinese investments, we devote special attention to the role of cultural differences. Drawing from international literature on cross-border acquisitions and cross-cultural management, we assume that national culture influences corporate strategies and structures as well as managers' behaviour. To understand fully differences and modes of interactions among headquarters and subsidiaries, we decided to analyse a single case study. A qualitative research method appeared more suitable for achieving these mentioned objectives. Findings highlight the significant role of cultural values. Differences arose in the headquarter's strategic choices and management cultures of the headquarters and its subsidiaries. We observed some attempts to manage cultural differences, however, the Chinese investor did not really undergo a process of learning and adaptation to the local dimension.
Diaspora and Returnees. Twin Sources of Innovation in Chinese Higher Education
Frontiers of Chinese Education., 2012
This paper highlights returnees and knowledge diaspora as important sources for China's human resources development, with identification of the push and pull factors that also contribute significantly to the innovation of the higher education sector. By outlining China's key projects and schemes on recruiting international professional workers, the paper argues that bringing advanced knowledge and skills back to the country of origin through international education and experiences is not new, nor limited, to China. At the same time, the rise of worldwide Chinese knowledge diaspora is now of global importance as they promote trans-national scientific and business networks that underpin both R&D, and the quest for world-class universities. While China's size and weight, its determination to boost development, and improve its higher education system, as well as the willingness of both diaspora and returnees to contribute, constitute its advantages, there are also limitations to its success, notably a lack of high-quality research, reservations regarding new ideas, low awareness of international collaborations, too much attention on material rewards and quick results, corruption, and burdensome administrative controls and government regulations.