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The purpose of this paper is to propose a “parachuting internationalization” metaphor as an alternative strategy that firms may choose to enter foreign markets compared to Uppsala Model and Born Global Model. This proposed new metaphor seeks to integrate the Uppsala and the Born Global Models to show that firms can attain success in the age of globalization if they are adept at devising creative strategies that help them overcome the challenges in a psychically distant environment.

This is a research paper that develops theoretical perspectives inspired by the Yin Yang thinking as well as the “thick descriptive” multiple case studies.

“Parachuting internationalization” embraces essential elements of the Born Global and the Uppsala Models and refers to a firm’s strategic targeting of markets with great potentials, correct positioning, swift actions, and fast learning, thus enabling the firm to circumvent the conventional wisdom of liability of foreignness, cultural distance, and psychic distance. “Parachuting internationalization” is essentially a GLOCAL approach which can be implemented in practice in terms of global vision, location, opportunity, capital, accelerated cultural learning and quick action, and logistics.

The “parachuting internationalization” metaphor is derived from interviews with four Scandinavian firms’ experiences that have entered into the Chinese market. This research reveals that two seemingly opposite approaches, i.e., the Born Global and the Uppsala Models, can be fruitfully combined and reconciled to generate a third novel approach.

To date, there has been little attempt to reconcile and/or integrate the Born Global and the Uppsala Models of internationalization. The paper enriches the ongoing debate on the internationalization of firms in the international business literature that has relied primarily on the Uppsala Model or Born Global Model. The study shows that a third way, i.e. the “parachuting internationalization” is both theoretically innovative and practically feasible.

The present study was designed to investigate the factors that prompt ex-host country nationals (EHCNs) to return to their country of origin, specifically, India. In order to identify specific factors that guide the decision to return, we examined several categories of reasons why members of the Indian diaspora who have lived/worked abroad may choose to return to India.

Using a sample of 98 executives from Southern India, this exploratory study sheds light on the emerging phenomenon of “brain circulation” advanced by Saxenian (2005) where highly qualified professionals (human talent, in short) ply between their country of origin (COO) and country of residency (COR). The authors investigate (i) their overall impression of their COO, (ii) the reasons they believe their company transferred them to India in the event of company-sponsored relocations, (iii) the impediments they face in performing their jobs in their COO, and (iv) their level of satisfaction with various aspects of their assignment, whether company-sponsored or self-initiated assignments.

The findings of this study indicate that EHCNs were driven by several unique factors in their decision to return to their COO, including (i) quality of life, (ii) better career opportunities, (iii) remuneration and (iv) family reasons.

The findings of this study should help scholars develop theoretical models that can help explain the factors that determine the decision-making process of EHCNs related to returning to their COO. Furthermore, while our study was conducted in India, the factors guiding the decisions of the EHCNs are clearly universal, such as quality of life and opportunities for self.

Overall, the EHCNs in our sample were happy with their decision to return to live and work in India, thus suggesting that it would not be very problematic for the Indian government to attract them to return home to satisfy the growing demand for human talent associated with inward and outward foreign direct investment to/from India.

Given the Indian government's continuing efforts to attract qualified EHCNs to return to India and contribute to the growth of the economy, our study offers specific insights into what motivates individuals to return to their COO.

The purpose of this eight-country study is to examine what drives performance at the individual worker’s level and compare the explanatory power of such drivers between emerging, newly developed and developed markets around the globe.

The study combines established behavioural theory developed in a Western context with three factors anticipated to be most relevant in Asia (competitive attitude, willingness to serve and speed) as drivers of workforce performance. Four thousand working and middle-class respondents from eight countries were sampled. The associations were tested using structural equation modelling, and workforce performance was measured using univariate analysis.

Three country clusters emerged from the research: emerging economies in Asia (Indonesia, India), where the three factors powerfully explain performance; “Confucian orbit countries” (China, Japan, Korea), where the factors explain 81-93 per cent; and highly developed Western countries (the USA, the UK, Germany), where the factors account for only 20-29 per cent.

As well as providing a framework for modelling workforce performance, particularly in Asian countries, the findings indicate that workforce performance should be incorporated in performance indexes. The findings as to which drivers best explain workforce performance in each country can inform workforce recruitment and management, as well as the location of businesses and outsourcing.

For the first time, the study addresses the anomaly between economic growth and development experienced by Asian countries and their relatively low rankings in global competitiveness indexes by making the link between workforce performance and country performance.

This interview was conducted with Dr Rosalie Tung. Dr Tung gives her insight about her career.

Interview was conducted via Skype. There was a somewhat systematical approach to the Q&A interview.

Dr Tung briefly goes through her academic career regarding cross-cultural studies and how her life experiences shaped her passion for the subject.

This was a one-on-one interview via Skype.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the nature and scope of diversity between and within Asian countries.

This paper represents a personal retrospective on the promise and perils of conducting research on Asia.

“Promise” includes the growing research interest and attention on this region. “Perils” include, among others, a failure to recognize the diversity across countries in the region and within a given country. Immigration, rising incidence of bicultural or multicultural identity and brain circulation have all contributed to growing diversity within countries. Future research on this region should take into consideration such intra-national diversity.

Although Asia’s “foreignness” may differentiate it from other regions around the world and, in doing so, contribute to the perception of its homogeneity, the region is considerably more diverse than what it appears to be. Thus, it is imperative to consciously recognize – and incorporate – diversity in a region of growing global importance.