There is increasing student mobility around the world and a growing focus on transnational education. Until a decade ago in Australia and New Zealand the emphasis was on attracting international students to be full-fee paying (FFP) enrolments. Consequently, much of the research has focused on issues relating to the psychosocial and sociocultural adjustment, and learning and teaching needs of FFP international students. Recently, there has been a growing field of work from the US and Europe examining outbound student mobility programs including cultural and language tours, study abroad and student exchange. Although student exchange is purported to be an effective method for increasing the intercultural competence of domestic students to perform in the global marketplace, there is a paucity of research empirically examining the student exchange experience. Thus, this thesis examined student exchange in the Australian and New Zealand context. This research project investigated the processes and outcomes of the student exchange experience for Australian and New Zealand university students. This thesis examined how many students participate in exchange programs; who these students are; why they participate and what impact this experience has in terms of intercultural competencies and international orientation. This research project is unique as it represents the first detailed national study of student exchange in both Australia and New Zealand. Reflecting the longitudinal study in this thesis, a model was developed spanning the three phases of the exchange sojourn: pre-departure, in-country, post-exchange. The model incorporated the factors that influence Australian and New Zealand students to participate in an exchange program and the variables which affect their experiences in the host country. It was proposed that these factors influence the outcomes of the exchange experience. Two additional models provided further details of the factors influencing the exchange decision-making process and students’ experiences in the host country. Multiple methodologies were adopted across the four studies in this thesis in order to understand the factors at all phases of the exchange experience that may impact upon the outcomes of the sojourn. The first study encompassed an analysis of each institution’s strategic plan in regards to student mobility to consider organisational factors influencing participation in the exchange program. Additionally, Study One examined student exchange participation at Australian and New Zealand universities from 1996-2005. The second study had two purposes. Firstly, it examined the personal characteristics of exchange students before departing on their sojourn in order to establish a baseline of competencies. Second, Study Two compared these traits with those of non-exchange students to investigate personal drivers and barriers of mobility. The third study was comprised of interviews with students who were studying on an exchange program in Canada to identify the significant experiences of students in the host culture and to gain insight into how their experiences may have influenced the outcomes of the sojourn. The final study explored the changes in exchange students’ intercultural competencies by comparing their skills measured at the pre-departure stage with those reported approximately six months after returning home. Study Four also considered students’ pre-departure expectations and experiences in the host country. The findings from Study One revealed that despite increasing attention on outbound student mobility at both the government and university level, in 2001 less than one percent of Australian and New Zealand university students engaged in exchange programs. Furthermore, only 23 out of 40 universities expressed student exchange as a strategic goal. No significant relationship was found between the presence of a strategic goal of student exchange and the proportion of students participating in the exchange program. However, participation is not simply affected by the presence of a specific goal of mobility, but factors such as organisational culture, leadership and resourcing affect how policy is implemented. Further research examining the impact of these organisational factors is warranted. The outcome of implementing a policy relating to student mobility is also dependent on the students. The results from Study Two indicated that a priori exchange and non-exchange students were different groups, particularly in terms of intercultural competencies and demographics. Before their sojourn, exchange students presented with higher levels of cultural empathy, open-mindedness, social initiative, flexibility and emotional stability than their non-mobile peers; that is, exchange students possessed the necessary intercultural competencies to aid their adjustment in the host culture. The typical exchange student was female, from a middle-upper socio-economic background and enrolled in a dual degree. The reasons reported by exchange students for studying overseas included a desire to maximise their educational success and employment opportunities, to travel and to experience a new culture. In contrast, non-exchange students remained at home due to the cost of going abroad and a lack of awareness of exchange opportunities at the home university. Study Three provided the link between the factors influencing a student to participate in the exchange program and the reported outcomes by examining their experiences in a host culture, Canada. Overall students reported satisfaction with their in-country experience and few participants identified that they experienced culture shock. This may reflect the perceived negative connotation of this phenomenon. Before departing on their sojourn, the exchange students reported that they had expected life in Canada to be the same as at home. However, they did report mild difficulties with adjusting to differences in areas such as communication, accommodation, the climate, shopping, teaching and learning methods, and friendships with host nationals. Increasing the perceived value of pre-departure training and ensuring that orientation by the host institution focuses on practical and logistical issues may improve students’ expectations and adjustment. Future studies examining the processes of intercultural sojourn should consider more detailed qualitative analysis of students’ in-country experiences to gain a deeper understanding of the time abroad and how it may cause changes within the individual. Study Four revealed that overall there was no change in exchange students’ levels of intercultural competencies, regardless of their host destination. However, there was a trend for students to become more flexible because of the exchange experience. In acknowledgment of the findings in the literature of the outcomes of exchange programs, it is speculated that students become more aware of pre-existing skills. While no significant changes in intercultural competencies were observed, further investigation of other skills such as intercultural sensitivity, intercultural communication competence and social self-efficacy is warranted. After their time abroad, the exchange students continued to be internationally oriented, expressing high desire for future work and travel overseas. In addition to the theoretical models presented in this thesis, this research also has practical implications. The model and the results of these studies provide universities with a better understanding of how to manage their exchange programs. This work is equally relevant to government policy makers as they seek ways to enhance the international capabilities of future employees.

The present study examined the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and business success in the context of SMEs in Australia and Malaysia. A “mixed-method” approach was adopted whereby two studies were conducted in a sequential fashion (Study 1 and Study 2). In Study 1, a qualitative method was adopted in which individual interviews were conducted with 20 entrepreneurs – 10 from Australia and 10 from Malaysia – who operated SMEs in the manufacturing and service sectors. The aim was to elicit behaviours that delineate competencies, and thus enable the identification of entrepreneurial competencies that are context-specific and of relevance in the current business environment. A content analysis of the interview data identified 12 competency domains: Strategic; Commitment; Conceptual; Opportunity; Organising and Leading; Relationship; Learning; Personal; Technical; Ethical; Social Responsibility; and Familism. Importantly, nine of these categories were well represented in existing models of entrepreneurial competencies, thereby providing evidence that these models offer a reasonable degree of cross-cultural generalisability. However, three new categories emerged, namely, Ethical, Social Responsibility, and Familism (broadly concerned with the role of “family” in building business success). There was evidence for Ethical and Social Responsibility competencies in both the Australian and Malaysian data, whereas Familism was specific to the Malaysian data and may well reflect the collectivist orientation of Malaysian culture. The identification of these additional categories of entrepreneurial competencies suggests that the existing models may need to be revised to further enhance their applicability to the measurement of entrepreneurial competencies in different cultural contexts. Study 2 Part 1 proceeded with validating the model of entrepreneurial competencies. This involved determining the psychometric rigour of the model and establishing the psychometric properties of all dependent variables (measures of business success) and covariates (i.e., business environment and entrepreneurs’ cultural orientations) using a sample of 391 SME entrepreneurs (179 Australians and 212 Malaysians). The two best fit models of entrepreneurial competencies – the “Comprehensive” model and the “Parsimonious” model – are fully described. The Comprehensive model revealed that all twelve competency areas were perceived as relevant to SME outcomes by entrepreneurs in Australia and Malaysia, even though the behaviours that defined the Organising and Leading competency domain, as well as the Familism competency domain (later renamed “Supporting and Cooperating” for Australia due to the omission of items related to “family”) were somewhat different. The other 10 competency areas identified in the Comprehensive model appeared to be invariant across countries. On the other hand, the Parsimonious model of entrepreneurial competencies showed that, although some competency areas were universal in nature (i.e., Conceptual, Opportunity, Learning, and Ethical), others were country specific (i.e., Relationship, Social Responsibility, and Familism). It was argued that the differences could be traced to cultural variations between the countries, in particular the extent of Individualism versus Collectivism. Study 2 Part 2 tested the causal pathway between entrepreneurial competencies and business success and the possible influence of covariates using a structural equation modeling (SEM) procedure. The results showed that entrepreneurial competencies were strong predictors of business success in SMEs for both Australia and Malaysia. It was also found that both Benign and Stable business environments were significantly related to business success in Australia whereas only a Stable environment was significantly linked with success in Malaysia. Moreover, environmental variables showed a less strong path to success than competencies. When the Parsimonious model of entrepreneurial competencies was used in the model estimation, the association between entrepreneurial competencies and business success was more strongly evident in Hostile and Dynamic environments than in more Benign and Stable environments (for both Australia and Malaysia). The results also showed that cultural orientations (both Collectivism and Tolerance for Ambiguity) have positive effects on entrepreneurial competencies in Malaysia but not in Australia (i.e., Individualism and Tolerance for Ambiguity). The effect of education on entrepreneurial competencies was mixed; significant for only the Comprehensive model for Australia but significant for both Comprehensive and Parsimonious models for Malaysia. The effects of training before and after start up, as well as previous work experience on entrepreneurial competencies appeared to be nonsignificant in both contexts. On the basis of the results of the thesis, it was concluded that self-reported entrepreneurial competencies are predictive of self-reports of success in both Malaysian and Australian SMEs. The models that describe success in both countries are consistent with existing models of entrepreneurial competency although differences in the behaviours that define a domain are evidenced between countries as are the domains that successfully define a parsimonious model in each country. These results are interpreted as supporting a training agenda that identifies entrepreneurial skills as a critical pre-requisite to business success for SMEs. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1297548 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Adelaide Graduate School of Business, 2007

National cultures play a critical role in effective leadership and organisational success in international businesses. Contemporary organisations are therefore challenged by cross-cultural leadership needs to address increasing diversity. In the past decades, there has been a growing interest in studies of non-Western leadership. Recent papers have focused particularly on leadership in the Asia-Pacific region. This paper compares leadership in China and New Zealand, based on the data collected by using the GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organisational Behaviour Effectiveness) project leadership questionnaire. In addition, the paper reviews the main findings of previous research in order to investigate the similarities and differences in preferred leadership behaviours/characteristics in both cultures, while attempting to examine the consistency of current findings against the previous GLOBE studies. Significant differences of leadership behaviours between China and New Zealand have been identified. This paper generally supports the findings of previous GLOBE studies that charismatic/value-based leadership is the universally contributing factor towards outstanding leadership and self-protective leadership is the universally negative factor against leadership excellence. Findings in this paper may contribute to further understanding of leadership practice in these two countries. Future research should be undertaken to examine the effects of cultural differences on organisational practice by a more comprehensive research method.

This study investigated: i) whether Indonesian students transfer their Indonesian (L1) schema, rhetorical structures, and cultural conventions when engaged in seminars in English (L2) in Indonesian academic contexts; ii) whether Australian students transfer their Australian English (L1) schema, rhetorical structures, and cultural conventions when engaged in seminar presentations in Indonesian (L2) in Australian academic contexts; iii) the extent to which and in what ways the respective schema, rhetorical structures, and cultural conventions differ; iv) the functions of discourse markers in these seminars; and v) the use of signposts in presentations.The analysis of the schema, the rhetorical structures, and cultural conventions is limited to: i) the overall schema of a seminar; ii) the major components of a presentation; iii) the exchange structure of the question and answer sessions; iv) the rhetorical structure of presentation introductions; iv) the rhetorical structure of questions; and v) the rhetorical structure of answers.The data were obtained from tape and video recordings of four groups of student seminars as presented below.1. Indonesian students' seminars conducted in Indonesian in Indonesian academic settings.2. Indonesian students' seminars conducted in English in Indonesian academic settings.3. Australian students' seminars conducted in English in Australian academic settings.4. Australian students' seminars conducted in Indonesian in Australian academic settings.The Indonesian students' seminars in Indonesian and in English were held at the IKIP (Higher Institution for Teacher Training) Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia. The Australian students' seminars in English were held at Curtin University of Technology, Australia. The Australian students' seminars in Indonesian were held at Curtin University of Technology and Murdoch University, Australia. The ++ / seminars were part of students' course assignments. The topics of the seminars were social and educational issues. The age of the students ranged from 20 to 30 years old.A total of 67 seminars comprised the data. The findings have shown that:(i) Indonesian students transfer their Ll schema, rhetorical structures, and cultural conventions when engaging in seminars conducted in English in Indonesian academic settings.(ii) Australian students transfer their Ll schema, rhetorical structures, and cultural conventions when engaging in seminars conducted in Indonesian in Australian academic settings.(iii) Indonesian students' schema, rhetorical structures, and cultural conventions in seminars conducted in Indonesian differ from the Australian students' schema, rhetorical structures, and cultural conventions in seminars conducted in English.(iv) The equivalent discourse markers across the four groups have the same functions.(v) Indonesian students used more signposts in their presentations in English than the rest of the groups.The report of the study is presented in nine sections as shown below.Section A presents the introduction, review of the related literature, and methodology. Section B presents findings of the Indonesian data in Indonesian.Section C presents findings of the Australian data in English.Section D compares the findings of the Indonesian data in Indonesian and the Australian data in English.Section E presents the findings of the Indonesian data in English.Section F compares the findings between: i) the Indonesian data in Indonesian and the Indonesian data in English; and ii) the Indonesian data in English and the Australian data in English.Section G presents the findings of the Australian data in Indonesian.Section H compares the findings between: i) the Australian data in English and the Australian data in Indonesian; and ii) the Australian data in ++ / Indonesian and the Indonesian data in Indonesian.Section I presents conclusions, implications, and recommendations for further study.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Mar. 3, 2008). Directed by Craig S. Cashwell; submitted to the School of Education. Includes bibliographical references (p. 160-194).

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2007. / Title from file title page. Mohammed Hassen Ali, committee chair;p Jared Poley, committee member. Electronic text (102 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Jan. 9, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 92-102).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Faculty of Education, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 265-288).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2008. / Title from title screen (site viewed Oct. 31, 2008). PDF text: viii, 249 p. ; 3 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3310708. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 2006. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-137).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-132).