<p>With the conditions of new economy such tendencies as internationalization of firms, mi-gration of high skilled workers, growing importance of the knowledge and others become relevant. Having these contextual matters in mind, the authors of this thesis identify the beneficial aspects that are related to Diasporas' inclusion into the process of internationali-zation. In broad outline, this thesis is about the competitive advantage achieved by a firm which employs foreigners to work with the process of business expansion to foreigners' countries of origin. This competitive advantage is proved to manifest itself through the knowledge and competences embedded in those employed foreigners.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to answer 'in what ways can Swedish SMEs benefit from Di-asporas' inclusion into the process of internationalization?' and thus fill the theoretical gap in the existent studies. In order to address the purpose of the research, a theoretical model which merges the research field of internationalization and Diaspora studies, considered the conditions of new economy, was constructed. With the help of this model, the role of Diasporas in the process of internationalization has been explored and explained.</p><p>For the empirical study, the qualitative method was applied and semi-structured interviews were conducted in five different Swedish SMEs. The interview guide, which was based on the theoretical model and on the main research objectives, was used when conducting in-terviews with a number of management positions fulfilling participants, as well as Diaspora.</p><p>The results of an empirical study showed that Diasporas can be efficiently used for compa-ny's expansion strategies and significantly benefit due to several reasons. First of all, fo-reigners, or Diasporas, can be considered as holding relevant knowledge base in regards to their home countries, such as language, culture, personal contacts, etc. At the same time, while staying in Sweden, they get to familiarize with the Swedish culture, social structures, and business opportunities, and establish diversified contacts. With regards to international business expansion, this knowledge of two-fold nature is proved to be highly valuable.</p>

With the conditions of new economy such tendencies as internationalization of firms, mi-gration of high skilled workers, growing importance of the knowledge and others become relevant. Having these contextual matters in mind, the authors of this thesis identify the beneficial aspects that are related to Diasporas' inclusion into the process of internationali-zation. In broad outline, this thesis is about the competitive advantage achieved by a firm which employs foreigners to work with the process of business expansion to foreigners' countries of origin. This competitive advantage is proved to manifest itself through the knowledge and competences embedded in those employed foreigners. The purpose of this thesis is to answer 'in what ways can Swedish SMEs benefit from Di-asporas' inclusion into the process of internationalization?' and thus fill the theoretical gap in the existent studies. In order to address the purpose of the research, a theoretical model which merges the research field of internationalization and Diaspora studies, considered the conditions of new economy, was constructed. With the help of this model, the role of Diasporas in the process of internationalization has been explored and explained. For the empirical study, the qualitative method was applied and semi-structured interviews were conducted in five different Swedish SMEs. The interview guide, which was based on the theoretical model and on the main research objectives, was used when conducting in-terviews with a number of management positions fulfilling participants, as well as Diaspora. The results of an empirical study showed that Diasporas can be efficiently used for compa-ny's expansion strategies and significantly benefit due to several reasons. First of all, fo-reigners, or Diasporas, can be considered as holding relevant knowledge base in regards to their home countries, such as language, culture, personal contacts, etc. At the same time, while staying in Sweden, they get to familiarize with the Swedish culture, social structures, and business opportunities, and establish diversified contacts. With regards to international business expansion, this knowledge of two-fold nature is proved to be highly valuable.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Duquesne University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 68-70).

The objective of this study is to investigate the reasons for international assignments ending in failure, using the current models of expatriates’ premature withdrawal decisions, so as develop solutions to those problems. Studies of expatriate failure and effects of expatriate satisfaction on organisational performance have been conducted but most of them in the overseas countries. These studies revealed that the practice of employing expatriates is a strategic move on the part of the multinational corporation to increase the international experience and knowledge base of present and future managers. Even though studies on strategies that companies can use have been done extensively, research still shows that a large number of overseas assignments end in failure. Failure being described as the premature return to the home country, not being able to adjust in the host company or country and immediately living the company upon return from the assignment. It is for this reason that in the researcher decided to investigate what could be the reasons that cause the expatriates to return home early. The research will be of importance to South Africa firstly, as organisations that are operating globally will copy the business systems and processes practiced in developed countries, and later bring knowledge, skills and expertise that will help in boosting the economy of the country. Secondly, the organisation's Human Resource Management will develop practices to ensure the successful and effective retention of expertise. Expatriate failure will be reduced and the process of repatriating expatriates will be meaningful. Individuals assigned will not find it difficult to adjust in the parent company, and later take the skills they have learnt to another company. Thirdly, managers generally will understand the challenges that accompany expatriation, and be able to meet those challenges. The research becomes an investigative research as one tries to establish if there is concurrence or deviation with the current models. A sample is drawn from a list of international companies that have operations overseas. The researcher has tried to get responses from companies in all provinces of South Africa so that the sample can be fully representative. The questionnaire is used as it is a common instrument for observing data beyond the physical reach of the researcher. The questions were selected to address each of the factors affecting decisions to withdraw from the country of assignment. Responses from the expatriates have helped to develop a new model that encompasses all the factors that cause the expatriates to leave the assignment early as well to develop solutions to the problems. This will not only help the multinational corporations to save on costs, but will also ensure that the company and the expatriate benefit from international assignment.

As organizations are becoming more and more global, the number of employees on overseas assignments who must adjust to the cultural differences and other aspects of working and living overseas is growing. The high premature rate of return to the home country has increased the already high cost of overseas assignments. The cost of failure includes lost effectiveness on the job, time to find a replacement, discontinuity of work activities, damage to the company's reputation, and discontent on the part of the employee. As the result, it is very important that individuals on overseas assignments also be effective. The aim of this research is to identify how managers can select expatriates based on their personal characteristics and can intervene in the adjustment process to reduce the effects of adjustment difficulties on overseas effectiveness. The personal characteristics studied in this research effort are age, marital status, number of children, previous overseas assignment, and language proficiency. Adjustment difficulties are investigated in the areas of banking, housing, health care, shopping, and schooling. With help of a questionnaire, data was gathered from sixty-two Americans currently working and living in Germany. The results from a backward regression analysis indicate that respondents’ difficulty of dealing with the aforementioned adjustment areas in the first three months has a significant negative effect on their effectiveness in Germany. Although it appears that respondents’ language proficiency has a positive effect on overseas effectiveness, it may actually be a subset of their sense of preparedness at the time of arrival. The results from the regression analysis also indicate that the personal characteristics studied here cannot be used to develop a profile of expatriates who will be most effective in Germany or who will have the greatest difficulties while adjusting to life in Germany. Specific recommendations for how managers may improve the overseas effectiveness of American expatriates in Germany, as well as recommendations for future research, are discussed. / Master of Science

Economical and educational problems are caused by the reversed effect of the Employment Equity Act and Affirmative Action. One such problem is called “brain drain” (Lundy, 2006), The general aim of the research was to determine whether affirmative action caused final year students of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University to consider overseas employment. A literature study was conducted before the empirical objectives were reached. The empirical study was of a quantitative descriptive and inferential nature. A cross-sectional survey design was used to achieve the empirical objectives. A self- administered survey package was handed out to final year students within the various disciplines at their various classes. One hypothesis was tested. The results indicated that support was found for the hypothesis. The findings are discussed in relation to the data gathered. The implications of the research and the limitations of the study are outlined in the Results chapter.

Retirement is a complex undertaking that is influenced by many factors. The variables influence the retirement experience either alone or in combination. Because the factors are intertwined, it is sometimes difficult to determine which are the most significant. The complex nature of retirement often leads to people being under prepared for the challenges they are likely to confront. Despite the importance of the retirement enterprise, there has been little research on the subject among black retirees in South Africa. This is especially true when it comes to the case of retired migrant workers. The purpose of the present study is to explore the experience of life satisfaction during retirement and adjustment to retirement of migrant workers when they return back to their communities of origin in the Eastern Cape Region, South Africa. Research participants for the study were retired persons (N=54) who were selected through snowball sampling method. The data for the study was collected using a Biographical Questionnaire, the Life Satisfaction Index-A, Adjustment Scale and Open-ended Interview Questions. Retired non-migrant workers were also included in the study in order to determine whether there are differences on these measures compared to retired migrant workers. The results of the study indicated that: retired migrant workers had significantly lower levels of life satisfaction and encountered more adjustment problems in retirement than retired non-migrant workers; retired migrant workers had less choice in their decision to retire than retired non-migrant workers; retired migrant workers did not participate in sufficient financial planning for their retirement; and financial situation significantly affects adjustment to retirement and life satisfaction during retirement. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Abstract not available

This is a qualitative study which seeks to understand how Somali shop owners run successful businesses in the township of Soweto in South Africa. This research report has three sections, namely (1) the academic paper which comprises a shortened literature review, the research method, findings, and the discussion; (2) an extended literature review and (3) the research methodology. It is important to mention that these three sections are related and not necessarily stand-alone sections. Despite the hostilities faced by the Somali shop owners from the host communities in South Africa, it is notable that they are successful, small-sized entrepreneurs in most townships of South Africa (SA). Previous research on Somalis has predominantly focused on their assimilation into the societies in their host countries, and on how they are led into self-employment because of the unfavourable labour markets in the host country. In this vein, there is a need to understand how they run successful businesses in the townships of SA. This study seeks to answer the following research question: How Do Somali Shop Owners Succeed in Running Businesses in Soweto, South Africa (SA)? In pursuit of answers to the above research question, this study was confined to three locations in Soweto, namely Orlando West, Chiawelo and Rockville which have a relatively high number of Somali entrepreneurs who have been in operation for longer than three years. This qualitative study explored the multiple perspectives of reality of Somali shop owners. Purposively, 14 Somali shop owners were identified initially using purposive sampling. Subsequently, theoretical sampling was used to identify Somali shop owners who were interviewed regarding how they successfully run their businesses in the locations of Orlando West, Chiawelo and Rockville in the township of Soweto. A total of eighteen semi-structured, in-depth and face-to-face interviews were conducted with these shop owners as a means of gathering data to the point of saturating their perspectives. Data collection ceased when new perspectives were no longer evident as interviewees were being repetitive. Open-coding and constant comparison was used to analyse the data. The findings of the study show that ethnicity plays a predominant role in the success of the Somali shop owners. The intra-ethnic networks and trust-based support systems are pivotal to how Somali shop owners run successful businesses in Soweto. The key findings manifested showed that various forms of support came from Somali communities, family and fellow countrymen which were also central to their success. Another key finding showed that Somali shop owners run their businesses by complementing, rather than predominantly competing with the other local businesses, which ultimately differentiates them in this way. The study also revealed that responsiveness to local customer needs by enhancing the value of their business to the locality is also characteristic of how Somali shop owners build customer loyalty. This study contributes to our understanding of how Somali entrepreneurs conduct successful businesses in a hostile host country. The findings have implications for business development training and programmes which support immigrant entrepreneurs. The findings may also be extended to inform how business development programmes would be designed to equally support local entrepreneurs.