Factors of Migration Process of Taiwanese Self-Initiated Expatriates in Thailand

Abstract

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Globalization makes the international talent movement more dynamic and more heterogeneous in causalities that the financial factor is no longer the major incentive of occupational migration. A researcher indicated that the experience of tourism, study, or temporary work abroad is potentially the very first idea for talents to migrate to another country, which causes the issue of brain gain and brain drain among countries. However, do these factors actually affect the talent’s determination or there are other factors that motivate the talent to move? This research took Taiwanese self-initiated expatriates who landed a full-time occupation in Thailand as the participants to understand their motivation, although Thailand does not statistically portray a vision of a higher salary for them. The purpose of this research attempts to clarify the trajectory of what factors can motivate talents other than the financial factor, and illustrate practical perspectives to the stakeholders in policy-making processes. This study adopted qualitative research method. The data was collected by interviewing 14 Taiwanese who were self-initiated to have a full-time occupation in Thailand despite their gender, age, and length of work experience in Thailand. Document review and online media sources were utilized as the method of triangulation to increase the variety and credibility of the data. The result of this study indicated that self-initiated expatriates are likely to be motivated by their knowledge of Thailand and personal will and opportunity. The two sources of motivation consist of several factors which mostly echo antecedent research done by Koslowski in 2011. However, this study provides detailed information and additional factors.