Motivation and Integration of Taiwanese Self-Initiated Expatriates in China

Abstract

無中文摘要This study aimed to explore and describe opinions, expectations and feelings of Taiwanese self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) in China regarding their migration, integration and the experiences which influenced the way they think or behave. In order to gather detailed and sufficient data about their life in China, qualitative approach was adopted. In this research, a total of eleven Taiwanese SIEs participated in semi-structured and in-depth interviews, and shared their opinions, experiences about the life and job in China. The main findings were presented and shown that Taiwanese SIEs displayed four types of factors that contribute to their motivation to migrate: career development, financial incentives, self-exploration, family bond and quality of life in Taiwan. With regard to their integration process, it was mainly categorized into four parts: positive job-related experiences, positive life-related experiences, negative job-related experiences, and negative life-related experiences. As for their current integration status, it was examined in the work and life context and found some of them expressed about their career achievement, high mobility, and improvement in communicating with co-workers or subordinates, familiarization with corporate culture or local cultures, and local social circles as the evidence of integration into the Chinese society. Lastly, influences of motivation to migrate and met expectations on motivation to integrate and integration were analyzed and discussed. The findings of the questionnaires revealed that the SIEs seemed to possess the same level of motivation to integrate into the society from the beginning to the second year. Based on the findings, conclusions and implications for SIEs and corporations were provided.