Jane Menzies

Bio: Jane Menzies is an academic researcher from Deakin University. The author has contributed to research in topics: China & Internationalization. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 38 publications receiving 214 citations.

International postgraduate student transition experiences: the importance of student societies and friends

Abstract: The study examines the experiences of international postgraduate student’s (IPSs) transition at a university and adds to the literature as it focuses on student-based support for transition where mostly past research has focused on university-based support. The study utilises social support theory and Illeris’ concepts on learning to explain why students transition. A qualitative methodology was used where 48 students were interviewed. It was found that IPSs experienced negative transition experiences in the beginning, but adjusted as time went on. Involvement in the student society was beneficial for transition, as it gave students the opportunity to make friends, and these friends, in turn, give students social support, which assists with their learning and transition.

Transitional experiences of international postgraduate students utilising a peer mentor programme

Abstract: Background: Mentoring provides a range of benefits and one of them is social support. The number of students in transnational education has been increasing, and their transition into university is often fraught with difficulties. Universities can support transition through the use of a peer mentor programme (PMP).Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate the transitional issues that international postgraduate students (IPSs) face in their transition to an Australian University. The study also investigated the role played by a mentoring programme, and how this assists students with their transition.Sample: The sample included 31 IPSs, who had come from Asian European, Middle Eastern, African and South American countries, 15 being male, and 16 being female, with an average age of 24; most had been studying at the Australian University for more than 12 months.Design and methods: The study utilised a qualitative research method to examine the experiences of IPSs undergoing transition from their home...

SME Internationalisation: The Relationship Between Social Capital and Entry Mode

Abstract: The literature has assessed the social capital of internationalised SMEs, but not how SME social capital affects entry mode and the mechanisms involved in the effect. Case data from 35 SMEs which have internationalised to China were analysed to identify how SME social capital affected entry mode. Weak relational and structural social capital were found to provide network resources, information and entry mode opportunity identification which affected entry mode, but later became path dependent on the entry mode due to its effect on the context for the social capital. This internal and external context resulted from specialised organisational resources, institutional forces and market conditions and influenced the types of social capital. Political social capital was found to be weaker in its effect on entry mode than business social capital. Expectations of future social capital were influenced by initial social capital and some SMEs selected their entry mode to create a context that supported social capital. Several mechanisms of affect were identified, including using trust to support social capital development, a reduction in the resources required to maintain social capital over time due to intentional manipulation of context and a reduction in the focus on developing weak ties as part of social capital over time.

Outward foreign direct investment from emerging countries: theoretical extension and evidence from China

Abstract: Internationalization of emerging market firms (EMFs) is challenging pre-eminent theories. This article argues that no single existing theory adequately explains EMFs’ pattern for overseas investment. Using case studies and a multi-level approach, our research suggests that EMFs can be categorized into four different clusters based on different rationales, objectives, and motivations. Our findings suggest that existing theories can be useful for explaining the process of internationalization, but this holds only for specific clusters. This is of particular importance for EMFs since the presence and influence of the state on EMFs internationalization is both critical and diverse from developed economies.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

Abstract: What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

Business and Society

Abstract: orporate ethics programmes were like hummingbirds in the 1950s. You didn’t see one often and when you did it seemed too delicate to survive. Now, these curiosities have proved their sturdiness, flourishing and migrating steadily from their historical home in Europe and the US to Asia, Africa and Latin America. Most of the 500 largest corporations in the US now boast a code of ethics, and the proportion among a broader collection of US companies has risen to 80 per cent. Similarly, a recent study of FTSE 350 companies and nonquoted companies of equivalent size undertaken by the London Business School and Arthur Andersen showed that 78 per cent of the responding companies had a code of conduct, compared with 57 per cent three years ago. In the 1950s, ethics programmes were the personal creations of charismatic leaders, such as General Johnson who fashioned Johnson & Johnson’s Credo statement; today they are produced by a wide variety of organisations. They encompass not only written standards of conduct, but internal education schemes, formal agreements on industry standards, ethics offices, social accounting techniques and social projects. The popularity of ethics programmes raises several questions. Do they deliver what they promise in making companies more ethical? Do they aid companies in achieving traditional performance measures such as return on investment or customer satisfaction? And, should companies institute new programmes, or perhaps change the ones they have? The vogue for ethics programmes does not resolve the most common theoretical question asked of business ethics, namely, what counts as ethical? Even the socially screened investment movement that specialises in assessing stocks for ethical characteristics often seems confused. Consider the tendency of such funds to screen out the “sin” stocks of tobacco, alcohol and firearms. As a result, hightech stocks, ones unlikely to produce sinning products, have become darlings of such funds. But while Microsoft, for example, will probably never produce wine and so almost always finds itself on the screened funds’ lists, it has been found in violation of US anti-trust laws, a sin greater in some people’s eyes than fermenting grapes. Ethics programmes, however, offer a solution to the question of what is ethical by simply decreeing an answer. It makes little difference to Motorola whether other companies agree or disagree that its principle of “uncompromising integrity” prohibits even small payments in countries where bribery is common. Motorola is content to set the standard for itself. Similarly, programmes created by industries or international organisations decree their own rules, although they often make use of existing standards as templates. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) recent prohibitions on companies based in member countries from engaging in foreign bribery were developed through extensive discussion among participating countries, although they contain precepts seen earlier in the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Corporate ethics programmes have spread widely, yet no evidence suggests this growth is the result of a decline in standards. Studies indicate that between 25 and 60 per cent of employees in any given year admit to having seen ethical misbehaviour, depending upon the context in which the question is asked. What, then, has driven the ethics boom? Likely factors include the stronger focus by the media on corporate conduct, increased government pressure and growing maturity of business institutions. Recently, media exposure of labour standards in Asia prompted a cascade of initiatives by companies such as Nike in the US and Puma in Germany. Moreover, people have seen that companies reeling from media and C Ethics schemes have spread, yet no evidence suggests this is the result of a fall in standards ‘‘ Adding corporate ethics to the bottom line

A review of the acculturation experiences of international students

Abstract: Universities in Western countries host a substantial number of international students. These students bring a range of benefits to the host country and in return the students gain higher education. However, the choice to study overseas in Western countries may present many challenges for the international student including the experience of acculturative stress and difficulties with adjustment to the environment of the host country. The present paper provides a review of current acculturation models as applied to international students. Given that these models have typically been empirically tested on migrant and refugee populations only, the review aims to determine the extent to which these models characterise the acculturation experience of international students. Literature pertaining to salient variables from acculturation models was explored including acculturative stressors encountered frequently by international students (e.g., language barriers, educational difficulties, loneliness, discrimination, and practical problems associated with changing environments). Further discussed was the subsequent impact of social support and coping strategies on acculturative stress experienced by international students, and the psychological and sociocultural adaptation of this student group. This review found that the international student literature provides support for some aspects of the acculturation models discussed, however, further investigation of these models is needed to determine their accuracy in describing the acculturation of international students. Additionally, prominent acculturation models portray the host society as an important factor influencing international students’ acculturation, which suggests the need for future intervention.

Seeking Legitimacy Through CSR: Institutional Pressures and Corporate Responses of Multinationals in Sri Lanka

Abstract: Arguably, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of multinational enterprises (MNEs) are influenced by a wide range of both internal and external factors. Perhaps, most critical among the exogenous forces operating on MNEs are those exerted by state and other key institutional actors in host countries. Crucially, academic research conducted to date offers little data about how MNEs use their CSR activities to strategically manage their relationship with those actors in order to gain legitimisation advantages in host countries. This paper addresses that gap by exploring interactions between external institutional pressures and firm-level CSR activities, which take the form of community initiatives, to examine how MNEs develop their legitimacy-seeking policies and practices. In focusing on a developing country, Sri Lanka, this paper provides valuable insights into how MNEs instrumentally utilise community initiatives in a country where relationship-building with governmental and other powerful non-governmental actors can be vitally important for the long-term viability of the business. Drawing on neo-institutional theory and CSR literature, this paper examines and contributes to the embryonic but emerging debate about the instrumental and political implications of CSR. The evidence presented and discussed here reveals the extent to which, and the reasons why, MNEs engage in complex legitimacy-seeking relationships with Sri Lankan host institutions.