Impact of country image on relationship maintenance: a case study of Korean Government Scholarship Program alumni

Varpahovskis, Eriks; Ayhan, Kadir Jun

doi:10.1057/s41254-020-00177-0

Cited by 11 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…We used Ayhan and others' (2021) GKS dataset for this study (see also Ayhan, Gouda & Lee, 2021;Varpahovskis & Ayhan, 2020). We used the survey they conducted in December 2019 that was sent out to all GKS students with the help of the National (n = 32) who enrolled in the program in 2019 participated in the survey, and all of them skipped the language year because of their high level of Korean language proficiency.…”

Section: Methods Samplementioning

confidence: 99%

Global Korea Scholarship students: Intention to stay in the host country to work or study after graduation

et al. 2021

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Over the past few decades, South Korea has increasingly sought to attract international talent. Every year, hundreds of students are invited to study in the country on a competitive scholarship provided by the government. Upon graduation, students are equipped with a tertiary degree, as well as knowledge of the Korean language and culture. This study examines the determinants of intention to stay in South Korea to work or study after graduation, using a 2019 survey of Global Korea Scholarship recipients (n = 524). We draw upon literature in student mobility and examine determinants of two-step migration, including satisfaction with the scholarship program, university experiences, social integration, and life in the host country. Results from the statistical analysis show that academic satisfaction, social adjustment, and satisfaction with life in South Korea are positively associated with participants' intentions to stay in the country to work or study after graduation. The findings highlight the role of academic institutions and host communities in influencing students' poststudy plans and point to the need for policy measures that approach talent retention with simultaneous attention to integration and satisfaction, both within and beyond campus.

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Section: Methods Samplementioning

confidence: 99%

Global Korea Scholarship students: Intention to stay in the host country to work or study after graduation

et al. 2021

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“…We used the GKS dataset that was created by Ayhan and his colleagues to examine GKS alumni's perceptions of Korea (Ayhan et al, 2021; see also Ayhan & Gouda, 2021;Ayhan, Gouda & Lee, 2021;Varpahovskis & Ayhan, 2020). The alumni survey in the dataset was conducted in June 2018 via Surveymonkey; 741 GKS alumni participated in the survey, but we used 579 responses which did not have missing values.…”

Section: Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the past two decades, the literature on international student mobility has highlighted the benefits of international scholarship programs for the recipients (Findlay et al, 2012;Wiers-Jenssen, 2008) and to the wider society (Solimano, 2008;Spilimbergo, 2008;Stapleton et al, 2016). More recent studies have focused on analyzing international higher education scholarship programs as means of enhancing the host country image or public diplomacy (Aras & Mohammed, 2018;Ayhan & Gouda, 2021;Mathews-Aydinli, 2016;Metzgar, 2017;Snow, 2008;Varpahovskis & Ayhan, 2020;Yun, 2014). One reason for the growing interest in international scholarship programs as a public diplomacy tool could be its potential to nurture international opinion leaders, inculcating a favorable stance toward the host country and a better understanding of the host country's culture, values, and lifestyle (Leonard et al, 2002;Scott-Smith, 2008).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Scholarship programs such as the Chevening Fellowship, the Fulbright Program, the UK Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Programme, the German Exchange Service (DAAD), the New Colombo Plan, and the Open Society Foundation have built extensive human networks between host countries and institutions, and participating students, researchers, and policy leaders (Ailes et al, 2005;Byrne, 2016;Dassin et al, 2018;Mawer, 2014;Tournès & Scott-Smith, 2018). Varpahovskis and Ayhan (2020) looked at how the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) alumni's cognitive and affective image of South Korea (hereafter Korea) and explain whether or not they maintain their relationship with the country after their studies on a personal and a professional level. Other studies examined discrimination, hatred, and enmity against international students and scholars in the host countries (Lee et al, 2017;Sidhu et al, 2019;Tam & Ayhan, 2021;Yun & Vibber, 2012).…”

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confidence: 99%

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International scholarship for social change? Re‐contextualizing Global Korea Scholarship alumni’s perceptions of justice and diversity in South Korea

2021

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This study examines South Korea's international scholarship program based on responses to the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) alumni survey to find how the participants perceive the host country's dimensions of justice and diversity. We employ the concept of justice in terms of redistribution, recognition, and representation. Analysis of GKS alumni perceptions of Korean society revealed that international mobility programs may provide positive and negative experiences for the participants depending on their positionality in terms of gender, ethnicity, and Korean language proficiency. Some had the exclusive opportunity to access global knowledge, skills, and networks. Others were exposed to unexpected misrepresentation and misframing while living and learning in the new society. We suggest the need for multidimensional policy discussions to consider both positive and negative outcomes of international scholarship programs and their potential to play a transformative role in global higher education.

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“…Previous studies found linkages between country image and people's decisions related to the country in question, for example, intentions to travel to (Buhmann and Ingenhoff 2015b;Choi and Cai 2016;Nadeau et al 2008), intentions to buy the products of (Heslop et al 2004;Ingenhoff et al 2019), intentions to migrate to (Nadeau and Olafsen 2015), intentions to work in (Ingenhoff et al 2019), intentions to invest in (Ingenhoff et al 2019;Wee et al 1993), intentions to study in (Ingenhoff et al 2019;Srikatanyoo and Gnoth 2002), intentions to build and maintain relationships with the people of (Varpahovskis and Ayhan 2020;Yun 2014), or to recommend that others do one or more of these behaviors in relation to a foreign country (Ingenhoff et al 2019;Yun 2014). Ajzen and Fishbein's (1975;1980) theory of reasoned action suggest that people's beliefs inform their attitudes, and in turn these attitudes determine their behavioral intention towards an object.…”

Section: Country Imagementioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants of Global Korea Scholarship students’ word-of-mouth about Korea

Ayhan

Gouda

2021

Asia Pacific Educ. Rev.

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International student-mobility programs are one of the core programs countries employ as part of their public diplomacy portfolio. Policymakers assume that sponsored foreign students would develop positive beliefs about and emotions towards the host country, which in turn would lead to favorable behavior towards it. However, evaluations of such programs from a public diplomacy perspective are rare and Western-centric. In this paper, we analyze how Global Korea Scholarship students' cognitive and affective evaluations of Korea influence their country image and word-of-mouth about Korea; i.e., in how they voluntarily share their experiences in Korea with others. We use variance-based partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data obtained from surveying 1107 scholarship holding foreign students. Our findings suggest that students evaluate Korea most positively in terms of its culture and nature, while their evaluations are not as positive in terms of the integrity and values of the country. For positive word-of-mouth, affection towards Korea plays the most significant role, while for negative word-of-mouth, the students' beliefs about the country's integrity and values had the most influence. Our findings help identify the strengths and weaknesses in Korea's country image which can, in turn, inform and shape policies accordingly.

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Impact of country image on relationship maintenance: a case study of Korean Government Scholarship Program alumni

Cited by 11 publications

References 44 publications

Global Korea Scholarship students: Intention to stay in the host country to work or study after graduation

Global Korea Scholarship students: Intention to stay in the host country to work or study after graduation

International scholarship for social change? Re‐contextualizing Global Korea Scholarship alumni’s perceptions of justice and diversity in South Korea

Determinants of Global Korea Scholarship students’ word-of-mouth about Korea

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