A Comparative Study of Why Chinese Graduates From Japanese or Australian Universities Return to China and How They Contribute

This study compared the career choices, contributions, and challenges of Chinese graduates of Japanese and Australian universities who returned to China, and it explored the factors that influenced them based on the life planning model. The mixed-method approach was adopted by combining the results of 208 questionnaire responses and 13 semi-structured interviews of the returnees working for a company in China. As a new finding, study country-specific factors, such as economic relation between the study country and home country and institutional factors related to the human resource management style of the study country, were identified to have influenced the returnees’ career choices, satisfaction, and contributions. This study also highlighted the importance of career development and utilization of specialty/expertise in graduates’ decision-making and the issue of overtime work, which was raised as a common challenge by the two groups.