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

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Abstract

Governments sponsor student-mobility programs with the expectation that students will build a more favorable and informed opinion of the host country which, in turn, will determine more favorable behavior towards the host country. Nevertheless, assessments of this logic are rare. Based on a survey of the Korean Government Scholarship Program’s alumni (n = 579), we analyze the alumni’s country image of South Korea and how this image determines their relationship maintenance behavior with South Korean people. Our findings show that the KGSP alumni’s image of South Korea partly explains the variance in their personal and professional relationship maintenance with South Koreans. Our findings show that the alumni’s emotions about South Korea influence their personal relationship maintenance behavior more than does each of the cognitive dimensions of the country image, while the functional dimension, which evaluates their beliefs about the country’s competencies and the competitiveness of its economic and political systems, has the highest influence on the alumni’s professional relationship maintenance.

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Acknowledgements

This project is supported by the 2018 and 2019 Korea Foundation Support for Policy-Oriented Research grants. We would like to thank Hyelim Lee and Tom Norris for invaluable research assistance; Moamen Gouda, Nancy Snow, Jeongnam Kim, Yeunjae Lee, Alexander Buhmann, Seong-Hun Yun, Rhonda Zaharna, and two anonymous reviewers for constructive feedback on earlier drafts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia

    Eriks Varpahovskis

  2. Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Kadir Jun Ayhan

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Appendices

Appendices

Appendix 1: Questionnaire

Formative dimension items

How much do you agree with this statement? [Strongly disagree—1, Strongly agree—7]

functional1

South Korea’s economy is highly innovative and fit for the future

functional2

South Korea produces very high-quality goods and services

functional3

South Korea has highly competent entrepreneurs

functional4

South Korea is very wealthy

functional5

South Korea is technologically highly advanced

functional6

South Korea holds a strong position in the global economy

functional7

The labor markets in South Korea are equipped with highly competent people

functional8

South Korea has a globally influential culture

functional9

Athletes and sports teams from South Korea are internationally known for their success

functional10

Competent officials govern South Korean politics

functional11

South Korea has a very stable political system

functional12

South Korea has a well-functioning infrastructure

functional13

South Korea provides well-functioning welfare systems and pension plans

functional14

South Korea is highly innovative in science and research

functional15

South Korea provides great educational opportunities

functional16

The level of education in South Korea is very high

normative1

South Korea is very active in protecting the environment

normative2

South Korea is known for its strong commitment to social issues (e.g., development aid, civil rights)

normative3

South Korea has high ethical standards

normative4

South Korea is a socially responsible member of the international community

normative5

South Korea respects the values of other nations and peoples

normative6

South Korea takes responsibility for helping out in international crises

normative7

South Korea is a welcoming country

normative8

South Korea has excellent civil rights

normative9

South Korea has a very just welfare system

normative10

South Korea acts very fairly in international politics

aesthetic1

South Korea is home to beautiful cultural assets (e.g., arts, architecture, music, film etc.)

aesthetic2

South Korea has delicious foods and a wonderful cuisine

aesthetic3

South Korea has a very fascinating history

aesthetic4

South Korea has rich traditions

aesthetic5

South Korea has beautiful scenery

aesthetic6

South Korea has a lot of preserved nature

aesthetic7

South Korea has lots of charismatic people (e.g., in politics, sports, media, etc.)

Appendix 2: Supplementary data

See Tables 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.

Table 5 Validation of the reflective components of the country image
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Table 6 Correlation with summary questions
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Table 7 Validation of the formative component of the country image
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Table 8 Validation of the personal relationship maintenance behavior construct
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Table 9 f2 scores of cognitive dimensions influence on emotional dimension
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Table 10 Q2 value score
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Varpahovskis, E., Ayhan, K.J. Impact of country image on relationship maintenance: a case study of Korean Government Scholarship Program alumni. Place Brand Public Dipl 18, 52–64 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41254-020-00177-0

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