Sha aei & Razak Impo ance-Pe o mance Ma ix Analysis (IPMA)
2nd In e na ional Symposium on Pa ial Leas Squa es Pa h Modeling, Se ille (Spain), 2015 1
Impo ance-Pe o mance Ma ix Analysis o he Fac o s In luencing
In e na ional S uden s’ Psychological and Sociocul u al Adap a ions Using
Sma PLS
Comple ed Resea ch Pape
1s Azadeh Sha aei
School o Educa ional S udies,
Uni e si i Sains Malaysia (USM)
Penang 11800, Malaysia
2nd No din Abd Razak
School o Educa ional S udies,
Uni e si i Sains Malaysia (USM)
Penang 11800, Malaysia
Abs ac
Wi h he inc ease in in e na ional mobili y in highe educa ion especially in Asia, he issue o
c oss-cul u al adap a ion becomes pa amoun since in e na ional s uden s y o o e come
challenges and lou ish psychologically and sociocul u ally in a new en i onmen . The e o e,
his s udy is conduc ed o iden i y he ac o s in luencing in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s’
psychological and sociocul u al adap a ions in Malaysian public uni e si ies, an eme ging
educa ion hub in he egion. I also u he in es iga es impo ance-pe o mance ma ix
analysis (IPMA) o he an eceden s o psychological and sociocul u al adap a ions as he
endogenous a iables o p o ide insigh s and de i e ecommenda ions o educa ion
policymake s and academic adminis a o s o ensu e success ul in e na ional pos g adua e
s uden s’ c oss-cul u al adap a ion.
Keywo ds: C oss-cul u al adap a ion, psychological adap a ion, sociocul u al adap a ion,
Impo ance-Pe o mance Ma ix Analysis (IPMA), in e na ionaliza ion o highe educa ion
1. In oduc ion
In e na ional s uden s mobili y has become an impo an aspec o he global educa ion o
mo e han 10-15 yea s (Ve bik & Lasanowski, 2007). I is wo h no ing ha in e na ional
s uden s’ mobili y o o he coun ies o he pu pose o ge ing he bes educa ion can
con ibu e signi ican ly o he inancial, social, cul u al and academic g ow h o he hos
coun ies. Thus, go e nmen s ha e paid no able a en ion o educa ion in e na ionaliza ion in
o de o g ow hei coun ies economic by making imp o emen s in uni e si ies academic
wo k and na ional de elopmen (Po e & Vido ich, 2000). This ac has led o a wo ldwide
compe i ion among educa ional ins i u ions o de elop knowledge-based economy h ough
aining he bes b ains especially in Asia (A okiasamy, 2010).
Malaysia is one o hese coun ies eme ged o be an educa ion hub in he egion (Ve bik &
Lasanowski, 2007). UNESCO has anked Malaysia as he 11 h coun y in he wo ld by
holding 2.5% o global in e na ional s uden s (Minis y o Highe Educa ion Malaysia, 2009).
Acco ding o he s a is ics, 80,750 in e na ional s uden s en olled in Malaysian uni e si ies in
2009 while his numbe inc eased o 111,939 in 2011 (Cheng, Mahmood, & Yeap, 2013).
Educa ion in e na ionalisa ion no only de elops he global knowledge ne wo k bu i also
g ows business in Malaysia (Cheng e al., 2013). Pa icula ly, educa ion sec o in Malaysia
con ibu ed 4 pe cen o he Malaysian G oss Na ional Income (GNI) and i is expec ed o be
doubled by 2020 (PEMANDU, 2010).
Sha aei & Razak Impo ance-Pe o mance Ma ix Analysis (IPMA)
2nd In e na ional Symposium on Pa ial Leas Squa es Pa h Modeling, Se ille (Spain), 2015 2
Apa om he economic g ow h and bene i s o educa ion mobili y o Malaysia,
challenges o adjus o a new cul u e oge he wi h igo ous academic demands migh pu
in e na ional s uden s a he isk o challenging and s ess ul adjus men . Dissimila i y
be ween he in e na ional s uden s’ e hnic cul u e no ms and he new cul u e (Yang & Clum,
1994) and lack o knowledge abou new cul u al no ms and alues o en leads o a signi ican
amoun o li e s ess o in e na ional s uden s which can b ing abou nega i e consequences
o in e na ional s uden s as well as he hos socie y (Sume , 2009). None heless, i
in e na ional s uden s o e come hei di icul ies and p oblems, hey can success ully adap o
he new en i onmen and he nega i e consequences o no ms and i s ela ed s e eo ypes
would be a oided (Molinsky, 2007). Consequen ly, emendous a en ion has been paid o he
issue o c oss-cul u al adap a ion by esea che s in a ious con ex s. Re iew o he exis ing
li e a u e on c oss-cul u al adap a ion shows ha he emphasis o he esea che s has been on
he iden i ica ion o c ucial ac o s which could acili a e o hinde he p ocess o indi iduals’
adap a ion o a new cul u al en i onmen (e.g., Li & Gasse , 2005; Tonsing, 2013). Howe e ,
u he examina ion o he ac o s in luencing c oss-cul u al adap a ion conside ing he
impo ance and pe o mance o each ac o has emained ela i ely unexplo ed in he
li e a u e.
In an e o o iden i y he ac o s in luencing in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s’ c oss-
cul u al adap a ion, his s udy aims o empi ically examine he ela ionship be ween se e al
indi idual ac o s (i.e. English language p o iciency, and accul u a ion a i ude) and
si ua ional ac o s (i.e. pe cei ed social suppo , and pe cei ed s e eo ype image) wi h
in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s’ psychological and sociocul u al adap a ions in Malaysian
public uni e si ies. Besides, iden i ying and in es iga ing he c ucial ac o s in luencing
in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s’ c oss-cul u al adap a ion in Malaysia h ough measu ing
he impo ance and pe o mance o each ac o wi h he c i e ions o psychological and
sociocul u al adap a ions p o ides p ac ical, manage ial and empi ical con ibu ions.
2. C oss-Cul u al Adap a ion
Since he ocus o his s udy is o p o ide empi ical insigh s abou he ac o s in luencing
c oss-cul u al adap a ion, i s he concep ualiza ion o c oss-cul u al adap a ion is discussed
ollowed by i s an eceden s namely; indi idual ac o s and si ua ional ac o s.
The no ion o c oss-cul u al adap a ion e e s o he dynamic change p ocess which occu s
o indi iduals when hey mo e o a new en i onmen (Kim, 2001). Pa icula ly, unc ional
i ness, psychological heal h and in e cul u al iden i y de elopmen a e he h ee ace s o
c oss-cul u al adap a ion (Kim, 2001). Simila ly, based on he de ini ion sugges ed by Wa d
and colleagues c oss-cul u al adap a ion e e s indi iduals’ psychological and sociocul u al
adap a ion o a new socie y (Wa d & Kennedy, 1994). Acco dingly, he wo e ms p oposed
by Wa d and colleagues as psychological adap a ion and sociocul u al adap a ion espec i ely
coincide wi h psychological heal h and unc ional i ness p oposed by Kim (Wang & Sun,
2009). These wo men ioned concep s ha e been he basis o measu e c oss-cul u al
adap a ion in mos o he p io ele an s udies (e.g., Li & Gasse , 2005; Tonsing, 2013)
2.1 Psychological adap a ion
Psychological adap a ion has been la gely e e ed o as in e nal psychological s a e o he
indi idual and indi iduals’ abili y in handling li e s esso which esul s in nega i e and
posi i e consequences (Laza us & Folkman, 1984). The nega i e e ec o psychological
adap a ion would be dep ession, social aliena ion, iden i y con usion, anxie y and
psychosoma ic symp oms (Be y & Sam, 1997). Howe e , clea sense o pe sonal and
Sha aei & Razak Impo ance-Pe o mance Ma ix Analysis (IPMA)
2nd In e na ional Symposium on Pa ial Leas Squa es Pa h Modeling, Se ille (Spain), 2015 3
cul u al iden i y, high sel -es eem, good men al heal h, and he a ainmen o e icien cul u al
and social skills a e conside ed as he posi i e e ec s o psychological adap a ion (Sume ,
2009). Unlike common exis ing concep ualiza ions, Tonsing (2013) de ined psychological
adap a ion as bo h psychological dis ess and li e sa is ac ion because he absence o p esence
o he psychological dis ess does no necessa ily mean li e sa is ac ion and ice e sa.
The e o e, in his s udy psychological adap a ion e e s o in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s’
abili y in coping wi h psychological dis ess caused o hem in a new en i onmen as well as
hei sa is ac ion wi h li e and hei sel -es eem in Malaysia in line wi h Tonsing’s (2013)
sugges ion.
2.2 Sociocul u al adap a ion
Sociocul u al adap a ion is mainly de ined as he ex e nal and objec i e psychological
ou come ha links indi iduals o hei new con ex , such as he abili y o deal wi h daily
p oblems especially amily li e, wo k and school and he abili y o “ i in” he new cul u e
(Wa d & Kennedy, 1999). Since he no ion o sociocul u al adap a ion e e s o he a ious
skills o indi iduals o manage pe sonal and social li e in a new en i onmen wi h less
di icul y, his s udy, in line wi h he p e ious s udies, ope a ionalizes sociocul u al adap a ion
as he in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s’ abili y o handle daily li e and i in o Malaysian
socie y.
3. An eceden s o C oss-Cul u al Adap a ion
Acco ding o Lewin’s ield heo y (Lewin, 1951), a pe son’s beha iou s occu wi hin a
psychological ield which is called he ‘li e-space’ (Schul z & Schul z, 2004). The ‘li e-space’
e e s o e e y o ces in he ield bo h om he inne and ou e en i onmen ha shapes up he
indi idual such as he places an indi idual goes, he people he indi idual mee s and he
eelings he indi idual has abou he places o people. As Lewin belie ed unde s anding he
ela ions o all ac o s in one’s li e-space is c ucial because hose a e he elemen s which play
impo an oles in helping o blocking people om accommoda ing o he new en i onmen
(So en ino, 2013). The e o e, Lewin (1951) p oposed he equa ion o li e-space as “B = (P,
E)” which indica es ha he indi iduals’ beha iou (B) can be explained by conside ing bo h
he pe son (P) and hei en i onmen (E). The en i onmen he e does no e e o he physical
en i onmen bu he psychological en i onmen pe cei ed by he pe son (So en ino, 2013).
Addi ionally, he pe son and he en i onmen a e in e dependen and ha c ea es a dynamic
and complex ield o in e ac ion which help indi iduals lea n mo e abou hemsel es and hei
en i onmen (Daniels, 2003). The e o e, Lewin (1951) ega ded he ield as a con inuous s a e
o adap a ion. In con e gence wi h he concep s o he iled heo y he an eceden s o c oss-
cul u al adap a ion ha e been ca ego ized as he indi idual and si ua ional ac o s.
3.1 Indi idual ac o s
The indi idual ac o s e e o he pe son ela ed ac o s which is de ined as gene al li e
si ua ion in Lewin’s (1951) ield heo y. I gene ally includes a pe son’s psychological li e-
space and backg ound ac o s (Chak, 2002). Fu he mo e, e e y ac o which is ela ed o he
pe son o indi idual decision in acili a ing c oss-cul u al adap a ion is ca ego ized as he
indi idual ac o s.
3.1.1 English language p o iciency
Language is a i al ool in lea ning and acqui ing new cul u al skills and also one o he
key elemen s in adap a ion p ocess. To in e ac wi h local people in he hos coun y and o
Sha aei & Razak Impo ance-Pe o mance Ma ix Analysis (IPMA)
2nd In e na ional Symposium on Pa ial Leas Squa es Pa h Modeling, Se ille (Spain), 2015 4
be e unde s and local cul u e and alues, in e na ional s uden s need o ha e a good
command o language p o iciency (Mahmud, Ama , Rahman, & Ishak, 2010). Kim (1988)
men ioned ha he ac o o e ec i e social communica ion is belie ed o be he key o
success ul adap a ion and his communica ion is done h ough language. Acco ding o Wa d
(2004, p. 190) “Language skills a e impo an because hey a ec he quali y and quan i y o
in e cul u al in e ac ions”. Thus, i is hypo hesized:
H1: English language p o iciency posi i ely in luences in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s’
psychological adap a ion.
H2: English language p o iciency posi i ely in luences in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s’
sociocul u al adap a ion.
3.1.2 Accul u a ion a i ude
The con lic be ween p ese ing he e hnic iden i y (keep) and de eloping a new iden i y
consis en wi h he no ms and beha iou s o hos socie y (adop ) has always been an
impo an issue o immig an s and sojou ne s (Be y, Segall, & Kagi cibasi, 1999). Based on
he e idence om ea lie s udies, ha ing any o keep o adop a i udes can in luence
indi iduals’ adap a ion di e en ly. Fo example, highe psychological and sociocul u al
adap a ions a e ela ed o bo h keep and adop , bu highe sociocul u al adap a ion is ela ed o
adop (Wa d & Kennedy, 1994). Mo eo e , h ough communica ing wi h he hos na ionals,
indi iduals imp o e hei quali y o in e ac ion and lea n mo e abou he new en i onmen
which acili a es be e c oss-cul u al adap a ion. The e o e, i is hypo hesized:
H3: Adjus men a i ude signi ican ly in luences in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s’
psychological adap a ion.
H4: Adjus men a i ude signi ican ly in luences in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s’
sociocul u al adap a ion.
H5: A achmen a i ude signi ican ly in luences in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s’
psychological adap a ion.
H6: A achmen a i ude signi ican ly in luences in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s’
sociocul u al adap a ion.
3.2 Si ua ional ac o s
Si ua ional ac o s a e de ined as he ac o s which a e a he en i onmen al le el. In
Lewin’s (1951) ield heo y, i e e s o he pe cei ed psychological en i onmen . In o he
wo ds, i e e s o he indi iduals’ pe cep ion o hei psychological en i onmen .
3.2.1 Pe cei ed social suppo
Social suppo is de ined as he suppo ne wo ks o co-na ional and hos na ional iends
ha a e o med by sojou ne s in o de o manage academic, social and emo ional p oblems
(Alazzi & Chiodo, 2006). The e a e h ee main sou ces o social suppo (i.e. amily, iends
and o he s) (Chi ko , Sa da , De Guzman, & Play o d, 2008). In he case o in e na ional
s uden s, o he s include uni e si y s a s, academic s a s, in e na ional o ice, in e na ional
s uden s club and academic se ices and he la ge communi y a e also impo an o p o ide
suppo because in e na ional s uden s migh app oach hem when hey ace challenges o
di icul ies (Zhou, F ey, & Bang, 2011). Addi ionally, highe le els o anxie y and dep ession
a e associa ed wi h lack o social suppo (Sume , Poy azli, & G ahame, 2008). Hence, social
suppo is an impo an de e minan o c oss-cul u al adap a ion by educing s ess and
anxie y and inc easing in e na ional s uden s’ knowledge and unde s anding o he hos
cul u e (Sa da , S u he s, & an Oudenho en, 2009). Acco dingly, he ollowing hypo heses
a e ad anced:
Sha aei & Razak Impo ance-Pe o mance Ma ix Analysis (IPMA)
2nd In e na ional Symposium on Pa ial Leas Squa es Pa h Modeling, Se ille (Spain), 2015 5
H7: Social suppo p o ided om di e en sou ces ( amily, iends and uni e si y academic
and non-academic s a s) posi i ely in luences in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s’
psychological adap a ion.
H8: Social suppo p o ided om di e en sou ces ( amily, iends and uni e si y s a s)
posi i ely in luences in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s’ sociocul u al adap a ion.
3.2.2 Pe cei ed s e eo ype image
S e eo ype is de ined as indi iduals’ belie s abou membe s o some social g oups which
in ol es gene aliza ions abou hei ypical cha ac e is ics (Jussim, Nelson, Manis, & So in,
1995). I also e e s o people’s social ca ego ical judgmen o he membe s o o he g oups
(Hean, 2009). The s e eo ype made in a coun y by he dominan g oup can signi ican ly
in luence he s e eo yped g oups’ beha iou s and a i udes (O'Sulli an & Du so, 1984). In line
wi h he social iden i y heo y, he s e eo ype image can esul in posi i e o nega i e ela ions
wi h he hos na ionals which can a ec sociocul u al adap a ion (Taj el & Tu ne , 1986).
Addi ionally, nega i e s e eo ype could inc ease indi iduals’ s ess and anxie y which can
a ec indi iduals’ psychological heal h and ul ima ely esul in unsuccess ul psychological
adap a ion. Thus, i is hypo hesized:
H9: Pe cei ed s e eo ype image can signi ican ly in luence in e na ional pos g adua e
s uden s’ psychological adap a ion.
H10: Pe cei ed s e eo ype image can signi ican ly in luence in e na ional pos g adua e
s uden s’ sociocul u al adap a ion.
Conside ing he equa ion o li e-space in he ield heo y which emphasizes he ole o
indi idual and si ua ional ac o s, he p oposed model in his s udy is de eloped. As shown in
Figu e 1, indi idual and si ua ional ac o s a e he exogenous a iables which in luence
in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s’ psychological and sociocul u al adap a ions (i.e.
endogenous a iables).
Figu e 1: Resea ch Model
4. Design o he Empi ical S udy
An online ques ionnai e, alida ed h ough pilo es , was emailed o all he pos g adua e
s uden s (i.e. 5372) in Malaysian public uni e si ies. To ensu e he e hical conside a ions in
his s udy, he pu pose o he s udy was explained clea ly in he email sen o each
in e na ional pos g adua e s uden . The pa icipan s we e also ensu ed ha all hei esponses
would emain anonymous and con iden ial and he in o ma ion p o ided om hem would be
me ely used o he pu pose o he esea ch. The ques ionnai e was in English, as he medium
o ins uc ion is English o in e na ional s uden s in Malaysian uni e si ies. The esponses o

Sha aei & Razak Impo ance-Pe o mance Ma ix Analysis (IPMA)
2nd In e na ional Symposium on Pa ial Leas Squa es Pa h Modeling, Se ille (Spain), 2015 6
he pa icipan s we e eco ded on a 6-poin Like scale. Table 1 illus a es he ins umen s
measu emen scales adap ed o measu e each cons uc , numbe o i ems, he measu emen
model and he sou ces o he scales.
Table 1: Cons uc s Measu emen Scales
Cons uc
Ins umen
Numbe o
I ems Adap ed
Measu emen
Model
Sou ce
English
Language
P o iciency
Language P o iciency Scale
ELP
ELP: 4 i ems
Re lec i e
- Kwak (1991)
Adjus men
A i ude
Adop Scale
AdjA: 5 i ems
Re lec i e
Swaidan, Vi ell, Rose,
and Gilbe (2006)
A achmen
A i ude
Keep Scale
A A: 5 i ems
Re lec i e
Swaidan e al. (2006)
Social
Suppo
Mul idimensional Scale o
Pe cei ed Social Suppo
(MSPSS)
MSPSS: 9 i ems
Fo ma i e
Zime , Dahlem, Zime ,
and Fa ley (1988)
Pe cei ed
S e eo ype
Image
S e eo ype Image Scale
PSI: 5 i ems
Re lec i e
(Ca pen e , 1995)
Psychological
Adap a ion
- Dep ession Anxie y and
S ess Scale (DASS)
- Li e Scale (SWLS)
- Sel -Es eem Scale (SES)
DASS: 6 i ems
(Dep ession)
SWLS: 5 i ems
SES: 6 i ems
Fo ma i e
- Lo ibond and
Lo ibond (1995)
- Diene , Emmons,
La sen, and G i in
(1985)
- Rosenbe g (1965)
Sociocul u al
Adap a ion
Sociocul u al Adap a ion
Scale (SCAS)
SCAS: 10 i ems
Re lec i e
Wa d and Kennedy
(1999)
Among he emails sen o he in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s, o al o 1023 esponses
we e ecei ed; howe e 818 o hem we e included in his s udy since hey we e ully
comple ed. The pa icipan s o his s udy included 818 in e na ional s uden s en olled in a
pos g adua e le el (i.e. mas e o PhD) in he public uni e si ies in Malaysia. Speci ically,
42% o he pa icipan s we e mas e s uden s while 58% we e PhD s uden s. Abou 68 % o
he pa icipan s we e male while 32% emale. The la ges g oup o pa icipan s we e in he
age g oup o 25-30 yea s old (37%), ollowed by he 31-35 age g oup (27%). Besides, 8% o
esponden s we e below 25 yea s old. Among he pa icipan s, 57% we e ma ied. Pa icipan s
came mainly om he wo Asia (48%) and Middle Eas (31%) wi h 22% om A ica.
4.1 Assessmen o he pa h model
The esea ch model was es ed h ough Pa ial Leas Squa e pa h modelling echnique
using Sma PLS e sion 3.0 (Ringle, Wende, & Becke , 2014) due o wo main easons; (a)
his s udy is explo a o y in na u e, and (b) he e a e o ma i e cons uc s in he esea ch
model. Thus, his echnique is app op ia e, since he hypo hesized ela ionships among he
a iables ha e no been es ed be o e, indica ing he explo a o y na u e o he esea ch
(Ainuddin, Beamish, Hulland, & Rouse, 2007). Mo eo e , gi en he pe cei ed di icul ies in
o ma i e models, he mos sui able and capable echnique in handling bo h o ma i e and
e lec i e cons uc s in a esea ch model is Sma PLS (Hai , Black, Babin, & Ande son,
2010).
A wo-s ep p ocess was applied; ou e model assessmen (i.e. measu emen model) and he
inne model assessmen (i.e. s uc u al model) in Sma PLS e sion 3.0 (Hensele , Ringle, &
Sinko ics, 2009). The measu emen model is conce ned wi h he assessmen o eliabili y and
alidi y o he a iables while he s uc u al model e alua es he signi icance o he pa h
coe icien s in he esea ch model. Figu e 2 p esen s he pa h model in Sma PLS.
Sha aei & Razak Impo ance-Pe o mance Ma ix Analysis (IPMA)
2nd In e na ional Symposium on Pa ial Leas Squa es Pa h Modeling, Se ille (Spain), 2015 7
4.1.1 Assessmen o he e lec i e measu emen model
Fo he e lec i e measu emen model assessmen , i em loadings, a e age a iance
ex ac ed (AVE), composi e eliabili y (CR) we e assessed o he ollowing cons uc s;
‘English language p o iciency’, ‘adjus men a i ude’, ‘a achmen a i ude’, ‘pe cei ed
s e eo ype image’ and ‘sociocul u al adap a ion’. Fac o loadings a e abo e he ideal h eshold
o 0.70 excep o a ew i ems which all below 0.70 (i.e. abo e 0.603); howe e , hey do no
cause any p oblem and he i emains high, and he a e age a iance ex ac ed (AVE) o all
he e lec i e cons uc s a e abo e he h eshold o 0.5 (Fo nell & La cke , 1981; Hai e al.,
2010). Besides, composi e eliabili y indices o all he cons uc s a e close o 0.9 which is
highe han he cu -o alue o 0.7 (Hai , Black, Babin, Ande son, & Ta ham, 2009)
indica ing sa is ac o y eliabili y.
In addi ion, he disc iminan alidi y o he e lec i ely measu ed cons uc s was assessed
using he he e o ai -mono ai a io (HTMT) p oposed by Hensele , Ringle, and Sa s ed
(2015). Since Fo nell and La cke (1981) c i e ion and c oss loadings a e insu icien ly
sensi i e o de ec p oblems wi h disc iminan alidi y, i is sugges ed o assess he he e o ai -
mono ai a io (HTMT) o he co ela ions ha e e s o he a e age o he he e o ai -
he e ome hod co ela ions (i.e., he co ela ions o indica o s ac oss cons uc s measu ing
di e en phenomena), ela i e o he a e age o he mono ai -he e ome hod co ela ions (i.e.,
he co ela ions o indica o s wi hin he same cons uc ) (Hensele e al., 2015). All he alues
o HTMT a e below he h eshold o 0.85 (Cla k & Wa son, 1995; Kline, 2011) con i ming
he es ablishmen o disc iminan alidi y o he e lec i ely measu ed cons uc s.
Figu e 2: Pa h Model
4.1.2 Assessmen o he o ma i e measu emen model
Fo he o ma i e measu emen model, weigh signi icance o each indica o and mul i-
collinea i y ( a iance in la ion ac o VIF) we e assessed o ‘psychological adap a ion
(PSYCHA)’ and ‘social suppo (SS)’. All he indic o s’ weigh s a e signi ican ( wo-sided
p<0.01) [PSYCHA: (dep ession, weigh : 0.430, - alue: 27.23; li e sa is ac ion, weigh :
0.378, - alue: 23.72; sel -es eem, weigh : 0.488, - alue: 27.65) and SS: (social suppo om
amily, weigh : 0.273, - alue: 8.73; social suppo om iends, weigh : 0.414, - alue:
31.35; social suppo om uni e si y s a s, weigh :0.627, - alue: 19.41)]. Addi ionally, he
highes VIF alues o bo h o ma i e cons uc s’ indica o s is 1.845 which is below he cu -
o alue o 3 sugges ed by Hai e al. (2009) con i ming ha mul i-collinea i y is no a
Sha aei & Razak Impo ance-Pe o mance Ma ix Analysis (IPMA)
2nd In e na ional Symposium on Pa ial Leas Squa es Pa h Modeling, Se ille (Spain), 2015 8
p oblem. O e all, bo h e lec i e and o ma i e measu emen models a e con i med be o e
assessing he s uc u al model.
4.1.3 Assessmen o he s uc u al model
Fo assessing he s uc u al model, epea ed indica o app oach (Lohmölle , 1989) was
applied since he e a e wo e lec i e- o ma i e cons uc s in he esea ch model (i.e., social
suppo an exogenous a iable and psychological adap a ion an endogenous a iable). Due o
ha ing a o ma i e hie a chical la en a iable in an endogenous posi ion (i.e. psychological
adap a ion) using all he h ee app oaches (i.e. wo-s age, epea ed and hyb id) a e sui able
(Becke , Klein, & We zels, 2012). Besides, he essen ial c i e ion o assess he s uc u al
model is he coe icien de e mina ion o R squa e (R2). Fo ‘psychological adap a ion’ and
‘sociocul u al adap a ion’ he R squa e alues a e 0.310 and 0.344 espec i ely which lie a
he sa is ac o y ange since in s udying human beha iou (e.g., psychology) R squa e alue is
lowe han 50% (F os , 2013). The inne model pa h analysis shows ha among he 10
hypo heses ad anced in his s udy, only one (i.e. A A  PSYCHA) is no suppo ed. In
pa icula , he pa hs be ween AdjA  PSYCHA, AdjA  SOCICA, A A  SOCICA, ELP
 PSYCHA, ELP  SOCICA, PSI  PSYCHA, PSI  SOCICA, SS  PSYCHA, SS 
SOCICA a e all s a is ically signi ican a p<0.05 con idence le el (One-sided) and hus he
espec i e hypo heses a e suppo ed.
4.2 Impo ance-pe o mance ma ix analysis
In he las s ep, he analysis o impo ance-pe o mance ma ix o pa h modelling was
ca ied ou in o de o iden i y he possible a eas ha need o be add essed and imp o ed wi h
managemen ac i i ies. Speci ically, by assessing IPMA he impac o la en a iables wi h a
ela i ely high impo ance and ela i ely low pe o mance on a pa icula endogenous la en
a iable would be iden i ied (Hock, Ringle, & Sa s ed , 2010). Subsequen ly, IPMA esul s
p o ide manage ial insigh s o add ess and imp o e he iden i ied a eas wi h high impo ance
and low pe o mance (Hock e al., 2010; Schlode e , Sa s ed , & Ringle, 2014). Table 2
illus a es he esul s o IPMA and Figu e 3 isualizes he IPMA esul s o he wo c i e ions
o ‘psychological adap a ion’ and ‘sociocul u al adap a ion’.
Table 2: IPMA Resul s
La en Va iable
Psychological Adap a ion
Sociocul u al Adap a ion
To al E ec
(Impo ance)
Index alue
(Pe o mance)
To al E ec
(Impo ance)
Index alue
(Pe o mance)
English Language P o iciency
0.130
71.903
0.124
71.903
Adjus men A i ude
0.155
68.221
0.214
68.221
A achmen A i ude
0.029
73.525
-0.074
73.525
Social Suppo
0.268
58.221
0.158
58.221
Pe cei ed S e eo ype Image
0.209
69.897
0.328
69.897
I is e iden om he impo ance-pe o mance analysis map ha o bo h c i e ions (i.e.
psychological adap a ion and sociocul u al adap a ion) he wo highes pe o mances belong
o a achmen a i ude and English language p o iciency. Howe e , he a iables wi h he
highes impo ance o psychological and sociocul u al adap a ions a e di e en . Fo
psychological adap a ion, he op h ee impo an a iables a e social suppo , pe cei ed
s e eo ype image and adjus men a i ude wi h he lowes pe o mance in social suppo . On
he o he hand, o sociocul u al adap a ion, he op h ee p io i ies belong o pe cei ed
s e eo ype image, adjus men a i ude and social suppo wi h he lowes pe o mance in social
suppo . I is wo h no ing he e ha , al hough he h ee a iables show he highes impo ance
o bo h c i e ions, hei o de o each c i e ion is di e en . Speci ically, o psychological
Sha aei & Razak Impo ance-Pe o mance Ma ix Analysis (IPMA)
2nd In e na ional Symposium on Pa ial Leas Squa es Pa h Modeling, Se ille (Spain), 2015 9
adap a ion, social suppo is he mos impo an a iable while o sociocul u al adap a ion
pe cei ed s e eo ype image is he highes p io i y. O e all, he h ee mos impo an a iables
o bo h psychological and sociocul u al adap a ions a e social suppo , pe cei ed s e eo ype
image and adjus men a i ude.
Figu e 3: Impo ance-Pe o mance Ma ix Analysis Map
5. Findings and Conclusions
Fu he in es iga ion in o he pa h model analysis using impo ance and pe o mance o he
iden i ied exogenous a iables wi h he c i e ions o psychological and sociocul u al
adap a ions sugges s p ac ical insigh s abou he i al a eas which need imp o emen wi h
ega ds o in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s. Pa icula ly, social suppo is he mos
impo an ac o o in e na ional pos g adua e s uden s o be psychologically adap ed o he
Malaysian en i onmen while pe cei ed s e eo ype image is highes p io i y o hem o
achie e be e sociocul u al adap a ion in Malaysian con ex . This is unde s andable since
social suppo ac s as a bu e agains he s ess o challenges aced by in e na ional s uden s
(Lee & Ci ci, 2014) and as p o en in se e al p io s udies, social suppo om hos -na ionals
educes indi iduals’ s ess while is leads o psychological well-being and adap a ion
(Fu nham & Shiekh, 1993). Addi ionally, s e eo ype image as he posi i e o nega i e belie s
abou some membe s o a socie y, in luences hei in e ac ion. As Cooley (1992), he
Ame ican sociologis , in oduced he looking-glass sel -concep ha e e s o he p ocess o
pe son’s sel -g ow h h ough socie y’s in e pe sonal in e ac ions and he pe cep ions o
o he s. Thus, people’s success in any socie y is e y much associa ed wi h hei neighbou s’
and equals’ a ou and hei good opinion which is s e eo ype image o epu a ion.
Consequen ly, he s e eo ypes which a e o med in he socie y can lead o posi i e o nega i e
e lec ions in in e ac ions wi h hos na ionals ha in luence sociocul u al adap a ion.
The e o e, i is he esponsibili y o he coun ies ha accep in e na ional s uden s o
unde s and and add ess he key a iables in luencing c oss-cul u al adap a ion p ocess in
o de o ensu e in e na ional s uden s can lou ish and b ing abou social, cul u al and
inancial bene i s o hei academic ins i u ions and coun ies. Since his s udy iden i ies social
suppo , pe cei ed s e eo ype image and adjus men a i ude as he mos impo an a iables
which need o be conside ed and add essed wi h ega ds o in e na ional pos g adua e