An Exploratory Study
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How Does the Indian Diaspora Help Drive Trade and Investment Ties between India and North America? An Exploratory Study by Masud Chand B.B. A., Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka M.B.A. (International Business), Simon Fraser University THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Faculty of Business Administration © 2009 Masud Chand SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2009 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Masud Chand Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title of Thesis: How Does the Indian Diaspora Help Drive Trade and Investment Ties between India and North America? An Exploratory Study Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. David C. Thomas Professor, Faculty of Business Administration ________________________________________ Dr. Rosalie L. Tung Senior Supervisor Professor, Faculty of Business Administration ________________________________________ Dr. Jing Li Supervisor Assistant Professor, Faculty of Business Administration __________________________________________ Dr. Rekha Krishnan Supervisor Assistant Professor, Faculty of Business Administration ______________________________________________ Dr. Karen Ruckman Internal Examiner Assistant Professor, Faculty of Business Administration ________________________________________ Dr. Sue Bruning External Examiner Professor, Asper School of Business University of Manitoba Date Defended/Approved: __November 18, 2009_ ii Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. 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Simon Fraser University Library Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada Last update: Spring 2010 ABSTRACT This study examines the role that the Indian diaspora plays in helping to drive trade and investment ties between India on one hand and Canada and the United States on the other. The Indian diaspora is becoming increasingly important in both political and economic terms in North America. As trade and investment ties continue to grow between a fast developing India and Canada and the United States, the Indian diaspora has been playing an important role in driving this relationship. This study utilizes the concepts of acculturation, bicultural identity, brain circulation, social capital literature and investment theories to analyze the impact that the diaspora has on this relationship. It examines the complex attitudes that the diaspora has towards the home and host countries, and looks into how these help to drive their actions towards these countries. It points out the differences between the attitudes and activities of the Indian diaspora in the U.S. and the attitudes and activities of the Indian diaspora in Canada. It also tries to determine whether the current theories of investment do in fact predict the behaviour of the Indian diaspora when it comes to their investment and trade facilitation behaviours. This is a two-part study that employs both qualitative and quantitative methods. The first part of the study involves a questionnaire survey with 158 managers, executives and entrepreneurs of Indian descent living in the U.S. and Canada while the second part involves more detailed follow up interviews with 25 of these respondents. The results indicate that the Indian diaspora does play an important part in driving trade and investment between Indian and North America. However, there are clear differences between how the diaspora in Canada and how the diaspora in the U.S. does this. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to especially thank Dr. Rosalie Tung for her constant encouragement and valuable insights that helped me throughout my doctoral career. I thank Dr. Jing Li, Dr. Rekha Krishnan, Dr. Karen Ruckman and Dr. Sue Brunning for their valuable suggestions. I would also like to acknowledge the contribution of the Faculty of Business at Simon Fraser University. Special thanks are owed to Maria for her constant help and encouragement and my family for their support through the years. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval ............................................................................................................................. ii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ v List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 2.0 The Indian Diaspora .............................................................................................. 16 2.1 Background of the Indian Diaspora ...................................................................... 16 2.2 The Indian Diaspora in the U.S............................................................................. 21 2.2.1 Political Involvement of the Indian Diaspora in the U.S. ......................... 27 2.3 The Indian Diaspora in Canada ............................................................................. 30 2.4 Indian Government and the Indian Diaspora ........................................................ 34 2.5 The Indian Diaspora and the Indian Nation Brand ............................................... 39 3.0 Culture................................................................................................................... 42 3.1 Hofstede‟s Framework .......................................................................................... 42 3.2 GLOBE ................................................................................................................. 46 3.3 Acculturation......................................................................................................... 51 3.4 Bicultural Identity ................................................................................................. 63 3.4.1 BII: Cultural Conflict ................................................................................ 66 3.4.2 BII: Cultural Distance ............................................................................... 67 3.5 Personality............................................................................................................