James Kaufman, my adviser, for support, suggestions and guidance during my long search for a research focus.

Wayne Chung, for ideas and suggestions while working closely with me on the prototype and testing procedure.

Elizabeth Sanders, for valuable inputs on the design of the research instruments and for finding the time to help fine tune this document .

Roberto Garcia, for providing useful insights into the world of international business that helped define the structure of the prototype.

Steve Spencer, for help in setting up the prototype and installing the scripts to process the questionnaires.