Citation
Campos e Cunha, R., Neves, P. and Story, J. (2015), "Introduction to the special issue on world in transition: business, multiculturalism and society", Management Research, Vol. 13 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRJIAM-09-2015-0607
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Introduction to the special issue on world in transition: business, multiculturalism and society
Article-type: Editorial From: Management Research: The Journal of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management, Volume 13, Issue 3
Globalization is perceived as inducing changes, not only in the economic, but also in the social, cultural and political arenas. In this special issue, which was associated with the 2013 International Conference of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management, we called for reflections on the deep changes that Iberoamerican countries are facing. These changes can be as diverse as the integration of different cultures in the Latin American region; the promotion of inclusive environments in a region that experiences high levels of development combined with extreme poverty; the development, attraction and retention of talent in organizations; or the challenges related to education and productivity at public and private organizations.
The papers in this special issue are as diverse as the regions represented in the Iberoamerican Academy of Management. Specifically, two papers are related with a common topic in multinational companies, expatriation and the processes that facilitate integration and ascribe meaning to the expatriation experience. A third article elaborates on the development cycle of the banking system in Brazil, while the fourth describes the influence of communication technologies on relational boycotts.
The first article, by Jingjing, Guimarães Costa and Neves, provides an exploratory analysis of the adjustment experience of Chinese expatriates in Portugal, particularly the extent to which the guanxi strategy is applicable in this country. The article discusses how the development of social ties with others, i.e. guanxi, can serve as a facilitating mechanism, although with some adaptations, in the integration of Chinese expatriates in Portugal, given some cultural similarities between the two countries at this level. In the second paper, Pinto and Caldas use a qualitative method to understand how employees in a Portuguese multinational company make sense of the acceptance of an expatriation assignment, by highlighting the call of duty feelings related to the company.
These two papers complement each other, as they examine both sides of the expatriation process in Portugal by looking at the challenges that companies may have in managing expatriates coming from and to Portugal.
da Silva, Silva e Meirelles and Porto, on the other hand, present an evolutionary analysis of the banking system in Brazil, using organizational ecology as a theoretical framework of analysis and focusing on some of its idiosyncrasies and stressing the concentration of the sector in this country.
Cruz and Botelho use grounded theory, netnography and non-participant observation over the online environment to discuss what is termed as relational boycott, by which consumers cease to buy from a company due to bad experiences in pre- or after-sales, as well as its relation with backlash and group unity.
Taken together, these papers provide useful insights on the dynamics and challenges of managing firms in the twenty-first century, a period characterized by heightened levels of uncertainty, interdependence and multiculturalism.
Rita Campos e Cunha, Pedro Neves and Joana Story
Nova School of Business and Economics, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal