Search results

This study of multinational companies in China focuses on the role culture plays in relationship cultivation. The author interviewed 40 participants from 36 multinational companies in China. The findings revealed that characteristics of Chinese culture, such as family orientation, guanxi, relational orientation (role formalisation, relational interdependence, face, favour, relational harmony, relational fatalism and relational determination) had an influence on multinational companies’ relationship cultivation strategies. Multinationals from Western countries were found, however, to be more persistent in maintaining their own cultural values in relationship building than multinational companies from Asian countries.

Despite close to two decades of foreign direct investment in China, and the country's enormous market potential, most US and European multinational corporations have never made a profit in that country. The distribution of profits among multinationals also seems highly skewed. The latest survey on profitability showed that five US companies accounted for one‐third of equity profits among US‐based multinationals in China. This research proposes explanations for why multinationals fail in China and strategic solutions for profitable operations.

Through in‐depth interviews with 29 CEOs and directors of major, profitable US and European multinationals, overseas Chinese companies and People's Republic of China companies, this paper proposes a model of strategic convergence for successful operations in China. The first part discusses cultural and cognitive differences between Westerners and Chinese that affect the strategies they choose. The second part proposes a strategic model of convergence, fusing the best of both Western and Chinese business practices, for strategic success in China.

Profitable foreign multinationals in China appeared to modify their management practices on eight dimensions, often adopting traditional Chinese methods of strategic planning and evaluations of effectiveness, as well as relations with key stakeholders, especially the government. Yet, these multinationals continued to retain their Western norms and values in business dealings. Conversely, profitable Chinese companies that competed with these multinationals also modified their management practices in line with Western norms

The study has implications for the management of foreign subsidiaries in China as well as the successful management of Chinese foreign direct investment in the US and Europe.

Despite close to two decades of foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, and the country's enormous market potential, most US and European multinational corporations (multinationals) have never made a profit in that country. The distribution of profits among multinationals also seems highly skewed. The latest survey on profitability showed that five US companies accounted for one‐third of equity profits among US‐based multinationals in China. This research presented in two parts proposes explanations for why multinationals fail in China and strategic solutions for profitable operations.

Through in‐depth interviews with 29 CEOs and directors of major, profitable US and European multinationals, Overseas Chinese companies and PRC Chinese companies, this paper proposes a model of strategic convergence for successful operations in China. The first part discusses cultural and cognitive differences between Westerners and Chinese that affect the strategies they choose. The second part proposes a strategic model of convergence, fusing the best of both Western and Chinese business practices, for strategic success in China.

The research found that profitable foreign multinationals in China appeared to modify their management practices on eight dimensions, often adopting traditional Chinese methods of strategic planning and evaluations of effectiveness, as well as relations with key stakeholders, especially the government. Yet, these multinationals continued to retain their Western norms and values in business dealings. Conversely, profitable Chinese companies that competed with these multinationals also modified their management practices in line with Western norms

The study has implications for the management of foreign subsidiaries in China as well as the successful management of Chinese FDI in the USA and Europe.

With the increasing dependence on the Chinese market, Chinese subsidiary managers rather than Western managers in the headquarters take responsibility for the overall success of the multinational company (MNC). This paper aims to argue that Chinese managers need to actively interfere to guarantee the survival of the MNC. Transaction analysis is suggested as a tool to rebalance the relationship.

Based on illustrative material and experience cases, the authors highlight why and how Chinese subsidiary managers have to engage in interference management.

Introducing different strategies within transaction analysis shows how Western managers can deal with Chinese interference management to improve relationships.

With the use of transaction analysis, Western managers can verify their communication strategies and behavior to better relate to Chinese subsidiaries on an “adult” level.

Interference management is based on counterintuitive thought that Chinese subsidiary managers rather than headquarters become responsible for the overall success of the MNC. Transaction analysis is used to uncover hidden assumptions, communication strategies and behavior in headquarters–subsidiary relationships.

This paper aims to explore international training and development policies and practices in Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs). The issues examined in this study include pre‐departure and post‐arrival training for expatriates and their spouses and families, training for host‐country nationals (HCNs), reasons for Chinese MNEs not providing adequate training and the approaches of Chinese MNEs to international management development.

This paper used a semi‐structured, interview‐based survey for collecting data from ten Chinese MNEs. The case companies consist of a range of industries and economic ownership types. A total of 30 in‐depth interviews involving general managers, HR managers at headquarters and executive managers in subsidiaries were carried out.

The paper reveals that Chinese MNEs provide only limited training to expatriates and other nationals, and lack a systematic international management development system. They adopt usually an ethnocentric approach to international training and development, and provide different levels of international training and management development for HCNs and PCNs.

The paper has many issues, especially those relating to the organizational determinates of international training and management development, their impact on organizational performance, and the effect of different approaches to training and development on different nationals; these require further investigation.

The paper shows that HRM in Chinese MNEs has not been much considered. This study has examined a selection of international training and management development issues in Chinese MNEs that have not been reported in the literature to date.

More and more foreign companies, including multinational companies, open business in China. The staff management under the local culture of China is one of the critical points affecting the success of foreign invested companies in China. This paper aims to illustrate the effective methods of staff management for foreign invested companies in China.

For this purpose, a survey on concrete practices of staff management was conducted among three multinational company affiliates in China, whose parent companies are located in the USA, Japan, and Europe, respectively, by the in‐depth interviews with the high‐level executives of the affiliates.

It was found that although the staff management experiences of the surveyed affiliates show differences in operation, the affiliates have a common sense on how to balance culture difference, how to effectively communicate with staff, and how to appraise the performance. The active and passive factors of these experiences were further analysed from the needs level under current Chinese economic situation and from the invisible impacts on human behaviour of Chinese culture.

This study surveyed only three multinational company affiliates in China and therefore, the understanding obtained is limited in scope. The comprehensive knowledge of the subject depends on more case studies.

The analysis reveals that the active factors and localization, especially localization of the management team, are very important to the staff management of foreign invested companies in China.

The paper contributes to the research on effective methods for staff management in multinational companies.

The diffusion of “best management practice” across national boundaries is becoming a significant strategy for multinational companies (MNCs) to achieve competitive advantage in global markets. Several studies have shown that national cultural and institutional differences may constrain or limit the transfer of such “best practice”. However, these conclusions are based on studies of MNCs from developed countries and we know little about MNCs from developing countries in relation to human resource management best practice. China is engaging in rapid economic development and internationalisation of its business system, and Chinese MNCs see the adoption of advanced management practices as central to the process. Drawing on a study of Chinese MNCs operating in the UK, the article shows how the subsidiaries of these MNCs used the advanced environment of a developed country to transfer best practice of HRM into their organisations.

With China's economic development over the last two decades, the spirit and practice of Chinese companies have been radically transformed from administrative functions in a centrally planned economy toward that of market‐oriented enterprises. As Chinese enterprises restructure, the communication function is also undergoing dramatic changes. Discussion of the CCI Corporate Communication Practices and Trends 2005 Study and the CCI Corporate Communication Practices and Trends: A China Benchmark 2006 allow some insight into the state of the art in China, and help us to infer how best to communicate with the Chinese for a successful business relationship.

The observations in this article are based on the CCI Corporate Communication Practices and Trends: A China Benchmark Study 2006, which was underwritten by Prudential Financial, Inc., and conducted in Beijing, China, in December 2005 and July 2006 through a partnership of the Corporate Communication Institute, Beijing Horizon Market Research Group, and Dr Jian “Jay” Wang of Purdue University.

Business communication and relationships are integral to success for Chinese companies and their executives. Five years into its membership of the World Trade Organization, China is the world's fastest growing economy. Its companies are developing global business cultures and corporate communication management functions as they make the transition from government control to market‐driven enterprises. This development is revealing when compared with the corporate communication best practices of multinational corporations in relationships with customers, the media, employees, the community and society, and the government, as well as communication in a crisis. Understanding these contemporary practices can lead to healthy business relationship in China. Like any new venture, communication for Chinese businesses is focused on branding, marketing, and identity building. Their executives are developing global practices for relations with employees, and they are developing media relations practices. Many companies are well on their way to creating socially responsible policies and practices for the environment, energy, and relationships with the community. They are rapidly taking on responsibility, once entirely that of the government, for communication in crises.

Based on the findings of the CCI Corporate Communication Practices and Trends: A China Benchmark Study 2006, the Corporate Communication Institute at Fairleigh Dickinson University will conduct a study of Chinese companies and foreign companies operating in China, using a much larger sample.

This discussion should provide some insight into the state of the art in China, and help us to infer how best to communicate with the Chinese for a successful business relationship.

This paper discusses the findings of a first‐of‐its‐kind study of corporate communication practices and trends among Chinese companies.

The purpose of this paper is to: summarize the major research that has been conducted regarding cross‐cultural issues in China; show the current practices on cross‐cultural management in Chinese organizations; and then identify future research needs on cross‐cultural management in China.

Meta‐analysis was carried out to summarize research of cross‐cultural management in China.

Empirical studies on cross‐cultural management in China have been conducted since the 1990s, and numerous empirical studies have been done in the past two decades across different level of constructs and practices (individual, group and organization). Among all the intercultural research concerning China, there are mainly two common types: the first type focuses on foreign managers and employees, center on their adjustment and performance in Chinese culture; and the second type of study examines Chinese who work with these foreigners in the multinational management setting. Furthermore, in recent years, emphases have been shifted from examining the effects of culture on single variables to examining the relationships among same and different level of variables.

Systematic conceptual model development and assessment of important topics are in great need. Although there is an increasing amount of comparative studies being done in China, very few studies have been conducted to study Chinese firms that are doing business abroad, which represents one of the most critical problems in the field of cross‐cultural management research in China. Most studies focus on cultural value identification and practical issues in Western global companies, which is concerned with comparison between Eastern and Western culture. Research should be conducted to study cultural differences among eastern countries, for example, countries in Asia.

Future cross‐culture management practices in China should follow several basic principles: be applicable, that is, build unique organizational culture that is embedded in the host country; be practical, since there is no well‐developed multinational culture in China, new culture should be concerned with both sides; be systematic, cross‐culture management practices should have supporting system; be equal, no single culture is better than another; cultural penetration, two different cultures have mutual impact; merit‐based appointment and promotion, use local personnel, not just talents from the home country. In Chinese settings, the most common cross‐cultural management interventions include: cross‐cultural training, cross‐cultural communication system and unified organizational culture.

This paper comprehensively reviews the research and practices on cross‐cultural management in China; identifies topics that have been studied in individual, group and organizational level. Implications on cross‐cultural selection, training are provided based research evidence.

This paper sets out to review the literature of technology strategy, competitive advantage and sustainability of international business, in particular, the contribution that the enactment of technology strategy can make toward the effective implementation of business sustainability in the post-recession. It examines what kind of role technology strategy plays in Chinese business and how business sustainability could be leveraged through the implementation of appropriate technology strategy. This paper attempts to address various crucial issues in the establishment of a proper technology strategy for the sustainability of the business in the global market place based upon case study of five vanguard Chinese companies.

This exploratory study primarily adapts a qualitative multiple-case-study method which attempts to understand how Chinese firms perceive the role of technology strategy in their business, to capture the practical terms and concepts underpinning technology strategy and sustainability, and to allow us to have an analysis of the relationship between technology strategy and sustainability of business. Finally, ten propositions concerning “technology strategy and sustainability of business” are to be developed and verified along the theoretical development of the paper and examination of five cases. The nature of the study results that the paper applies qualitative method with a multiple-case-study approach, including Geely, Haier, TCL, Huawei and Lenovo.

This paper addresses the crucial issues – management of technology as basic function in international business and the close relationship between technology strategy and business sustainability. It showcases the Chinese business paradigm from “imitation to innovation” of how Chinese hi-tech firms built their core competence. This study provides fresh insights for multinational companies in creating competitive advantage through designing an appropriate technology strategy.

Theoretically this research fills the gap of an area of technology management which has been rarely touched. This will have strong implication not only to Chinese companies but also non-Chinese multinational companies.