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Book part
Publication date: 3 September 2016

Haiying Kang and Jie Shen

South Korean multinational enterprises (MNEs) have developed rapidly since the late 1950s. This chapter investigates South Korean MNEs’ talent management, more specifically…

Abstract

Purpose

South Korean multinational enterprises (MNEs) have developed rapidly since the late 1950s. This chapter investigates South Korean MNEs’ talent management, more specifically international recruitment and selection policies and practices in their Chinese operations.

Methodology/approach

Using the snowball method through Chinese and Korean networks we recruited ten Korean MNEs to participate in this research. We conducted semi-structured interviews with key individuals within the organisations.

Findings

It reveals that South Korean MNEs tend to adopt the polycentric approach or a mixed approach of being polycentric and ethnocentric to international staffing, with the number of expatriates reducing gradually over time. South Korean MNEs adopt ‘one-way selection’ in recruiting and selecting expatriates and localise recruitment procedures and selection criteria for host-country nationals.

Originality/value

South Korean MNEs have paid inadequate attention to: firstly, expatriates’ career development; and secondly, personal and family issues emerging from expatriation and repatriation. This study highlights these issues.

Book part
Publication date: 10 October 2011

Susan Shortland

Purpose –– This chapter examines theories and models that could be used to explain female expatriate participation with a view to identifying the most promising theoretical lenses…

Abstract

Purpose –– This chapter examines theories and models that could be used to explain female expatriate participation with a view to identifying the most promising theoretical lenses for future research. It takes as its basis, issues, evidence and explanations from both ‘women in management’ and ‘women expatriates’ literature to identify four main theoretical domains: family issues, assignee characteristics, host and home country norms, and institutional factors. Key theories and models within each of these four domains are highlighted and discussed and their potential contribution to understanding and explaining female expatriation evaluated.

Methodology/approach –– A Delphi study and advanced library database search were used to generate data for conceptual analysis.

Findings –– The most promising explanations of women's low expatriate participation are identified as being linked to occupational gender stereotyping and sex roles in employment, women's reduced social capital and patriarchal attitudes towards their identity and homemaker roles. These are reinforced by institutional isomorphic behaviour through which organisations mimic each other's human resource practices.

Research limitations/implications –– The research drew upon English language sources only in data collection and analysis.

Practical implications –– Scrutiny of organisational policies and practices applied to expatriate assignments is required to increase gender diversity in expatriation.

Social implications –– Further research using theoretical underpinning is required both to understand gender diversity within corporate international mobility and to prevent women's current low representation from continuing in future.

Originality/value of chapter –– There is little evidence to date of an accepted theoretical framework to test hypotheses relating to women's low expatriate participation. This chapter addresses this gap, identifying potentially helpful theoretical lenses for future female expatriate research.

Details

The Role of Expatriates in MNCs Knowledge Mobilization
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-113-8

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 15 July 2009

Joseph L.C. Cheng, Elizabeth Maitland and Stephen Nicholas

At the time of this writing, the world was experiencing its worse recession and financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. After half a century of world growth and…

Abstract

At the time of this writing, the world was experiencing its worse recession and financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. After half a century of world growth and two decades of transformation to capitalism by much of Eastern Europe and Asia, world national product and trade will fall this year. For the first time since the postwar growth miracle, multinational enterprises (MNEs) are restructuring, cutting their foreign investments and subsidiary operations. Many senior expatriate managers, particularly those working in the global finance industry, have lost their jobs or been repatriated. All eyes are on the upcoming G20 meeting in April, where the new U.S President Barack Obama will be meeting his counterparts from China, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and other member nations to discuss and formulate globally coordinated fiscal and monetary policies to help reverse the course of the current world economic turmoil.

Details

Managing, Subsidiary Dynamics: Headquarters Role, Capability Development, and China Strategy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-667-6

Book part
Publication date: 15 July 2009

Stewart R. Miller, Roger Calantone, Daniel C. Indro and Malika Richards

Many studies of control and international joint venture (IJV) performance have focused on ownership and management control. We develop a conceptual framework to explain how…

Abstract

Many studies of control and international joint venture (IJV) performance have focused on ownership and management control. We develop a conceptual framework to explain how strategies affect the relationship between management control and joint venture performance. Specifically, we focus on serving the host-country customer and extending the life cycle of the foreign partner's products. Using a sample of Sino–U.S. and Sino–Japanese joint ventures, we found that serving the host-country customer strengthens the positive relationship between management control by the foreign partner and IJV performance. However, extending the product life cycle of the foreign partner's products weakens the positive relationship between management control by the foreign partner and IJV performance. We discuss the performance implications of dealing with both strategies and reveal a complex relationship between equity ownership, management control, and IJV performance.

Details

Managing, Subsidiary Dynamics: Headquarters Role, Capability Development, and China Strategy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-667-6

Book part
Publication date: 26 November 2018

Pooja B. Vijayakumar, Michael J. Morley, Noreen Heraty, Mark E. Mendenhall and Joyce S. Osland

In this contribution, we systematically review the extant global leadership literature to identify important bibliometric and thematic patterns in evidence in this evolving field…

Abstract

In this contribution, we systematically review the extant global leadership literature to identify important bibliometric and thematic patterns in evidence in this evolving field of scholarship. Conceptualizing the phenomenon to include leaders/managers/supervisors who hold global, expatriate, or international positions, we draw out insights accumulated from a total of 327 published articles in key management and organizational behavior journals listed in Scopus. Our analysis proceeds in two sequential phases. Our bibliometric analysis first identifies the most cited articles, most published first authors, country bases of first authors, and frequently publishing journals in this field. This characterizes both the diversity and innovative nature of scholarship in the field. Our thematic content analysis, generated through Nvivo 11, isolates two dominant overarching themes that represent the wellspring for the body of literature, namely global leader development and global leader effectiveness. These themes of development and effectiveness are further explicated through six distinct lenses namely cultural, cognitive, learning, personality trait, social/relational, and political. These lenses are underpinned by a suite of theoretical perspectives encompassing individual, system, and contextual considerations. In combination, these sets of analyses bring added systematics to the field and serve as a point of departure for future inquiry.

Details

Advances in Global Leadership
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78754-297-6

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 October 2011

Avan Jassawalla and Hemant C. Sashittal

Purpose — Most managers seem dissatisfied with their careers after they return from expatriate assignments. The study aimed to identify the reasons for their dissatisfaction and…

Abstract

Purpose — Most managers seem dissatisfied with their careers after they return from expatriate assignments. The study aimed to identify the reasons for their dissatisfaction and distill implications for MNCs interested in improving the return on the investment they make on expatriation and harnessing the valuable knowledge with which many managers return after successful completion of expatriate assignments.

Methodology/approach — The data were collected via depth interviews with recently returned expatriates.

Findings — The level of dissatisfaction among returning expatriates is high and is attributable to a poorly managed HR function. While considerable sums are invested in transferring knowledge from home to host offices, MNCs seem curiously inattentive to the process by which their returning expatriates are reintegrated into the firm.

Practical implications — Managers' voices call for a strategically oriented HR function of MNCs and a new organisation for developing intellectual capital and a cadre of globally trained managers. Changes in structure, systems and processes are discussed.

Social implications — If MNCs continue neglecting the repatriation needs of their expatriates, and paying little or no attention to transferring their knowledge about international operations, U.S. companies are likely to lag in terms of utilising that knowledge to become more effective global organisations.

Originality/value of the chapter — Sources of dissatisfaction among returning expatriates are identified. Much of the dissatisfaction relates to the disconnect between expectations and reality, the failure of the mentor role and a lagging HR function. The chapter identifies steps to correct these problems.

Details

The Role of Expatriates in MNCs Knowledge Mobilization
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-113-8

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 3 September 2016

Zoltan Buzady

This chapter reports the current status of management practices in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region as seen by international expatriates. Based on the results and…

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter reports the current status of management practices in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region as seen by international expatriates. Based on the results and expert insights, we aim at giving guidance to MNE leaders and strategy makers as well as operative HRM staff and other expatriate managers how to best exploit the value-added opportunities in the CEE region by adopting the region-specific talent management and staffing policies and practices.

Methodology/approach

This study is based on the views of 1108 managers on the local management in six CEE countries: Bulgaria, Czechia,1

1

In this chapter, the term Czechia is used to refer to the Czech Republic.

Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Respondents were asked to fill in an anonymous online questionnaire containing 47 questions plus identifier questions. Also their local managers were asked to fill in the same questionnaire to establish on which of the 47 questions there is significant disagreement between expatriate and local managers.

In this chapter, the term Czechia is used to refer to the Czech Republic.

Findings

MNEs have been able to successfully capitalize on the economic integration and growth of the CEE region during the past 25 years. A new generation of competitive local managers is now growing into leadership positions, but MNEs need to find a more sophisticated way to retain those in the region in order to be able to exploit growth opportunities in future too.

Practical implications

Because the national cultural differences between the six analyzed CEE countries remain very characteristic and divergent, talent management and staffing strategies and policies of MNEs must be adopted and fine-tuned accordingly. Language and communication difficulties, knowledge of the standards management techniques are not a challenge anymore. Instead local management’s soft skills, leadership values and attitudes need to be developed now simultaneously with increasing wages, as the most talented local staff and management is readily relocating into higher-wage countries.

Originality/value

The originality and scholarly interest of this study lies in its cross-cultural, comparative approach. The originality and practical interest of this study is that it gives clear recommendations to MNE and expat managers. Furthermore the presented results have been tested during critical forum discussions with more than 60 CEE-experienced managers, expatriates, and the representatives several foreign chambers of trade and commerce held at the Central European University Business School in spring 2015.

Details

Global Talent Management and Staffing in MNEs
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-353-5

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Expatriate Leaders of International Development Projects
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-631-0

Book part
Publication date: 14 October 2015

Rochelle Haynes and Phil Almond

This chapter will discuss the extent to which existing models on expatriate functions within the international business literature, still effectively capture the roles currently…

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter will discuss the extent to which existing models on expatriate functions within the international business literature, still effectively capture the roles currently performed by expatriate managers. It analyse the Edstrom and Galbraith (1977) typology and present a conceptual framework on the roles currently performed by expatriate managers within MNCs. To do this, it will draw inspiration from the resource-based view (Barney, 1991; Peng, M. W. (2001). The resource-based view and international business. Journal of Management, 27, 803–829. Wernerfelt, 1984), and the organisation capability view (Grant, 1996). Following several propositions about managers’ key functions within MNCs, challenges of creating an all-encompassing framework on expatriate functions, and suggestions for future research and theoretical development will be identified.

Methodology/approach

This chapter will present a conceptual framework on expatriate functions.

Originality/value

Four decades since Edstrom and Galbraith’s seminal work, international developments have continued to impress upon the way MNCs organise and manage their worldwide activities. Yet, as the business environment progresses, theoretical models examining how international development impact the functions undertaken by expatriate managers within MNCs individuals are still relatively scarce. Hence, this chapter aims to contribute to the theoretical advancement in the area of expatriate functions by highlighting possible changes and expansion of expatriate managers within the current global business context.

Details

The Future Of Global Organizing
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-422-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 December 2003

Danchi Tan and Joseph T Mahoney

This paper develops an integrative framework explaining multinational firms’ managerial staffing decisions in initial foreign-entry situations from resource-based theory, agency…

Abstract

This paper develops an integrative framework explaining multinational firms’ managerial staffing decisions in initial foreign-entry situations from resource-based theory, agency theory, and transaction-costs theory, and it offers a set of theoretically grounded, testable propositions concerning these staffing decisions. In particular, we maintain that managerial staffing decisions are influenced by: (1) the value that managerial expatriates and local hires could potentially add to the firm; and (2) the relative contractual risks associated with the use of managerial expatriates and local managers.

This paper indicates that the use of managerial expatriates can improve contractual efficiencies in at least four ways. First, the use of expatriates helps align the economic incentives between the headquarters and the foreign subsidiaries. Second, the headquarters knows better the characteristics of expatriates relative to local hires. The use of expatriates reduces the uncertainty of the headquarters in recruiting managers and mitigates the incomplete contracting problem. Third, expatriates are better equipped with firm-specific capabilities than local hires, reducing contractual (small-numbers) problems. Fourth, expatriates have committed greater sunk cost investments in the multinational firm than local hires. These investments support their cooperative relationships with the firm and mitigate potential bargaining problems in employment contracting. However, although managerial expatriates can potentially improve contractual efficiency and may relieve a firm’s concern over its limited control on managers, expatriates may not have adequate abilities in managing local idiosyncrasy.

Details

Managing Multinationals in a Knowledge Economy: Economics, Culture
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76231-050-0

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