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Article
Publication date: 23 February 2010

Torsten Kühlmann and Kate Hutchings

The purpose of this paper is to explore the specific difficulties that senior managers face when employing expatriate, Chinese and local‐hired foreign managers in China‐based…

9097

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the specific difficulties that senior managers face when employing expatriate, Chinese and local‐hired foreign managers in China‐based subsidiaries of Western multinational companies (MNCs). Furthermore, it aims to examine the resultant coping strategies to overcome identified weaknesses.

Design/methodology/approach

This research adopts a qualitative approach, using semi‐structured interviews with key‐informants from senior management in 44 Australian and German companies operating in China.

Findings

The study identified specific difficulties associated with the employment of expatriate, local Chinese, and local‐hired foreign managers in Australian and German subsidiaries in China. The interviewees indicate a widespread intention to replace expatriate managers with Chinese managers and local‐hired foreign managers. The striving for localization of staffing is more pronounced in German than Australian MNCs. German companies offer more comprehensive development activities for the Chinese talent than Australian companies.

Research limitations/implications

The small number of participants and the restriction to one key informant per company limit the generalizability of the findings. The effects of different staffing options still need to be researched in longitudinal studies and in varied contexts.

Practical implications

Localization of staff suggests the need for specific, culture‐sensitive approaches to personnel development. The findings also suggest that the knowledge transfer between expatriate and local managers deserves more attention. Finally, the return on investment that companies receive from differing staffing options should be assessed using a multidimensional set of success criteria.

Originality/value

This paper has two main contributions to existing research. First, it links academic discussion about the options of international staffing with the experience of practitioners from Western MNCs operating in China. Second, it provides further support for the existence of country‐of‐origin effects in international staffing.

Details

Career Development International, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 July 2009

Tanja Rabl and Torsten M. Kühlmann

The literature states that rationalization strategies contribute to a spread of corruption in organizations. They are supposed to serve not only as post hoc justifications but…

3753

Abstract

Purpose

The literature states that rationalization strategies contribute to a spread of corruption in organizations. They are supposed to serve not only as post hoc justifications but also as ex ante determinants of corrupt behavior. This empirical study aims at challenging this theoretical assumption.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors gained empirical data in a business simulation game where participants had the opportunity to act corruptly. The sample included both university and high school students.

Findings

The results show that post hoc rationalizations primarily highlight the “positive” intention behind corrupt action. As relationships with important person‐based determinants of corruption are lacking, it is questionable whether rationalization strategies possess potential as ex ante determinants of corrupt behavior.

Research limitations/implications

The design of the study only assesses rationalization strategies post hoc. Therefore it does not allow for examining causal effects, only the investigation of relationships. Future research should aim at addressing this issue, including both ex ante and post hoc assessment of rationalization strategies.

Originality/value

The paper is a first attempt to examine empirically the function of rationalization strategies in the context of corruption in organizations.

Details

Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-7606

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 July 2021

Katrin Leifels and Paul Bowen

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between cultural diversity in teams and team members' individual well-being. The paper further explores the relationship…

1394

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between cultural diversity in teams and team members' individual well-being. The paper further explores the relationship between social resources, social stressors, team member well-being and the influence of the type of team individuals are working in (mono- vs. multicultural), gender and individualism/collectivism (IC).

Design/methodology/approach

Using data collected via an online survey, the authors analyzed 659 responses from individuals working in mono- and multicultural work teams. A theoretical model explaining the influence of social stressors, social resources, and social and demographic variables was proposed and tested using structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results indicate that members of multicultural work teams perceive significantly more social stressors and lower levels of social resources than do members of monocultural teams. Higher levels of social stressors suggest decreased psychological well-being, while social resources have an indirect positive effect on psychological well-being. Furthermore, personal characteristics, namely, individualism and gender, have direct effects on the perception of social stressors and indirect effects on team member well-being.

Originality/value

This paper demonstrates that cultural diversity in teams can influence the social stressors and resources that individual team members experience. Moreover, the pivotal role of social resources in the facilitation of team member well-being is highlighted primarily through its direct effect on social stressors and its concomitant indirect effect on well-being.

Details

Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, vol. 28 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5794

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 May 2010

Torsten Biemann and Maike Andresen

This paper aims to analyze the differences between assigned expatriates (AEs) and self‐initiated expatriates (SEs) in management and executive positions. The basic research…

9459

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze the differences between assigned expatriates (AEs) and self‐initiated expatriates (SEs) in management and executive positions. The basic research question is how far SEs and AEs differ with respect to their reasons for working internationally and regarding their career aspirations and orientations, and in what way their individual career management differs.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 159 expatriate managers completed an online questionnaire in German. The questionnaire covered psychological constructs and the participating managers' career histories.

Findings

It is shown that SEs start their international careers at a younger age, have a higher organizational mobility, and expect higher benefits from international experiences for their future careers. Moreover, career orientation remains relatively stable in SEs over different age groups, whereas it declines for AEs with increasing age.

Research limitations/implications

The study design is cross‐sectional and based on self‐reports, which makes causal explanations of the results difficult and increases the risk of common method bias.

Practical implications

Specific personnel management requirements regarding SEs in contrast to AEs are pointed out especially in the fields of recruitment, retention and career management, which can help support companies in building up a pool of global managers.

Originality/value

The paper adds valuable new insights to the literature on expatriate work and gives further evidence that SEs form a group that has been overlooked for a long time, even though it differs significantly from traditional expatriates who are sent abroad by their employing companies to return some years later.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 November 2016

Lisa-Marie Larisch, Isis Amer-Wåhlin and Patrik Hidefjäll

There is an increasing interest in understanding how innovation processes can address current challenges in healthcare. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the wider…

1400

Abstract

Purpose

There is an increasing interest in understanding how innovation processes can address current challenges in healthcare. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the wider socio-economic context and conditions for such innovation processes in the Stockholm region, using the functional dynamics approach to innovation systems (ISs).

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is based on triangulation using data from 16 in-depth interviews, two workshops, and additional documents. Using the functional dynamics approach, critical structural and functional components of the healthcare IS were analyzed.

Findings

The analysis revealed several mechanisms blocking innovation processes such as fragmentation, lack of clear leadership, as well as insufficient involvement of patients and healthcare professionals. Furthermore, innovation is expected to occur linearly as a result of research. Restrictive rules for collaboration with industry, reimbursement, and procurement mechanisms limit entrepreneurial experimentation, commercialization, and spread of innovations.

Research limitations/implications

In this study, the authors analyzed how certain functions of the functional dynamics approach to ISs related to each other. The authors grouped knowledge creation, resource mobilization, and legitimacy as they jointly constitute conditions for needs articulation and entrepreneurial experimentation. The economic effects of entrepreneurial experimentation and needs articulation are mainly determined by the stage of market formation and existence of positive externalities.

Social implications

Stronger user involvement; a joint innovation strategy for healthcare, academia, and industry; and institutional reform are necessary to remove blocking mechanisms that today prevent innovation from occurring.

Originality/value

This study is the first to provide an analysis of the system of innovation in healthcare using a functional dynamics approach, which has evolved as a tool for public policy making. A better understanding of ISs in general, and in healthcare in particular, may provide the basis for designing and evaluating innovation policy.

Details

Journal of Health Organization and Management, vol. 30 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7266

Keywords

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