Search results

1 – 10 of over 8000
Book part
Publication date: 11 August 2014

Kwok Leung

A defining feature of international business is the necessity for people from diverse cultural backgrounds to interact and collaborate but intercultural interaction is difficult…

Abstract

A defining feature of international business is the necessity for people from diverse cultural backgrounds to interact and collaborate but intercultural interaction is difficult and may give rise to disagreement and conflict. I have been working on the dynamics that promote positive intercultural interaction in the international business context, and two streams of my research, one empirical and the other conceptual, are reviewed here. The first stream is concerned with fairness issues surrounding the pay disparity between locals and expatriates in multinational enterprises operating in China, which has implications for MNC operations in other emerging economies. My research has shown that the pay disparity is associated with negative reactions from local employees but some management practices associated with the relationship between locals and expatriates, attributions made by locals, and salient norms about the pay disparity can buffer such negative reactions. In this research program, the focus is not on the actual interaction between locals and expatriates. To address this gap, a conceptual framework is presented, which provides insight about the factors that contribute to positive interaction between locals and expatriates. This paper ends with implications for future research on intercultural interaction in the MNC context.

Details

Multidisciplinary Insights from New AIB Fellows
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-038-4

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2005

Yifeng Chen, Dean Tjosvold and Sofia Su Fang

Given the susceptibility of cross‐cultural interaction to misunderstandings and disagreements, conflict management may be especially useful for helping employees develop quality…

2692

Abstract

Given the susceptibility of cross‐cultural interaction to misunderstandings and disagreements, conflict management may be especially useful for helping employees develop quality leader relationships with their foreign managers. One hundred and eleven Chinese employees from various industries in Shanghai were interviewed on specific incidents where they had a conflict, defined as incompatible actions, with their Japanese manager or American manager. A qualitative analysis of the incidents and statistical tests of the data supported the hypotheses that a cooperative approach to conflict, rather than competitive or avoidance approaches, help Chinese employees and their foreign managers strengthen their relationship and improve their productivity. Cooperative conflict management may be an important way to overcome obstacles and develop an effective leader relationship across cultural boundaries.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2001

Kevin An, Michael K. Hui and Kwok Leung

Effects of voice, compensation, and responsibility attribution on justice perception and post‐complaint behavior in a consumer setting were studied in a cross‐cultural study…

Abstract

Effects of voice, compensation, and responsibility attribution on justice perception and post‐complaint behavior in a consumer setting were studied in a cross‐cultural study. Hotel school students in China and Canada (N = 168) read and responded to a scenario which described how a service provider handled the complaint from a customer whose coat was stained with tea. The results showed that collectivists were more likely than individualists to blame the service provider. Also, voice offered by the service provider failed to reduce its blame, and compensation actually led to more blame attributed to the service provider. Responsibility attribution was found to be able to mediate the effect of culture on post complaint behavior. A culture by voice interaction indicated that when voice was offered by the service provider, Canadians were less likely to attribute the responsibility to themselves than were Chinese. The implications of these results on justice, culture, and responsibility attribution are discussed.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2003

Dean Tjosvold, Chun Hui and Ziyou Yu

The ability to reflect upon and manage their internal functioning may very much help teams contribute to their organizations. This study suggests that managing conflict…

2065

Abstract

The ability to reflect upon and manage their internal functioning may very much help teams contribute to their organizations. This study suggests that managing conflict cooperatively and productively provides a foundation for effective team task reflexivity. 200 employees in 100 work teams in China completed measures of their team's cooperative, competitive, and avoiding approach conflict management and task reflexivity and 100 managers indicated the team's in‐role and extra‐role (organizational citizenship behavior) performance. Results support the theorizing that conflict management can contribute to team task reflexivity. Structural equation analyses were interpreted as suggesting that cooperative conflict management promotes task reflexivity that in turn results in team performance. These results, coupled with previous research, were interpreted as suggesting that cooperative approaches to conflict and task reflexivity are complementary foundations for effective teamwork.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Article
Publication date: 23 June 2022

Tin Nok Leung, Yin Ming Hui, Canon K.L. Luk, Dickson K.W. Chiu and Kevin K.W. Ho

This study analyses the advantages and weaknesses of using Facebook to aid the learning of Japanese as a foreign language.

Abstract

Purpose

This study analyses the advantages and weaknesses of using Facebook to aid the learning of Japanese as a foreign language.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from 100 Hong Kong Japanese language learners (who are generally fluent in Chinese and English), ranging from total amateur to advanced learners (Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) qualified at different levels).

Findings

The authors' results suggest that the advantages of using Facebook to help learn Japanese include: (1) serving as a free-of-charge, casual, and convenient learning platform; (2) enriching learners' knowledge beyond the language learning and (3) encouraging interactive and collaborative learning with other users for practicing the language. However, the low credibility and unstructured educational materials posted on Facebook and being easily distracted by other Facebook feeds are the major weaknesses of learning a language through Facebook. Furthermore, the authors' result shows that Facebook is especially effective for Japanese learning when learners fall into either one of the following groups: young, female, or intermediate (N2/3) learners.

Originality/value

Scant studies focus on the aid of learning Japanese via Facebook, especially Hong Kong learners' perceptions, or generally in the East. Therefore, this study aims to fill this research gap. The authors' findings will facilitate the students, teachers, and language institutions from Hong Kong and other countries to improve the students' effectiveness in learning and teaching Japanese.

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2001

Rajnandini Pillai, Eric S. Williams and J. Justin Tan

This study explores the role of procedural and distributive justice in influencing supervisory trust, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Past work in U.S. settings…

Abstract

This study explores the role of procedural and distributive justice in influencing supervisory trust, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Past work in U.S. settings has shown the differential effects of procedural and distributive justice on job attitudes while other work supports the relationship between both procedural and distributive justice with trust. This study attempts to replicate the US findings and extend them to samples from India, Germany, and China (Hong Kong). A theoretical model was tested via structural equation analysis. Organizational justice was found to be an important predictor of trust in all the samples, indicating the importance of these concepts in organizational life in different cultures. The implications of these results for future research are discussed.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2001

Steven L. Bidder, Chia‐Chi Chang and Tom R. Tyler

This study compares the role of procedural justice in motivating organizational retaliatory behaviors between two employee samples, one American and the other Taiwanese. The…

Abstract

This study compares the role of procedural justice in motivating organizational retaliatory behaviors between two employee samples, one American and the other Taiwanese. The cross‐national generality of procedural justice effects on retaliation are examined with regard to three issues. First, this study considers the comparability of the link between procedural justice and retaliation between the two national samples. Second, it examines whether procedural justice effects on retaliation are mediated by organizational identity in both samples, as has been found in previous research based on U.S. employees (Tyler & Blader, 2000). Third, it investigates whether procedural justice is defined similarly in the two samples. Results indicate moderate cultural variation in the influence of procedural justice on retaliation and in the mediating role of organizational identity. Specifically, although procedural justice was slightly less predictive of retaliation among the Taiwanese sample, the association between justice and retaliation for these respondents was fully (as opposed to partially) mediated by organizational identity. Significant national differences also emerged in the meaning of procedural justice. Taiwanese employees demonstrated a balanced influence of relational and instrumental concerns when making overall procedural fairness perceptions, while U.S. employees defined procedural fairness primarily in terms of relational concerns.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2018

Vinay Gadi, Shivam Singh, Manish Singhariya, Ankit Garg, Sreedeep S. and Ravi K.

The purpose of this paper is to numerically investigate the combined effects of canopy (leaf area index [LAI]) and root properties (root distribution function [Rdf] and root area…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to numerically investigate the combined effects of canopy (leaf area index [LAI]) and root properties (root distribution function [Rdf] and root area index [RAI]) on a suction induced in soil-root composite under three different scenarios.

Design/methodology/approach

Richards equation coupled with sink term was solved using a commercial finite element package “HYDRUS” to investigate suction induced in soil-root composite.

Findings

Scenario 1 unveiled that soil-root composite induces 1 to 20 per cent higher suction than bare soil under the absence of transpiration. From Scenario 2, value of suction at depth of maximum RAI in case of linearly decreasing Rdf was found to be higher than that of other Rdfs. However, depth of suction influence zone (SIZ) for uniform Rdf and non-linear Rdf was found to be 10 and 11 per cent higher than that of linearly decreasing Rdf. Depth of evaporation dominant zone (EDZ) for uniformly decreasing Rdf and non-linear Rdf was found to be 1.08 to 3 times higher than that of linearly decreasing Rdf. From Scenario 3, influence of LAI on depth of SIZ is minimal. Depth of EDZ was found to decrease with the increase in LAI. Based on simple calculation on infinite slope stability, influence of variation in root and shoot properties was found to be significant on its factor of safety.

Research limitations/implications

Numerical constitutive model has limitations that it does not consider aging of plant. This model is only applicable for a particular set of soil conditions. A long-term study is required in this field to further quantify parameters for improving calibration and modeling performance.

Practical implications

Following are the practical implication: consideration of vegetation properties into engineered design of green infrastructure (slopes in this case) and selection of vegetation with appropriate characteristics in design for enhancement of stability of green infrastructure.

Originality/value

Contents of this paper are original, and they have not been submitted to any other journal.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 35 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 December 2019

Eric C.K. Cheng, Yan Wing Leung, Wai Wa Yuen and Hei Hang Hayes Tang

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the urgent need for a genuinely effective and attainable citizenship education model in Hong Kong’s schools, which focusses on promoting…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the urgent need for a genuinely effective and attainable citizenship education model in Hong Kong’s schools, which focusses on promoting student participation in school governance. It is an empirical citizenship education management model for school leaders that illustrates the predictive effects of personally responsible, participatory, justice-oriented and patriotic citizenship, necessarily supported by school management practices, school ethos and teacher beliefs.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 3,209 students from 51 secondary schools in Hong Kong participated in a quasi-experimental design questionnaire survey. A structural equation model (SEM) was applied to confirm the model.

Findings

The results of the SEM show that the values and cultural practices held by a school’s teachers drive the implementation of its citizenship education. Moreover, it is well known that organizational values can exert a powerful influence and it is the same within educational structures: management practices in schools have an impact on ethos, teachers’ beliefs and student participation in school governance.

Practical implications

The paper provides practical proposals for school leaders to create opportunities for student participation in school governance.

Originality/value

This study builds on existing literature and provides school leaders with a practical model for implementing student participation in school governance.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 34 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2001

M. Afzalur Rahim, Nace R. Magner, David Antonioni and Sahidur Rahman

We examined relationships between distributive, procedural, and interactional justice and two types of organization‐directed reactions—organizational commitment and turnover…

Abstract

We examined relationships between distributive, procedural, and interactional justice and two types of organization‐directed reactions—organizational commitment and turnover intention—across two employee samples each from the U.S. and Bangladesh. Regression analyses of questionnaire data indicated that the three forms of justice were related to the organization‐directed reactions of both the U.S. and Bangladesh employees. The specific nature of the justice relationships varied primarily when comparing employees across the four samples, rather than across the two countries.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

1 – 10 of over 8000