Exploring job crafting: Diagnosing and responding to the ways employees adjust their jobs

Recent research has developed an in-depth understanding of how workers change their jobs on their own to improve their performance and well-being, a process called job crafting. This research suggests that managers, coworkers, and organizations need a better understanding of how to manage job crafting to capitalize on its benefits and reduce costs. This article will help organizations diagnose the occurrence of job crafting, recognize the differences between goal-oriented approaches to job crafting as opposed to withdrawal-oriented avoidance job crafting, and identify the seven specific types of job crafting: work role expansion, social expansion, work role reduction, work organization, adoption, metacognition, and withdrawal. We conclude with recommendations for managers, coworkers, and organizations on how to diagnose and manage job crafting.     

Strategies for building effective virtual teams: Trust is key

The impressive growth in web-mediated organizational relationships has created an escalating interest in how to manage virtual teams successfully. As organizations increasingly expect their managers to lead employees in these online groupings, it becomes imperative to identify and train them in the skills to do this effectively. The purpose of this article is to organize and present strategies that organizations have found successful in helping their managers lead virtual teams. While all successful managers must ensure that they have provided the basic organizational support for their employees, especially effective leaders also ensure they build trustworthy relationships. Thus, we emphasize how each strategy contributes to building and sustaining a climate of trust in virtual teams.     

International acquisition processes: A cultural analysis of GE Appliances’ business transformation

International acquisitions of large, well-established western organizations by Chinese companies are now common. The cultural differences between the actors are often critical amid these processes. However, they can also be an opportunity for transformation and renewal for the acquired businesses. Regarding the dimension of organizational culture, this article analyzes the transformation of a 100-year-old American firm, General Electric Appliances (GEA), after its acquisition by the Chinese multinational company Haier. As a result, the company went from a nonrevenue growth business to a double-digit growth company in only 5 years. To study this transformation, we apply a cultural analysis framework based on Edgar and Peter Schein’s work. This article contributes to the debate on corporate cultural analysis in the context of international acquisitions by providing managers and scholars with a detailed account of GEA’s transformation.     

Contracting from East to West: Bridging the cultural divide

When contracting in a global environment, basic cultural differences increase the risk of misunderstandings. Culture generally provides the context for contract language and shapes the parties’ most basic assumptions regarding their respective rights and responsibilities. Businesses must recognize, respect, and reconcile cultural differences if they hope to contract successfully in the global environment. For U.S. and Chinese businesses to better understand how to successfully negotiate and carry out contractual relations with one another, they must recognize the differences in core cultural values between the two countries and develop strategies for reconciling these differences. Bridging these cultural differences adds value to business transactions and minimizes the risk of failure. To help managers recognize and understand cultural differences between the U.S. and China, this installment of Business Law & Ethics Corner focuses on five dimensions of the culture of the U.S. and China: individualism/collectivism, universalism/particularism, power distance, context, and direction. These aspects explain some of the major differences in viewing the law and approaching contracts. To help managers navigate these cultural differences, this article offers guidance regarding how to respect and reconcile cultural predispositions to achieve true synergies. By bridging these cross-cultural differences between the U.S. and China, managers can achieve the mutual expectations necessary to the long-term success of cross-cultural business transactions.     

The three faces of China: Strategic alliance partner selection in three ethnic Chinese economies

It is generally understood that firm strategy is linked to both internal firm resources and external, competitive industry forces. More recently, studies have suggested that firm strategy is also influenced by the formal and informal institutions of the institutional environment. Culture and commercial conventions represent important informal institutions – the norms and values shared by a group of individuals – whereas more formal institutions include the regulatory, economic, and political forces in the environment. We explore the effects of formal and informal institutions on strategic alliance partner preferences in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Although the three share a broad lineage, their institutional development differs in some respects. Utilizing a policy capturing study, we explore alliance preferences of senior managers from each of the three economies to demonstrate how similarities and differences in the institutional environment can produce variation in alliance partner preferences. This paper contributes empirically by comparing alliance partner preferences in three different ethnic Chinese communities in East Asia. We add to the nascent but growing literature on institutions and strategy, with practical implications for understanding alliance partner preferences of managers in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, which represent major centers of strategic alliance activity.     

Using a Qualitative Approach to Gain Insights into the Business Ethics Experiences of Australian Managers in China

This study investigated the business ethics experiences of Australian managers in China, using qualitative methodology to identify themes. Thirty-one Australian managers who had spent on average 8.7 years working in business connected to China participated in in-depth interviews regarding their business ethics experiences in China. Commonly, managers identified issues relating to a broad spectrum which could be labelled "bribery and facilitation". Other repeated themes included requests for visa assistance, employee theft, nepotism and non-adherence to contractual obligations. This study has important implications for helping Australian managers improve the way they approach potential ethical situations in China. Four key coping strategies can be identified from the data: managers spoke of not compromising their own morals, of attempting to understand the motivation of Chinese colleagues, of talking to others and of adhering to company policy. These strategies suggest practical steps may be taken by organisations when training managers for business activities in China. In particular, structuring of mentoring relationships between experienced and less experienced practitioners may be of assistance. Cultural training for managers and clear company policy on contentious issues such as bribery may also be of benefit. The themes identified in the study also have implications for academics researching expatriate business peoples' experiences in China.     

The Influence of Environmental Knowledge and Values on Managerial Behaviours on Behalf of the Environment: An Empirical Examination of Managers in China

This study explores linkages between what Chinese managers generally know about environmental issues, how strongly they value environmental protection, and different types of behaviours/actions they may take within their organizations on behalf of the environment. From a sample of 305 managers in Guangzhou and Beijing, it was found that both environmental knowledge and values are more predictive of more personal managerial behaviours, such as keeping informed of relevant company issues and working within the system to minimize environmental impacts, than more overt behaviours. Moreover, for these more personal actions, environmental knowledge and values were found to have both main and interactive effects. By comparison, it was found that both environmental values and knowledge had additive effects on managerial tendencies to initiate new programs within their domain of responsibility. Only environmental values was found to have a modest influence environmental advocacy.     

Intra- and Inter-Cultural Conflicts in China: An Exploratory Study

This study examines the causes of intra- and inter-cultural organizational conflicts among Chinese and American managers in the mainland of China. We investigated conflict between members of the same culture (intra-cultural conflict) and conflict between members of different cultures (inter-cultural conflict). Intra-culturally, both American and Chinese noted self-interest as an important dimension of the cause of conflict. Inter-culturally, both American and Chinese noted cultural differences as an important dimension of the cause of conflict. The similarities between the American and Chinese dimensions were more striking than the differences. The intra-cultural findings reinforce the validity of early Western conflict theories?focusing on self-interest vs. other interest. The inter-cultural findings are partially consistent with intergroup theory and introduce new elements to conflict theory.     

Co-producing cyber protest: mesomobilization in the digital age

This article examines how mesomobilization deploys on the web to foster online resistance. We focus on a particular cyber protest targeting a governmental campaign against illegal downloading and show how webzines, as meso-level actors, managed to turn their readers’ comments into appealing frames around cultural legitimacy, Internet freedom and morality. In this instance, web users initiated the diagnostic framing and provided webzines with motives to launch a call to arms. This took the form of parody that produced a disruption and a set of grievances against the official campaign. Our fieldwork reveals the existence of online dormant networks – pre-existing fluid cultural groups sharing common interests – that meso-level actors readily mobilize when a crisis arises. Our study extends our understanding of consumer resistance by highlighting the dynamics of online networks in organizing overt protest and political challenge.     

Ethics and the Networked Business

Pushing through a logical continuum of closed- to open-system views of organizations necessarily changes the conceptualization of a firm from a strongly bounded entity to a configuration of networks and sub-networks, which exists and operates in a larger systemic network configuration. We unfold a classification of management processes corresponding to views of the firm along the closed/open-systems continuum. We examine ethical issues that are likely to devolve from these classes of management processes, and we suggest typical means by which managers will attempt to control their firms’ exposure to such issues. The final class of management processes examined focuses on the achievement of outcomes that are mutually satisfactory in the set of networks and sub-networks that constitute the focal firm, and that support the sustainability of the whole system. The article contributes to organizational theory, business ethics, and computer and information ethics by providing a comprehensive analysis of the impact of managerial views of the firm and of networks – virtual, social, informational – on managerial processes and on our understanding of how business ethics issues are linked to perceptions of what a firm is, does, and can do.     

What’s Wrong with Executive Compensation?

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) comprise the sector of society that attempts to hold business and other institutions accountable for their social responsibility. Yet NGOs rarely have established governance mechanisms whereby their members and supporters can hold them accountable for their activities. In contrast, other major actors in the society – notably governments, corporations, and unions – maintain long established albeit imperfect instruments of governance and responsibility. This article presents a variety of ways in which NGOs could voluntarily strengthen their internal governance and thus become more accountable to their members and supporters as well as society at large. In the process, these important civil society organizations would enhance their effectiveness in achieving improvements in key areas of public policy.     

Headquarters parenting advantage in Chinese MNEs: The moderating role of top managers’ political and International experience

This study explores the relevance of top management teams’ experience to support the headquarters parenting advantage in the context of Chinese multinationals. Specifically, it studies how the political and international experience of headquarters’ top management teams moderates the relationship between headquarters involvement in knowledge transfer processes – a key aspect of value creation in the parenting advantage logic – and the extent of reverse knowledge transfer from subsidiaries. Based on the data from two complementary surveys of senior managers in 99 Chinese multinationals and managers in their 177 subsidiaries, our analysis indicates a contrasting effect of top managers’ experience as their political experience weakens, but their international experience strengthens the positive effect of headquarters involvement in reverse knowledge transfer. This study contributes to the parenting advantage logic, by introducing the relevance of different top managers’ experiences, and to our understanding of top management teams in the context of both reverse knowledge transfer and Chinese multinationals, particularly by showing the important implications of top management teams’ experience for Chinese enterprises’ international strategies.     

Managing consumption communities

Companies are increasingly searching for ways to manage consumption communities. However, previous studies on consumption communities suggest that managing them is difficult, if not impossible, because communities are self-directed and consist of equal, autonomous actors. This article addresses this paradox and builds on recent conceptualisations of consumption communities as networks. By building on theory about network management functions, we discuss how companies can actually manage consumption communities without authoritarian and hierarchical control. Using three case studies of heterogeneous consumption communities, a footwear brand, a sports lifestyle community and a tableware and glassware design brand, the article identifies eight consumption community management activities. The article makes a theoretical contribution to the literature on consumption communities by introducing a network management perspective. In addition, it offers valuable practical guidance for managers who wish to manage consumption communities proactively at the strategic level and as an essential part of their customer-related management processes.     

Ethical Cultures in Large Business Organizations in Brazil, Russia, India, and China

This study focuses on comparison of perceptions of ethical business cultures in large business organizations from four largest emerging economies, commonly referred to as the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), and from the US. The data were collected from more than 13,000 managers and employees of business organizations in five countries. The study found significant differences among BRIC countries, with respondents from India and Brazil providing more favorable assessments of ethical cultures of their organizations than respondents from China and Russia. Overall, highest mean scores were provided by respondents from India, the US, and Brazil. There were significant similarities in ratings between the US and Brazil.     

The opportunity to improve psychological competences of project managers in international businesses

Many projects are currently conducted in international businesses in which cultural issues play an important role. In‐depth analysis of the risks associated with the unknown of this type of issues offers companies a better understanding of how to focus their marketing tools to be more effective, and provides project managers with strategies to improve customer relationships. Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions and Meyer's Culture Map have demonstrated that every society possesses distinguishing features. These cultural theories serve as foundation for including the category of culture in a proposed Cultural Risk Breakdown Structure. Through a literature review, risks associated with cultural differences are identified in projects executed in Africa, China, and the Middle East. By linking these risks to cultural dimensions, it is possible to identify the psychological competences framework in international businesses. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to create not only a comprehensive record of these risks but also a list of the new skills and competences that project managers must possess to improve client satisfaction and make decisions in a cross‐cultural environment. By considering the association between psychological aspects and cultural issues, this analysis will be of considerable benefit for improving relationships in international contexts.     

Understanding Chinese and Japanese negotiating styles

The purpose of this article is to explain various aspects of Chinese and Japanese business negotiating styles. Both the Chinese and Japanese have a reputation for being tough negotiators, but their strategies and tactics are neither unpredictable nor insurmountable. Although they share similar cultural traditions, they do have some notable differences. This article begins with an analysis of general perceptions of the Chinese and Japanese on negotiations, and then goes through different stages of the formal negotiating process while focusing on some of the tactics used either commonly or respectively by the Chinese and Japanese. It ends with a discussion on conflict management. Throughout the article, similarities and differences between the Chinese and Japanese are highlighted. The article presents a conceptual framework for understanding and comparing Chinese and Japanese negotiating styles. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Analyzing and Managing the Impact of Cultural Behavior Patterns on Social Capital in Multinational IT Project Teams

This paper contributes to a better understanding and to mitigate negative consequences of cultural diversity in multinational IT project teams. Our research explores how culture-specific behaviors impact social capital among team members and how firms can manage the strains. In the existing IS culture literature, culture-specific behaviors are – if at all – traced back to single culture dimensions. In contrast, the approach proposed in this article goes one step further suggesting that it is necessary to combine several culture dimensions to better understand a certain culture-specific behavior and consequently be able to better manage resulting relationship problems in multinational settings. Conducting exploratory case studies in six multinational IT projects, two exemplary cultural behavior patterns (face maintenance in India and post-communism in the Czech Republic) are identified, and management actions to avoid project performance problems are derived. The results contribute to a better understanding and management of the negative impact of culture-specific behaviors in IT project teams and corroborate that research based on culture dimensions, such as those conceptualized by Hofstede or House et al., is valuable for understanding multi-country IS projects. The findings in particular suggest that aggregating these dimensions to cultural behavior patterns improves their explanatory power and consequently the management’s capability to mitigate the negative consequences of cultural diversity.     

View from Practice: Managing Effectively in Collectivist Societies: Lessons from Samba Schools and Dabbawalas

This article reviews the organizational values, recruitment, and reward policies of Brazilian samba schools and Indian dabbawalas to illustrate how their fit to local cultures results in greater productivity, engagement, and low turnover. American‐style management has spread worldwide, yet in emerging market countries such as India and Brazil, multinationals often struggle to motivate and engage their employees. The companies’ top ranks in these countries are usually dominated by English‐speaking, university‐educated elites who are comfortable with Western management techniques. But these managers can be, as the Comprador class was in seventeenth‐century China, strangers in their own land, implementing management techniques that feel foreign and inappropriate to their employees. The result is often low productivity, absenteeism, and unhappiness. However, there are organizations in both India and Brazil that achieve staggeringly high productivity and consistently strong engagement though unaware of mainstream management techniques. The samba schools of Brazil and the dabbawala lunch‐delivery system of Mumbai do this by working within local cultural norms rather than trying to impose foreign ideas about efficient management. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Understanding Japanese CSR: The Reflections of Managers in the Field of Global Operations

This paper examines how Japanese multinational companies manage corporate social responsibility (CSR). It considers how the concept has come to be framed within Japanese business, which is increasingly globalized and internationally focused, yet continues to exhibit strong cultural specificities. The discussion is based on interviews with managers who deal with CSR issues and strategy on a day-to-day basis from 13 multinational companies. In looking at how CSR practice has been adopted and adapted by Japanese corporations, we can begin to see what implications arise from the fact that CSR is a Western-led concept, so opening up critical questions about the future development and evolution of CSR practice within a global context. In being exposed to the concept of CSR as practiced vigilantly in western countries, Japanese multinational company managers have certainly come to re-evaluate aspects of business likely to need rectifying (with potential concerns being gender inequalities, discrepancies in employee conditions, and issues over human rights and supply chains). Japan can be thought to be lagging behind in its understanding and adoption of CSR, in part because corporations do not necessarily state their policies as formally as might be expected. Yet, by analyzing more deeply the kinds of responses gained from CSR managers in Japan (and by placing their remarks within a broader context of Japanese culture and business practices) a far more subtle and revealing picture becomes apparent, not least a more complex picture of the local/global interaction of the frames of reference of corporate responsibility.