Female expatriates in international business: empirical evidence from the German clothing industry

The article empirically analyses the situation of male and female expatriates in the German clothing industry in terms of selection, preparation, support during assignment, job satisfaction, goal attainment and future perspectives. In general, female expatriate managers face more difficulties than male expatriates at each stage of the international transfer cycle. The results of this single sector study demonstrate the importance of the cultural, national and sectoral context for the interpretation of results.     

Towards an understanding of the female expatriate experience in Europe

The increased participation of women in the workforce has been one of the major changes in the structuring of the labour force in recent years, and it is anticipated that this trend will continue. Despite growing numbers of women in senior domestic management roles, the participation rates of women in international management remains low across the globe. In Europe, international management has generally been a masculine preserve. Much of our knowledge of female expatriation comes from North America and is based on the experiences of female managers working for North American MNCs. This article builds on that base of understanding but highlights a growing stream of research into female expatriation in Europe, which remains largely “invisible” to specialists outside Europe. Given the paucity of empirical research in this area in general and the need for a more international understanding of the phenomena which can arise from examining different contexts, the article suggests that researchers outside Europe may find useful insights in this paper which pulls together and summarises what we know from the existing research on female expatriates in Europe and offers some avenues for future research.     

A comparative analysis of performance assessment: international joint venture managers versus regional headquarters managers

This paper examines a relatively unexplored dimension within the IHRM literature: whether JV CEOs and representatives of their foreign parents' regional headquarters differ in their evaluations of JV effectiveness. This study is based upon a sample of 153 JVs located in China. Existing theories suggest an alternate rationale detailing why the evaluations of JV managers and their foreign parent companies should differ and why they should be similar. Our investigation generally finds that evaluations are similar, with some differentiation occurring when our sample is divided by JV age and by JV industry. Overall, the results suggest that isomorphic forces may exist between managers of JVs and managers of their foreign parents in the JV system.     

Women abroad: getting the best results from women managers

Abstract This study explores the work environment of expatriate women managers in American corporations and investigates the determinants of their job satisfaction. The strategic importance of global assignments has increased over the years. The real cost of unsuccessful expatriates extends beyond the monetary expenses. As the number of women managers working overseas increases, so does the importance of this topic. Additionally, because women in expatriate positions are relatively new, their needs for job satisfaction and career aspirations are not known to most organizations. This research intends to fill this gap. The study concentrates on four major areas that are considered important for obtaining job satisfaction: (1) the way in which organizations design their overseas jobs, (2) women's skills and characteristics, (3) international human resource policies of companies and (4) the cultural environment of host countries. The applied research covers two phases: a study of expatriate managers during their assignments overseas and the evaluation of overseas experience upon their return. The results indicate that women in overseas assignments are satisfied overall with their jobs. However, organizational variables are more strongly related to job satisfaction. The nature of job design in overseas postings has the greatest impact on women's job satisfaction. When the jobs are enriched, women gain intrinsic rewards and have high job satisfaction. Organizational support also contributes to the satisfaction of women expatriates. Training, mentoring and repatriation preparations have high impact on women's success and satisfaction. Women expatriates are more concerned with their repatriation and future advancement than their present assignments. The findings are important for theoretical and practical reasons. Theoretically, the achievement and satisfaction of women managers overseas cannot be simplified without taking into account organizational, personal and cultural factors. Practically, companies need to respond to the individual needs of expatriate women managers and then decide on their assignments and their repatriation accordingly.     

The gender pay gap in the transition from communism: some empirical evidence

This short paper investigates the gender pay gap in a number of former communist countries of eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The main findings are that, in general, the gender pay gap has not exhibited an upward tendency over the transitional period to which available data relate. Most of the gender pay gap is ascribed to the ‘unexplained’ component using conventional decompositions and this may partly be attributable to the proxy measure for labour force experience used in this study. Quantile regression analysis indicates that in all but one country, the ceteris paribus gender pay gap rises as we move up the wage distribution.     

Role of line managers in human resource management: empirical evidence from India

Of late, the line management role has been reorganized in business organizations and they are now increasingly taking up responsibility for core HRM functions. Line managers' role in HRM has been recognized in academic research but it is likely impact on the effectiveness of HRM that has remained relatively under researched, especially in India. The focus of the study was, thus, to empirically examine the relationship between dimensions of line managers' role in HRM and effectiveness of HRM in the Indian context. Primary data were obtained from HR managers of top-ranking companies through a single cross-sectional survey based on a research instrument designed by the researcher. The instrument was tested for unidimensionality, reliability and validity. SEM capabilities of LISREL 8.50 were utilized to test the conceptual research model based on the hypothesized relationships. The findings provided mixed support for the conceptual model. The present research has implications for both academicians and practitioners. The study is expected to serve as a guide in understanding the role of line managers vis-a-vis HRM, a largely unexplored area in the Indian context.     

Repatriation of European female corporate executives: an empirical study

The increased internationalization of business in recent years has made the understanding of international human resource management problems more important for executives in multinational companies. In recent years, researchers have paid considerable attention to the issues of adjustment of managers to international assignments. Interestingly, comparatively little research has been undertaken on the topic of repatriation, i.e. re-entry and readjustment of international managers and their families to their home countries. Despite the growth of women in international management there are very few studies that document the repatriation experiences of female international managers. In particular, very few studies have been conducted outside North America on the topic of repatriation of female corporate executives. This paper reports on the experiences of re-entry to home organizations and home countries by an exclusively senior sample of female international managers in Western Europe. Based on extensive empirical research, the findings establish that the repatriation phase of the international career move may be even more stressful than expatriation. The findings also establish that female international managers experience more difficulties than their male counterparts because of their pioneering roles. Finally, the paper suggests that home-based mentors and access to networks while abroad are important factors in contributing to the successful repatriation of international managers. The research findings make a theoretical contribution, not only to the analysis of gender and international human resource management but, also, to wider debates within the contemporary women in management and career theory literatures.     

The stochastic volatility in mean model: empirical evidence from international stock markets

In this paper we present an exact maximum likelihood treatment for the estimation of a Stochastic Volatility in Mean (SVM) model based on Monte Carlo simulation methods. The SVM model incorporates the unobserved volatility as an explanatory variable in the mean equation. The same extension is developed elsewhere for Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedastic (ARCH) models, known as the ARCH in Mean (ARCH‐M) model. The estimation of ARCH models is relatively easy compared with that of the Stochastic Volatility (SV) model. However, efficient Monte Carlo simulation methods for SV models have been developed to overcome some of these problems. The details of modifications required for estimating the volatility‐in‐mean effect are presented in this paper together with a Monte Carlo study to investigate the finite sample properties of the SVM estimators. Taking these developments of estimation methods into account, we regard SV and SVM models as practical alternatives to their ARCH counterparts and therefore it is of interest to study and compare the two classes of volatility models. We present an empirical study of the intertemporal relationship between stock index returns and their volatility for the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan. This phenomenon has been discussed in the financial economic literature but has proved hard to find empirically. We provide evidence of a negative but weak relationship between returns and contemporaneous volatility which is indirect evidence of a positive relation between the expected components of the return and the volatility process. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organising international supplier relations: An exploratory study of Western purchasing in China

This paper analyses Western purchasing in China in order to investigate the motives for sourcing, the specific requirements of the area and, in particular, the base and features of supplier relationships. It reports recent experiences of seven companies based in Finland, including two global companies, two units with foreign ownership and three Finnish SMEs. Prevalent in Chinese sourcing are long-term supplier relations, but no partnership relations have been established. The companies build their supplier relations gradually and they all emphasise a long-term viewpoint to Chinese sourcing. Commitment of the Chinese partner is a key challenge, overcoming of which would help companies to avoid and solve, e.g. quality problems. The study shows that, for the Western supply personnel, key competences and tools for bridging the psychic distance are social skills and interest in the Chinese culture.     

Management development practices: empirical evidence from Sri Lanka

Being a South Asian developing country, management development (MD) practices in Sri Lanka has received insufficient attention. The paper reports results of an empirical investigation of 219 managers and 78 human resource (HR) managers on MD practices in Sri Lanka. The study investigated different processes by which MD takes place in organizations, the nature of immediate senior managers' support for MD, the importance given to the HRM function in the organizational strategy and the HR managers' contribution to the organizational strategy on MD aspects. The research findings indicate more similar MD practices across the three forms of ownership – local, foreign and joint venture. The conclusions address the existing practice and implications.     

Cultural barriers to the use of Western project management in Chinese enterprises: Some empirical evidence from Yunnan province

The Western project management (PM) approach requires the use of not only PM technology but also PM values/beliefs. This research is concerned with the likely cultural barriers for Chinese enterprises to use the PM approach. The literature review reveals the four cultural barriers of the Doctrine of the Mean, Strong Hierarchy, Family Consciousness, and Boss Orientation. Then, through a questionnaire survey at Yunnan province, this research provides some empirical evidence about the actual status of the four cultural barriers. In general, the Chinese traditional values/beliefs of Strong Hierarchy, Family Consciousness, and Boss Orientation are empirically major cultural barriers, and the Doctrine of the Mean is not. In addition, this research empirically reveals the differences in the cultural barriers among different types of enterprises and that appropriate PM training is very important to overcome the cultural barriers. Limitations of this research are also discussed.     

Staffing practices in transition: some empirical evidence from China

Although the reform of staffing practices in China has been discussed in the literature, the rationale behind this reform and changes in this HR activity have received insufficient attention and warrant further examination. This article reviews staffing practices during and after Mao's regime, and reports the results of a survey of staffing practices in Chinese industrial enterprises. The research findings indicate that a free labour market is emerging in China, staffing practices are becoming more decentralized and selection criteria have focused more on job-specific information, such as personal ability and skills, rather than political factors. The empirical results also demonstrate that ownership form does have an impact on staffing practices. The paper concludes by arguing that staffing practices in China have revealed only some resemblance to those conducted in the Western market economies.     

Movie release strategy: Theory and evidence from international distribution

Choosing the right time to release a new movie may be the difference between success and failure. Prior research states that the “bigger” a blockbuster is, the more likely it is (and should be) released during a high‐demand week. We present a theoretical framework which is consistent with this observation but adds a rather surprising theoretical prediction: among non‐blockbuster (i.e., niche) movies, everything else constant, the greater a movie's appeal, the more likely it is released during a low‐demand week. In other words, the relation between movie appeal and high‐demand‐week release is U‐shaped: it decreases at low levels of overall appeal (niche movies) and increases at high levels of overall appeal (blockbusters). We provide intuition for this novel result and argue that it is robust to a number of changes in functional form assumptions. We then show that the theoretical results are consistent with the evidence from an extensive data set on international releases. Specifically, we run a series of movie‐country‐pair regressions with high‐demand‐week‐release as a dependent variable and exogenous shocks to the movie's appeal as an explanatory variable. As predicted by theory, the regression coefficients have opposite signs for the blockbuster and non‐blockbuster cases.     

How new venture initial public offerings benefit from international operations: a study of human resource value

When internationalization goes beyond simply having international sales to having international operations, organizations can benefit from diversity of ideas and knowledge. Our study focuses on a special class of companies called new venture firms. As younger organizations, they may be well equipped to embrace the unique benefits of international diversity. However, new ventures may not be equal in this regard; therefore, our study also explores the moderating effect of human resource value for these firms.     

Bank ownership and cost efficiency: New empirical evidence from Russia

This paper investigates the cost efficiency of Russian banks with regard to their heterogeneity in terms of ownership form, capitalization and asset structure. Using bank-level quarterly data over the period 2005–2013, we perform stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and compute cost efficiency scores at the bank and bank group levels. We deduct from gross costs the negative revaluations of foreign currency items generated by official exchange rate dynamics rather than by managerial decisions. The results indicate that the core state banks, as distinct from other state-controlled banks, were nearly as efficient as private domestic banks during and after the crisis of 2008–2009. Foreign banks appear to be the least efficient market participants in terms of costs, which might reflect their lower (and decreasing over time) penetration of the Russian banking system. We further document that the group ranking by cost efficiency is not permanent over time and depends on the observed differences in bank capitalization and asset structure. We find that foreign banks gain cost efficiency when they lend more to the economy. Core state banks, conversely, lead in terms of cost efficiency when they lend less to the economy, which can result from political interference in their lending decisions in favor of unprofitable projects Private domestic banks that maintain a lower capitalization significantly outperform foreign banks and do not differ from the core state banks in this respect.     

Bridging knowledge in ambidextrous HRM systems: empirical evidence from hidden champions

Managing the tension between efficiency and flexibility is one of the core challenges that organizations must tackle in order to survive in the global competitive environment. Ambidexterity has been identified in the literature as a key way of managing this tension. Despite the enormous popularity of the concept of ambidexterity, the questions of how HR practices influence exploration and exploitation and support organizational ambidexterity remain underexplored. Drawing on our empirical case studies of three mid-sized ‘hidden champions’ in different high-tech manufacturing industries, we show how an ambidextrous human resource management (HRM) system works. We demonstrate that ambidextrous HRM systems can be regarded as a special type of high-performance work system (HPWS) that facilitates the continuous integration of exploration and exploitation in the pursuit of flexibility and efficiency. In particular, we elucidate how firms apply integrative employment practices and integrative work practices to facilitate collaboration and to create and strengthen a common frame of reference that fosters knowledge integration. Finally, setting up an ambidextrous HRM system supports the complementary interplay between a common frame of reference and a firm's ability to integrate knowledge in order to manage the conflicting demands of exploration and exploitation.     

Commitment to company and labour union: empirical evidence from South Korea

Commitment is an important part of business and a vocal part of the lexicon of many commentators and actors in the employment relations arena, including management, trade unions and policy makers. This is partly in the context of the interest in many countries in human resource management, in which commitment is seen as a key part, and the more recent ideas of ‘employee engagement’. Commitment, and the related topic of dual commitment, has also generated academic interest. However, much of the work has come from the US. This paper applies such ideas via a set of hypotheses in a different context – South Korea – with commonly viewed widespread high commitment, both to (and from) companies (e.g., strong internal labour markets) and unions (e.g., militancy). Is there a paradox in this duality, or can workers be committed to both companies and unions? What are the antecedents of this? This paper finds that workers can have dual commitment and that different factors affect the commitment to company and labour union, although labour–management relations climate, job satisfaction, as well as company tenure, are common predictors     

The development of a work-value model assessing the cumulative impact of individual and cultural differences on managers' work-value systems: empirical evidence from French and British managers

This study is the first attempt in Europe to develop an analytical model, based on multidimensional scaling and regression analysis, which enables the operationalization of cultural concepts related to the work context at both the individual and cultural levels of analysis. The development of the model consists of adapting Schwartz's motivational theory of human values (1992, 1994, 1999) to the work context by testing his theory on the domain of work-values and social behaviour in the workplace. For this purpose, two new questionnaires were developed: 1) a new work-value questionnaire based on both Schwartz's and Hofstede's conceptual frameworks – the purpose of this questionnaire was to enable the assessment of the cumulative impact of both cultural and individual differences, and 2) a new Communication Style Questionnaire which enabled us to establish the cross-cultural validity at the behavioural level of the newly developed workvalue dimensions. The model was empirically tested with a population of French and British managers from two different sectors, bank/insurance and pharmaceutical/healthcare organizations. This was done so that the impact of organizational culture differences could be controlled. In total more than 2,500 questionnaires were collected for statistical analysis. The final four work-value scales (Self-enhancement; Individual dynamics; Consideration for others; Group dynamics) elicited through rigorous five-step analysis successfully achieved the purpose of the model's development.     

Franchisors do their homework before entering international markets: Experiences from the Australian franchising sector

Whilst the literature on international franchising practice is well established, an issue that remains unaddressed is the optimal timing for international expansion activities. In this study an Internet survey of the population of business format franchisors in Australia is conducted to obtain a profile of franchising, including international expansion data. In the second stage, a series of case studies with 16 Australian-based franchise systems is reported. The results indicate that franchisors do not wait until the domestic market is saturated before venturing overseas. Moreover, franchisors tend to develop their international expansion strategies after the business has demonstrated success in the local market.     

Human resources and SME performance in services: empirical evidence from the UK

We investigate the relationship between human resources (HR) and superior firm performance, as well as the role of business strategy as a key mediating factor, for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK Tourism Hospitality and Leisure (THL) sector. Our results suggest that high-performing SMEs in the THL sector are managed by more experienced entrepreneurs. We also find that more profitable SMEs combine a highly skilled workforce with technological and know-how-based firm differentiation strategies, and/or product differentiation strategies, which are based on quality of service and personal attention to customers, alongside generous compensation and attention to employee development.