A Cross-Cultural Study of Managerial Work Values in Singapore

ABSTRACT

The paper presents the findings of a research conducted on work values of expatriate and local managers in Singapore. The sample included about 600 expatriate and local managers of 30 American, Canadian, British, Swedish, and Korean companies operating in Singapore. The selected companies represented 13 industries. The managers were identified on the basis of their ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Hofstede's Value Survey Module was used as the major data collection instrument. The findings revealed some significant differences between the managers of the Western and the Eastern (Oriental) cultures regarding their work values, preferred management styles, and their perception of existing managerial practices. The findings also largely substantiate the “crossvergence” argument of managerial work values.     

Would you work abroad? The effect of English proficiency on Chinese employees’ willingness to accept international assignments

The process of globalization has led to a considerable number of expatriates working abroad. In this article, we investigate whether those with a higher level of English proficiency are more willing to accept international assignments. To examine our hypotheses, we conducted a time-lagged survey of 239 employees from Chinese multinational corporations (MNCs). The results reveal that employees’ English language proficiency is positively related to their willingness to accept international assignments, and that their openness to corporate globalization mediates this relationship. In addition, employees’ foreign language anxiety (FLA) moderates the mediating effect of English language proficiency on willingness to accept international assignments via openness to corporate globalization. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Expatriate or local? Predicting Japanese,subsidiary expatriate staffing strategies

Can Dunning's OLI (Ownership, Location, Internalization) framework be extended from predicting FDI location decisions and entry mode choices to other international strategic decisions? Using data from 891 new (two years or younger) Japanese foreign subsidiaries, we investigate the relationship between Dunning's OLI variables and expatriate staffing ratios (the ratio of expatriates to local employees). We found empirical support for Dunning's framework as a predictor of Japanese new subsidiary expatriate staffing ratios. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Organizational Commitment

This study measures and compares levels of organizational commitment of American expatriates and host country nationals employed by U.S. in Egypt It also examines lhe nature of relationships among several variables and organizational commitment. The findings suggest that country of origin is a strong predictor of organizatipal commitment, lower commitment levels than their Egyptian counterparts. Some explanations as well as limited generalizations and implications are developed.     

Valuing Japan-based German expatriate and local manager's functions: do subsidiary age and managerial perspectives matter?

Managerial functions valued by expatriates and reasons for appointing host country managers were examined in an exploratory, multimethod (interview and questionnaire) study with expatriates and local managers as the respondents. Based on theoretical perspectives of agency theory, transaction costs theory, resource-based views and organizational learning theory, changes in the valuation of these functions were hypothesized and examined for subsidiary age and nationality of the respondent. Expatriate and local managers' views supported previous research on certain management functions but differed on others (e.g. management development). The data indicated curvilinear relationships for a number of managerial functions between nationality of top manager and age of the subsidiary. Strategic factors were analysed by subsidiary age and nationality of the respondent manager to understand more about maturity of host company operations and strategic orientations. The results indicated the growth in the strategic functions of technological leadership and market development/branding in older subsidiaries. Implications of the results were discussed.     

The changing nature of expatriation: exploring cross-cultural adaptation through narrativity

This paper describes an exploratory research study to develop a typology showing the diversity of expatriation from the viewpoint of cross-cultural adaptation. The study draws on a narrative approach and concentrates on not-for-profit organizations, which have been overlooked in prior research. We conducted 30 in-depth interviews in an Israeli-Palestinian context for the study. Based on a narrative analysis of these we defined four types of expatriates: global careerists; balanced experts; idealizers; and drifters. The study indicates that cross-cultural adaptation does not necessarily require deep involvement or communication with the host society, as has traditionally been assumed in the literature. Cross-cultural adaptation does, however, require a focus which the expatriate can find meaningful in the long run. Three such focuses were identified: career advancement; local host community; and ideology. Our results suggest that the definition of expatriation needs to be expanded to cover the heterogeneity of expatriates.     

领导力与组织创新：外派管理人员回任适应的调节作用

随着全球化的不断推进,创新能力成为跨国公司获取国际竞争优势的核心要素,外派管理人员所形成的领导力对母公司在全球竞争中维持与提高创新能力产生重要影响,研究外派管理人员领导力、回任适应及其对母公司组织创新的作用关系,成为现阶段中国企业获取创新优势需迫切探讨的问题.研究表明：回任适应对组织创新中管理创新维度和技术创新维度没有直接作用,但在共启愿景和回任工作绩效维度的交互作用中,在回任工作绩效高的情况下,共启愿景越高,管理创新就越强;在激励人心与回任工作满意度的交互作用中,在回任工作满意度高的情况下,激励人心越高,技术创新就越强.