The impact of national culture on negotiating behaviors across borders

Recent declines in American competitiveness and the increasing globalization of American business underscore the importance of one's culturally-based negotiating ability in international business transactions. This paper examines the impact of cultural dimensions on negotiating effectiveness on three levels: the role of a single dimension of culture, the interactive effects between multiple dimensions of culture, and the degree of cultural compatibility between negotiating parties. Two existing models of negotiation are integrated, outlining the critical importance of culture in each stage of effective international business negotiations. The integrated model is then applied to the cultures of eleven nations. Propositions and suggestions for future research are provided.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Academy of International Business Conference. The authors wish to thank two anonymous AIB reviewers and session participants at the AIB meeting for their constructive comments concerning the paper.     

Towards intellectual globalization: A theoretical exploration and its implications for research

Globalization is a complex process which changes as well as has the potential to change the various events in the world at multiple levels. It is widely recognized that there are multiple facets of globalization including political, economic and cultural. In this paper, I advance the concept of intellectual globalization—a process of knowledge creation, transformation, and diffusion that goes beyond the immediate theoretical confines of knowledge management. The roots and functioning of this process are examined at the level of the nation, organization, and the individual. Implications for future research on the relationship of this aspect of globalization with various cultures of the world are discussed.     

Culture: A key to management communication between the Asian-Pacific area and Europe

Western culture, and therefore Western management methods and thinking, has devalued other cultures, and it has been assumed that the high culture of dominant nations has taken over. But this is not so; cultures of everyday life are complex and not easily destroyed. They are also systems in motion, that can adapt easily.Tzöl Zae Chung explains the striking differences between Asian and European thinking and ways of managing and doing business. Misunderstandings can occur if two cultures meet without adequate prior preparation. But increasingly, Japanese management methods are revitalizing Asian values and attracting attention. The cultural factor in globalization — especially in the ‘triad’ of trade between the US, the Asian-Pacific region and Europe is becoming critically important.     

A review of the Chinese cultural influences on Chinese enterprise management

In order to create and sustain competitive advantage, a company should not only develop technologies to create products and processes that meet customer needs, but also stimulate a corporate culture that commits to continuous performance improvement. Managing corporate culture is one of a number of important factors that make for organizational change and business success. This paper reviews the cultural roots and identifies the characteristics of Chinese cultural values and management. A comparative analysis of the differences between Anglo-American and Chinese cultures is made. The cultural influences on Chinese management systems are then elaborated with reference to enterprise management in Mainland China and Hong Kong. With unique cultural heritage, collective orientation has a pervasive influence on the mode of Chinese management and organization. The prevailing Chinese culture values stress largely the paternalistic approach to management, acceptance of hierarchy and the importance of relationships. Today's Chinese enterprises need to determine changes in practice or value or both aspects of corporate culture in order to facilitate organizational change and maintain a competitive edge over their rivals. The paper also discusses the links of cultural values to employee involvement (EI) and total quality management (TQM), and initiates a need to manage cultural influences on EI/TQM practices to improve organizational performance in Chinese enterprises.     

On the myth of believing that globalization is a myth: or the effects of misdirected responses on obsolescing an emergent substantive discourse

The December 2003 special issue of the Journal of International Management sought to initiate a dialogue on globalization and the role of the global corporation (Bird and Stevens, 2003). We attempt to carry that dialogue forward by responding to several objections that were raised by critics in that issue. Their comments prompted us to take a fresh look at our own perspective, as well as to critically examine theirs. In so doing, we find not only persuasive evidence that globalization is very much alive and well, but we also find that caution is warranted if readers wish to avoid misdirected responses that would otherwise obsolesce an emerging substantive discourse on the phenomenon of globalization. We are encouraged that the special issue has stimulated continued dialogue and invite others to join the conversation on this important phenomenon of globalization.     

Development of ‘timescapes' to effectively manage global inter-organizational relational communications

The globalization of business has resulted in the emergence of hyper-competition in many industries. Given the geographic, economic, and cultural dispersion of markets, many organizations have developed network structures to increase their strategic flexibility and to preserve idiosyncratic assets. This reliance on inter-organizational relationships has created an increased need to improve coordination and communication among the members of the global network. The problems associated with effective inter-organizational communications are exacerbated by the accelerating rate of change and time …a ‘quickening' of events. Moreover, managers are required to adapt to the eventful differences in time across national and organizational cultures. This paper develops the concept of ‘timescapes' to facilitate effective inter-organizational and inter-cultural communications. A managerial process for decision-making relative to global communications is also presented in the paper.     

The impact of international business education on career success—Evidence from Europe

In today's globalized world, career paths are becoming increasingly international, and so managers need respective cross-cultural strengths in order to act effectively in various cultural environments. Even though education—especially business education—is progressively becoming more international to meet these organizational demands, little is known about whether the extent of international business education influences careers, and in particular career success. In addressing this research deficit, we explore whether and how international business education affects career success. As the major contribution of this paper we suggest a conceptual framework which posits global identity and international experience as mediators of this relationship. The assumptions of this framework are confirmed by an investigation amongst 450 alumni of a European business school. Additional contributions include that we extend the limited body of research on the construct of international business education and its measurement, by providing an all-encompassing definition and much-needed operationalization. Furthermore, we contribute a European perspective on international business education through our empirical evidence.     

Changing a Leopard's Spots: A New Research Direction for Organizational Culture in the Operations Management Field

Operations Management (OM) research on organizational culture has to change to be able to inform practice. Currently, organizational culture research in OM is largely confined to narrow topical and methodological niches and culture is most frequently used as an explanatory variable in quantitative, survey‐based research. We argue that the relegation of culture to this niche is due to self‐imposed methodological blinders that hobble the OM field. We then present four research imperatives to reinvigorate organizational culture research within our field. We urge OM scholars to view culture as a dynamic concept that can be influenced, to adopt alternative methods, to use non‐traditional data sources, and to rethink assumptions about dependent variables. We also identify gaps in the current knowledge and new research questions for the OM domain. We conclude that the field of OM could greatly expand its understanding of organizational culture and in so doing greatly improve business practice, but that to do so will require a change in the culture of the operations management research community.     

Mexican and Swedish Managers' Perceptions of the Impact of EIS on Organizational Intelligence,Decision Making,and Structure*

Although information technologies in business organizations around the world may be very similar, the meanings conveyed through the technologies may be dependent on managerial values and national culture. Cultural differences need to be understood before information technology developed for organizations in one country can be effectively implemented in organizations in another country. Drawing on survey responses from managers using Executive Information Systems (EIS) across many organizations in Mexico, Sweden, and the United States, the current study examined whether cultural differences influence perceptions of the relationship between Executive Information Systems' use and various outcomes related to decision-making behaviors and processes. The study found significant differences, predicted by cultural factors, in the impact of EIS use on senior management decision making. The findings confirm the notion that IT is used by executives to reinforce the decision-making behaviors valued in their culture.     

Can Multinational Corporations Afford to Ignore the Global Common Good?1

Contemporary advances in the fields of globalization and technologies raise the question of the relationship between international business and the global common good. Half of the hundred biggest economies in the world are now corporations. Nation‐states were traditionally viewed as the guarantors of the common good; however, the current historical stage is marked by the waning of the role of government, and reveals an emerging situation characterized by a co‐responsibility of multiple agents in this respect. Three major evolutions are likely to induce multinational corporations (MNCs) to take the global common good into account: the imperative of the preservation of our biosphere, the rise of an anti‐globalization sentiment with all its potential consequences, and the necessity to design a global social contract. Besides, these three phenomena are interconnected, which adds to the pressure on MNCs to change their policies.     

全球化时代的中国管理模式

在中国和平发展的过程中，中国的管理科学要提高水平、走向世界，既要适应全球化，又要实现本土化。管理理论无所谓中式、美式、欧式、日式的区分，各国的管理科学也没有本质差别，譬如战略理论、生产管理、营销方法等。中国管理科学的全球化就是要学习、引进、发展现代管理科学。但因文化的差异，各国管理哲学有很大的差别。中国管理科学的本土化就是要继承并发展优良传统中国管理文化，促进管理科学在中国的实践。中国管理哲学与现代管理科学在中国成功管理实践中融合，形成了支撑中国经济持续高速增长的中国管理模式，而中国管理模式在实践中不断创新也必将推动现代管理科学进步和中国管理哲学的提升。     

Working Adults and Personal Business Ethics in South East Asia: a Comparative Study in Thailand and Vietnam

Global leaders and managers have been facing new challenges in the twenty-first century since globalization has created a much more integrated and borderless business environment. One of the key issues that they constantly deal with is business ethics. The global economy has made ethical issues become more complex and challenging. Businesses nowadays face urgent demands to act ethically and responsibly. In order for global leaders and managers to manage such a cultural diverse and complex workforce, they must have the ability to understand these complex issues and act ethically. They also need to possess adequate leadership skills to lead an ethical organization in a multinational environment. Thus, understanding and recognizing the cultural differences as well as the ethical standards of people in different countries are critical to the success of global leaders and managers. The purpose of this study is to investigate the perception of working professionals on business ethics in the two high-context cultures in South East Asia: Thailand and Vietnam. Using the Univariate Analysis of Variance method and adopting the widely-used Clark and Clark’s Personal Business Ethics Scores (PBES) measure, this study will compare the level of ethical maturity of the respondents based on a variety of variables including gender, business law course taken, code of conduct, ethics training, and government work experience. The authors will provide a thorough literature review on business ethics as well as the current ethical issues, i.e., bribery and corruption, in the two countries, together with practical suggestions and implications for educators, managers, and employees.     

International Business,Human Rights,and Moral Complicity: A Call for a Declaration on the Universal Rights and Duties of Business

The purpose of this article is to call for the formulation and adoption of a declaration on the universal rights and duties of business. We do not attempt to define the specific contents of such a declaration, but rather attempt to explain why such a declaration is needed and what would be some of its general characteristics. The catalyst for this call was the recognition that even under optimal conditions, good companies sometimes are susceptible to moral lapses, and when companies undertake ventures in authoritarian countries with poor human rights records, even those with the best intentions may find themselves drawn into complicity in human rights abuses. There, market exigencies may persuade them to leave their codes of ethics and commitments to human rights at home. Pragmatism, it would seem, requires thatthey accept the ethical inconsistencies that follow from a “When in Rome, do as they Romans do” outlook. When facing the moral dilemma about whether or not to invest in human rights abusing countries, companies are offered two alternatives: they can operate in those countries and accept potential complicity or they can stay away. We suggest, however, that a preferable option is to address the underlying problem, and to this end we advocate the promulgation of a declaration for business that is comparable to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Our proposed name for this is the “Declaration on the Universal Rights and Duties of Business.” To be effective, such a declaration would require enforcement mechanisms. To illustrate this issue, we focus on China, not because China is unique in its human rights abuses, but because China occupies such a central place in the globalization efforts of the major companies from around the world. A robust international declaration is needed to provide a common framework for the practice of consistent and fair business competition everywhere.     

Internationalization, innovation and entrepreneurship: business models for new technology-based firms

New technology-based firms, particularly those that develop their business around a new technological platform, are likely to be impacted by globalization, in terms of both pace of innovation and pressure of competition. For these firms, strategic decisions and growth processes are characterized by a deep inter-relationship amongst the processes of internationalization, innovation and entrepreneurship; processes which have tended to be examined independently in distinct bodies of literature. In practice strategic decisions concern each of these processes and address issues such as organizational boundaries, location of the operational activities, what activities to focus on and selection of value partners. The business model by which firms operate needs also to accommodate the spatial dimensions indicated by globalization; and the emergence of global technology markets. Little is known to date about the extent to which business models accommodate or are adapted to internationalization, innovation and entrepreneurship. This paper presents a review of the business model literature from which a generic business model framework is derived, identifying and introducing the main elements of these processes as the firms?? focus, modus and locus. This contribution makes a clear distinction between the business model and the strategy concepts and highlights the relevance of location decisions??not considered by extant business model literature to date. While our discussion draws on the high technology new venture as our primary example, we believe our business model conceptualization has general applicability.     

Value-based management consulting in a third world country located within the United States

The Navajo Nation (the Navajo Reservation in the western United States) appears to be a third world country within the boundaries of one of the most prosperous and technically advanced countries in the world. This paper discusses the cultural and economic factors that have been ignored by business consultants to the Native Americans, especially the Navajo. The economic plight of the Navajo can be partially blamed on the application of generic management techniques for the past 40 years by consultants treating the Navajo as members of their own dominate culture. This paper also discusses the ethical implications of ignoring cultural differences under the guise of supplying professional services to minority cultures.     

Cultural Differences in International Negotiating

In this age of the global economy, negotiating across cultures is an inevitable part of doing business for firms desiring to compete internationally. What problems could cultural differences cause? Can firms from some countries or cultures do better than firms from other countries or cultures? To study this possibility, cross-cultural negotiating behavior was examined using Hofstede's criteria, to see if some firms may have a cultural competitive advantage. Assumptions were proposed and tested, and additional research is suggested.     

Managing the new global workforce:: Fostering diversity, forging consistency

As a result of rapid foreign investment, many multinational firms now have workforces that are spread across continents and countries, and that include an increasingly complex blend of cultures and nationalities. Their challenge is to capture the benefits of a diverse workforce while also forging necessary consistency around the world. This article explores the concepts of diversity and consistency as they apply to multinational firms, and draws on examples from several leading multinationals to suggest how firms can better manage their global workforces.     

Global Crisis Management – Current Research and Future Directions

Examples of crises involving multinationals can be found in the media around the world on a regular basis. Despite the importance of this topic, the state of the literature in the area of global crisis management has yet to be explored. Incorporating a commonly used three-stage approach describing crisis management as involving three phases - the pre-crisis phase (prevention and preparation), the crisis phase (response), and the post-crisis phase (learning and revision) - we briefly review the literature in global crisis management. We then introduce three special issue articles. Finally, we suggest future areas for research on the topic of global crisis management.     

Ethics and human resource management and development in a global context: case study of an Indian multinational

A firm's orientation to ethics is influenced largely by its national and organizational culture. Research shows that a growing number of Indian firms place a distinct emphasis on long-term orientation to business strategy with a social mission, underpinned by firm commitment to core organizational values, employee development and welfare. Through a case study of a large Indian multinational conglomerate, this article provides preliminary evidence of how some emerging economy firms are successfully mixing and matching indigenous business and people management strategies with the Western emphasis on meritocracy and professionalism to compete in the contemporary global economy. It further shows how the human resource development (HRD) discipline can play a pro-active role in embedding ethics and values throughout the organizational and HR architecture. The HRD professionals in the case study firm also face several structural and cultural challenges in discharging their ethics-driven HR mandate, such as management's ethnocentric attitude to global staffing and clash of work cultures.