Multinational Management Strategies of Expatriate and Local Managers

Abstract

Due to increasing doubt regarding the ability of multinational companies to recruit the right manager for complex company tasks, this paper describes and analyses the general approaches and administration strategies exercised by expatriate and local managers in multinational companies. Descriptive research is performed by analysing questionnaires administered to 705 employees across 25 multinational corporations in three large cities in China, including Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing. The results reveal that local managers are strongly correlated with lateness, while expatriate managers are correlated with time off. However, the results also show the pros and cons of recruiting expatriate and local managers in multinational companies. The research shows that expatriate and local managers’ management practices have outstanding value for multinational business success. The concept of differences in the management practices of expatriate and local managers in multinational corporations is an innovative notion. The paper highlights that both expatriate and local managers have a positive impact on multinational growth and success.