Implications For International Management Research Articles

Car Motivations in the Young Target Group: An International Perspective

Globally, there are many profound changes going on within the automotive sector. There are new technological developments like e-mobility and autonomous cars, as well as new business models such as car sharing that may make purchasing a car obsolete for the younger, international target group. The intention of this paper is to identify the role and importance of cars in the young target group internationally and to explore current motives for buying an automobile. To this end, the authors conducted a psychological research study on a diverse group of upper division undergraduate and master’s degree level students originating from more than twenty different nations. Research methods used include structured one-on-one interviews and in-depth focus groups. The study’s results are useful for international marketing practitioners as they contribute to understanding the relevance and importance of automobiles for the international youth target market as well as identification of motives regarding car purchase across various countries. The results have implications for international managers within the automotive industry for the development of new mobility concepts as well as for international marketing communications within the automotive sector.

Mapping India’s regional subcultures: Implications for international management

As India continues to emerge as a global economic player, scholars and practitioners increasingly need to understand the cultural heterogeneity within this large and populous nation. Based on Lenartowicz and Roth’s framework of culture assessment, we have identified nine distinct subcultural regions of India and used explanations grounded in functional and neo-institutional theories to account for the origin and maintenance of cultural distinctiveness of these regions. Further, we developed seven cultural value dimensions for the Indian society and used these to hypothesize and empirically test the existence of cultural differences within India. Results supported our hypothesized arguments. This study advances our knowledge of how global functional and institutional forces have combined with national forces to shape India’s overall culture and how more local forces have shaped its regions. Methodologically, it identifies and develops measures that specifically reflect the values of individuals living in India and uses these to assess intra-national cultural differences within this nation. Further, it suggests how use of multiple methods can enable us to understand the simultaneous presence of somewhat contradictory values within a society. The study also provides applications of the proposed cultural value dimensions and advises implications of regional subcultures for various social and organizational phenomena.

Country clusters from taxonomy towards theory: Implications for international management

Remarkably stable country clusters, the Anglo-American, Germanic, Latin-European and Nordic clusters, have repeatedly emerged when analyzing international management. However, there is no good theo...

Coordinating decentralized research and development laboratories: A survey analysis

Abstract The growing internationalization and strategic diversity of research and development (R&D) activities create important managerial challenges for the globally competing multinational enterprise (MNE). Driven by recent theoretical considerations and empirical studies, we provide complementary insights to the international management literature by investigating the impact of strategic variables (roles of decentralized R&D units) and some commonly studied FDI characteristics (industry, size and country of origin) on the coordination patterns used in the context of international R&D. As a conceptual background, five categories of coordination mechanisms are generated (structural, formal hierarchical, people-based, social and information technology platform infrastructures). Our findings, based on a quantitative inductive analysis, reveal that laboratory-related characteristics (roles, age and size) stand out as the most influential determinants of coordination mechanisms and instruments. The study also highlights that MNEs are moving towards a more complicated and multifaceted integration pattern of their decentralized technology strategies. Implications for international managers, academic researches and decision makers are discussed.

Your next boss is American: Attitudes of South African managers towards prospective US-South African joint ventures

This study explores South African managers’ expectations of prospective South African – United States international joint ventures. One hundred and three middle-level South African managers responded to a theory-based original survey questionnaire that included questions about various aspects of prospective US-South African joint ventures. US companies invest in South Africa to gain access to its market and South African companies get into joint ventures with US companies to tap into their financial resources. Tarrifs imposed by the US government and the South African government’s administrative barriers seem to be the most crucial problems for the prospective joint ventures. Implications for international managers are offered.

Seeding the clouds for industrial relations climate change in emerging economies

AbstractAs manufacturing businesses increasingly move labor‐intensive production to emerging economies, it is important for international managers to understand the sociopolitical factors that shape the climate in which management and labor interact. We present a conceptual “weather map” of industrial relations climates and use indices to plot the climates of 33 emerging, 11 transition, and 21 developed economies. As hypothesized, emerging economies, compared with transition and developed economies, are characterized by a relatively adversarial industrial relations climate and a high incidence of industrial action. Implications for international managers and future research directions are discussed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

South African Managers' Perceptions of Prospective South African-US Joint Ventures

This study explores South African managers' expectations of prospective South African-United States international joint ventures. One hundred and three middle level South African managers responded to a theory-based original survey questionnaire that included questions about various aspects of prospective US-South African joint ventures. US companies invest in South Africa to gain access to its market and South African companies get into joint ventures with US companies to tap into their financial resources. US government's imposed tariffs and South African government's administrative barriers seem to be the most crucial problems for the prospective joint ventures. Implications for international managers are offered.

Is cultural similarity misleading? The experience of Australian manufacturers in Britain

Internationalising firms often begin the process by entering similar markets to their own. This strategy has been given as the explanation for the focus by Australian businesses on Britain as the location for much of their foreign direct investment. This paper extends research into Australian investment in Britain published in an earlier edition of this journal by examining problems related to unanticipated differences between Australian and British management styles. It examines the impact on interpersonal relations when the perceived cultural distance between two countries is small and actual distance much greater. Implications for international management are also considered.

TENDENCY TO INFER BRIBERY AND CORRUPT INTENT IN SOCIAL AND BUSINESS SITUATIONS: COMPARING CHINESE AND SINGAPOREAN EMPLOYEES

The present paper investigates the differences in ethical perceptions between Chinese and Singaporean employees. Two contrasting predictions based on socialization theory are tested using 142 Chinese and 141 Singaporean employees as subjects. Results show that Chinese employees tend to infer a greater degree of unethical (bribery and corrupt) intent than Singaporean employees in 17 of the 25 ethical vignettes. The converse is found in only two and no significant differences are found in the rest of the vignettes. Implications for international managers and assignees and researchers in international business working on or in China are discussed.

Reconciling culturalist and rationalist approaches: leadership in the United States and Turkey

This article empirically investigated the invariance and discriminant validity of a six-factor leadership model across two very divergent cultures: the United States and Turkey. In conjunction with the rationalist approach to international management, it was hypothesized that the same range of six leadership styles would appear in both cultures. However, coinciding with the culturalist approach to international management, it was also hypothesized that managers would emphasize different styles in each culture. Turkish and US managers each completed the Leadership Effectiveness Questionnaire measuring degree of emphasis placed on six leadership styles. Results of the test of model invariance indicated that the six styles existed in both cultures; however, discriminant analysis demonstrated that the Autocratic and Consensus styles differentiated managers best. Turkish managers emphasized the Autocratic style to a greater extent and the Consensus style to a lesser extent than did US managers. Implications for international management are discussed. ©1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Reconciling culturalist and rationalist approaches: leadership in the United States and Turkey

This article empirically investigated the invariance and discriminant validity of a six-factor leadership model across two very divergent cultures: the United States and Turkey. In conjunction with the rationalist approach to international management, it was hypothesized that the same range of six leadership styles would appear in both cultures. However, coinciding with the culturalist approach to international management, it was also hypothesized that managers would emphasize different styles in each culture. Turkish and US managers each completed the Leadership Effectiveness Questionnaire measuring degree of emphasis placed on six leadership styles. Results of the test of model invariance indicated that the six styles existed in both cultures; however, discriminant analysis demonstrated that the Autocratic and Consensus styles differentiated managers best. Turkish managers emphasized the Autocratic style to a greater extent and the Consensus style to a lesser extent than did US managers. Implications for international management are discussed. ©1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Japanese managers operating in Europe: implications for international management and Japanese secondees

Japan’s advance into Europe over the last ten years or so has been well documented. Through localization, gaining a competitive advantage has been the strategic response of Japanese organizations towards Europeanization. Reports on a survey of some 3,350 executives operating within Europe and Japan. Elicits three types of Japanese management style and describes these as: the policy makers; the business drivers; and the implementors. Analyses and compares with the European responses, the responses from these three groups. Discusses the implications of these management styles for international management. Also considers training and development implications for Japanese secondees which centre on: effective communication; developing quality relationships; problem solving at local level; and preparation for the selected secondee.