Alicia S.M. Leung

Feminism in Transition: Chinese Culture, Ideology and the Development of the Women's Movement in China

This study is concerned with transitional gender roles and relations, illuminated through an examination of the status of women in China from the Mao era to the post-Mao era. The study reveals that the socialist state has maintained a high degree of control over gender construction in order to legitimise its historical achievement of revolution and liberation, assuming given gender identities within the official discourse of socialism. Liberation meant creating a fundamentally new and more democratic socialism within a male hegemony. This is derived from the core philosophy Confucianism in which human role relations are cultivated and developed within a male-centred world. Consequently, this discourse opens up an authoritative normalisation process that hinders womens progress in the state, in the household and in organisations. Womens new identity involves aspects of biologically given features, internalisation of the patriarchal family and social relations. Collective relational construction therefore emphasises the feminine/maternal principles of identity, denouncing separation and independence. This phenomenon seems to be pushing the whole of gender politics in China back towards more traditional sex role differences and power imbalances.

International adjustment of female vs male business expatriates

Abstract Despite a host of supportive anecdotal evidence and an increasing demand for business expatriates, women are a relatively untapped source for expatriate assignments. To compare their international adjustment, Western female and male business expatriates responded to a mail survey in Hong Kong. Controlling for differences in background variables between the two gender groups, there was no gender difference in terms of general adjustment, but there were indications that female expatriates had higher interaction and work adjustment than their male counterparts. On the other hand, the men may have experienced a higher degree of psychological adjustment than the women. Implications of these findings for globalizing firms, as well as for their female employees, are discussed in detail.

Personal Characteristics of Female vs Male Business Expatriates

Although there has been a rapidly increasing literature on women in international assignments, very little is known about their specific personal characteristics. To rectify this shortcoming, a large-scale mail survey to female and male business expatriates in Hong Kong made a direct comparison of their personal characteristics. Results showed that the women were younger than the men. Controlling for inter-group age differences, despite the fact that there were no gender differences in corporate tenure and expatriate experiences, the female expatriates were found to occupy lower hierarchical positions than their male counterparts. Women on foreign assignment were also less frequently married than their male colleagues. Implications for assigning organizations and future research are discussed.

Provision and adequacy of corporate support to male expatriate spouses

Male expatriate spouses represent a surprisingly under‐researched area, especially given the crucial importance of spousal support to ensure successful expatriate assignments and the increasing trends of both dual‐career couples and female business expatriates. To somewhat alleviate this deficiency, 46 Western female business expatriates assigned to Hong Kong responded to a mail survey. Almost half of them were married and accompanied by their husbands. The tentative results of this highly exploratory study seem to indicate that, although moderated somewhat by respondents’ perceived adequacy of the extent of corporate support, companies generally failed to support male expatriate spouses. Unfortunately, this main finding does not contradict results of what little previous research there is on the subject. This can be regarded as an early warning sign to international firms trying to globalize, since there is no reason to believe that the escalating trend of women assigned abroad will not continue, given the rising demand for business expatriates. Internationalizing firms need to introduce more corporate support for male expatriate spouses, before reluctance to act in this respect may block their global expansion.

Expatriate career intentions of women on foreign assignments and their adjustment

Despite an increasing demand for international executives, only the most determined women may get assigned abroad. Will this resolve for a career abroad also help them to become successful in their foreign assignment? To answer this question, Western female business expatriates in Hong Kong responded to a mail survey about their expatriate career intentions and their international adjustment. Controlling for the time they had been assigned to Hong Kong, the results show that the more determined the women are to pursue an expatriate career, the better is their interaction adjustment. This is a fundamental finding, as both the other two dimensions of sociocultural adjustment, general adjustment and work adjustment, are based on interpersonal interactions. Implications of these findings for globalizing firms as well as for their female employees are discussed.

Career Management Issues of Female Business Expatriates.

Few studies have delved into career management issues of women on foreign assignments, especially compared to male expatriates. Therefore, a large‐scale mail survey was directed towards Western female and male business expatriates in the same host location. Controlling for the effects of differences in the demographic background of the gender groups, we found that female business expatriates could less often meet their career goals within their corporation than their male counterparts. There was also a tentative indication that women may regard their expatriation as a less useful career move than men. Implications of these findings for globalizing firms, female executives and future research are discussed.

Are corporate career development activities Les available to female than to male expatriates

Despite the growing interest in female expatriates, few empirical studies have focussed on corporate career development activities available to women. Given the faltering corporate support for female business expatriates in general, one may presume that such organizational activities are less available to women than to men. To test this proposition, a large number of Western female and male business expatriates assigned to Hong Kong responded to a mail survey. Controlling for differences between the two gender groups, three significant gender differences were found, all indicating a lower availability of these corporate activities to women than to men, partially supporting expectations. These corporate career development activities were fast track programs, individual career counseling and career planning workshops. Implications of these findings for globalizing firms as well as for their female employees are discussed in detail.

The relations between life domain satisfaction and subjective well‐being

Purpose – This study examines the relationship between domain‐based life satisfaction (LS) and subjective well‐being (SWB) as well as the role of spiritual well‐being as a moderator. Domains of LS include family cohesion, social connectedness, career success, and self‐esteem.Design/methodology/approach – A survey was completed by 145 full‐time Hong Kong Chinese employees working in a variety of jobs and organizations.Findings – Multiple regression analyses show that career success, social connectedness, and self‐esteem are associated with both psychological and physical well‐being. Spiritual well‐being moderated the relationship between career success and psychological well‐being. The relationship is stronger for low than for high spirituality.Research limitations/implications – All data were self‐reported and collected at one point in time. Thus, common method variance may be an issue and causal inferences are not warranted.Practical implications – Domain‐specific LS and spiritual well‐being appear to be...

Employee creativity and motivation in the Chinese context: The moderating role of organizational culture

Based on hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) results, specific facets of culture influence service employees’ motivation and creativity. The theory of person—culture fit suggests that organizational culture moderates the relationship between employees’ intrinsic motivation and their creativity. The following three culture types are assessed in this study: innovative culture, traditional culture, and cooperative culture. The effect of these culture types on employees’ creativity is assessed using data obtained from fifty service and hospitality firms in the People’s Republic of China. The data reveal that innovative culture moderates the relationship between the need for achievement and creativity, traditional culture moderates the relationship between the need for power and creativity, and cooperative culture moderates the relationship between the need for affiliation and creativity. This article shows that a good person—culture fit plays a significant role in predicting employee creativity. For managers, the implication is to be aware of corporate culture and match employees’ motivations accordingly. In addition, managers need to identify and assist employees who feel stifled by the corporate culture.

Symptom and problem focused coping strategies of business women expatriates and their socio‐cultural adjustment in Hong Kong

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore coping strategies of female business expatriates and to examine how these strategies are associated with the womens international adjustment.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through mail surveys to western female business expatriates in Hong Kong regarding their coping strategies and adjustment.Findings – As predicted, the results showed that the female expatriates more often used problem focused than symptom focused coping strategies. Surprisingly, there was no association between problem focused coping strategies and socio‐cultural adjustment. However, as expected, symptom focused coping strategies were negatively related to adjusting in socio‐cultural terms. As presumed, there was no relationship between any of the coping strategies and psychological adjustment.Research limitations/implications – The special contextual circumstances in Hong Kong could have contributed to the unanticipated findings that there was no association between ...