Carol Reade

Antecedents of organizational identification in multinational corporations: fostering psychological attachment to the local subsidiary and the global organization

This article reports the results of an empirical case study of the antecedents of organizational identification among local managers in a multinational corporation (MNC). Organizational identification, which refers to an individuals psychological attachment to the organization, has gained increasing attention because of its assumed link with behaviour associated with enhanced organizational performance. Yet little work has been done on what fosters organizational identification, particularly within the context of a MNC. Moreover, there is empirical evidence showing that managerial employees of MNCs draw a distinction between their local subsidiary and the global organization as manifest in separate group identifications. This suggests that there may be differential sets of antecedents of identification with the local subsidiary and with the global organization. The results of the present study indicate that there are different sets of factors that promote identification with the local and global levels of the organization. The results further show a complementarity of causal variables; identification with the local subsidiary is fostered primarily by factors which pertain to the local company context, while identification with the global organization is fostered primarily by factors which pertain to the MNC as a global entity.

Dual identification in multinational corporations: local managers and their psychological attachment to the subsidiary versus the global organization

This article reports the results of an empirical case study conducted in India and Pakistan on dual identification in a multinational corporation (MNC). It is often stated in the management literature that it is vital for MNC managerial employees worldwide to share the organizations core values and goals, that is, to identify with the organization as a global entity. The underlying assumption is that it is possible, not to mention desirable, for the MNC as a global entity to be the main identification focus for its managers worldwide. Yet there appears to be a general preference for identification with relatively small social units, such as what the MNC subsidiary represents. This study investigates, with the aid of social identity theory, the patterns and strength of employee identification with the local subsidiary versus the global organization. The study also examines whether the type of MNC subsidiary might have an effect on local/global patterns of employee identification. The results reveal that respondents exhibit dual identification, and generally identify more strongly with their subsidiary. The type of MNC subsidiary appears to have an effect on local/global patterns of identification.

Human resource management implications of terrorist threats to firms in the supply chain

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between employee sensitivity to terrorism and employee attitudes in supply chain firms located in an environment with ongoing terrorist threat. Implications for human resource management in supply chain firms and future directions for research are discussed.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on questionnaire data collected from 898 managers in Sri Lanka. Included in the paper are manufacturing and service firms that constitute integral parts of global supply chains such as garment and textile firms, software solutions firms, and import‐export trading firms. Correlation analysis is used to examine the relationship between variables.Findings – The results generally indicate a statistically significant negative relationship between employee sensitivity to terrorism and employee attitudes toward the organization, team, and job. Results vary by sector and industry, with a comparatively strong negative association between employee ...

Employee preference for performance-related pay: predictors and consequences for organizational citizenship behaviour in a Japanese firm

Research on performance-related pay (PRP) has largely focused on the outcomes of PRP implementation in a Western context. This paper examines the predictors of employee preference for PRP and the consequences for organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) in Japan where seniority-based pay and teamwork have long been the norm. The sample consists of 155 sales representatives in a large electric appliance manufacturing company that was transitioning from a seniority-based to a PRP-based compensation system. Overall, respondents indicated a preference for PRP over seniority-based pay. The hierarchical regression results indicate that employee preference for PRP is positively and significantly associated with individual competitiveness and occupational commitment, while being negatively and significantly related to organizational commitment and to the age group of employees who joined the labour market prior to the bursting of the economic bubble in Japan. No significant relationship was observed between PRP preference and OCB in the hierarchical regression analysis, although the two are positively and significantly correlated contrary to our expectations. Implications for international human resource management are discussed.

Poverty and the Multiple Stakeholder Challenge for Global Leaders

The article presents a case study in which business leaders deal with challenging problems related to poverty, involving multiple stakeholders. This emphasizes the importance of training prospective global leaders to manage stakeholder relationships and engage in stakeholder dialogue. The authors highlight the stakeholder role played by nongovernmental organizations and include a simulation that develops stakeholder dialogue skills. They identify practical lessons and assumptions underlying business education that are not shared by all stakeholders in the context of poverty.

Terrorism and expatriate withdrawal cognitions: the differential role of perceived work and non-work constraints

Abstract Building on stress theory, this study investigates the mechanism by which terrorism influences withdrawal cognitions of expatriates, namely, via perceived threat as well as perceived constraints in the work and non-work domains. Data from 160 expatriates currently working in African and Asian countries show that the level of terrorism relates to expatriates’ perceived threat. Further, we find that the effect of this perceived threat is stronger on perceived constraints in the non-work than in the work domain. While perceived constraints in the work domain have a direct effect on job turnover intentions, perceived constraints in the non-work domain have a direct effect on country leave intentions and an indirect, spillover effect on job turnover intentions. Our study underscores the importance of both work and non-work domains for understanding stress and turnover related to expatriation in terrorism-endangered countries.

Ethnic homophily perceptions as an emergent IHRM challenge: evidence from firms operating in Sri Lanka during the ethnic conflict

Ethnic conflict is a defining characteristic of the post-Cold War era and is prevalent particularly in emerging economies, areas of increasing interest to multinational enterprises. Yet little is known about the international human resource management challenges arising from such societal context. Utilizing social identity theory, we propose that ethnic homophily perceptions in the workplace – an employees assessment that colleagues prefer working with ethnically similar others – is a reflection of the societal context and can be detrimental to the organization if not managed appropriately. We investigate whether contact theory offers insights to manage such perceptions. Drawing on a sample of 550 managers in Sri Lanka during a period of protracted ethnic conflict, we found that employee sensitivity to ethnic conflict in the societal context is positively related to ethnic homophily perceptions in the workplace, and that both ethnic diversity in workgroups and quality of work relationships serve to reduce perceptions of ethnic homophily.

Does ethnic conflict impede or enable employee innovation behavior?: The alchemic role of collaborative conflict management

Purpose The main objective of the study is to investigate whether a societal context of ethnic conflict influences employee innovation behavior in the work domain, and whether a collaborative conflict management style adopted by supervisors plays a moderating role. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the conflict, organizational behavior and innovation literature, the study examines the main and interaction effects of employee sensitivity to ethnic conflict, organizational frustration, and collaborative conflict management style of supervisors on employee engagement with colleagues to innovate products, services, and job processes. Hypotheses are tested using hierarchical regression analysis, controlling for ethnic diversity in workgroups. Findings Employee innovation behavior is greatest when employee sensitivity to ethnic conflict is high, organizational frustration is low, and when supervisors are perceived to be highly collaborative in managing conflict, regardless of whether the workgroup is ethnically homogenous or diverse. Research limitations/implications The research findings expand our knowledge of the effects of sociopolitical conflict on employee behavior and the role of collaborative conflict management. Future research can address limitations including self-reports, cross-sectional design, and single country setting. Practical implications The findings suggest that employee innovation behavior can be enhanced through developing collaborative conflict management skills of those in leadership positions. Originality/value This is the first study to empirically examine the influence of ethnic conflict on employee innovation behavior, and is of value to businesses operating in conflict settings.

Invisible Compromises Global Business, Local Ecosystems, and the Commercial Bumble Bee Trade

The purpose of this article is to challenge organizational scholars, management educators, and business leaders to consider more deeply the impact of global business activities on local ecosystems. Drawing on the management, sustainability, and entomology literature, we illustrate the complex relationship between global business and biodiversity loss through the lens of the commercial bumble bee trade. Global firms in this trade rear and supply bees for greenhouse crop pollination. We build on a well-known global strategy framework used in management education by adding a sustainability dimension, and offering propositions for the relationship between global business strategy and the strength of environmental sustainability. We conclude that a locally responsive, place-sensitive business strategy supports the strongest degree of environmental sustainability, and addresses the invisible compromises to ecosystem health that may result from the efforts of global firms to provide otherwise beneficial products and services.

From antiquity to the factory floor: Reviving “original dispute resolution” in the Sri Lankan subsidiary of a multinational enterprise

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to propose a conceptual framework for elucidating cross‐cultural paradoxes in dispute resolution and present a case study of a hybrid process that combines aspects of interest‐based mediation and indigenous dispute resolution in order to inform the design of conflict management systems in multinational enterprises (MNEs). Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach utilizing participant observation and informant feedback is used to present an organizational intervention in the Sri Lankan subsidiary of a European MNE. Discussion of the case is framed by theories of culture and conflict and a literature review of indigenous dispute resolution in Sri Lanka. Findings – The case illustrates how one MNE developed a culturally appropriate conflict management system in its subsidiary by crafting an innovative, informal channel for managing conflict and systematically embedding it into the organization alongside its formal conflict management process. Research limit...