Ling Eleanor Zhang

“Multiculturality” as a key methodological challenge during in-depth interviewing in international business research

Purpose – Although qualitative methods have now gained a stronger foothold in international business (IB) research, they remain under researched, especially regarding how researchers can overcome obstacles created when interviewers exhibit “multiculturality” during international field research projects. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how researchers’ multicultural backgrounds create challenges and opportunities in data collection during in-depth interviewing, and how such backgrounds further impact on the power imbalance between researchers and interviewees. Design/methodology/approach – The two multicultural co-authors of this paper draw upon their 141 in-depth interview experiences with expatriates and local staff across five separate field research projects in Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, South Korea, Finland, and the USA. Field research experiences are analysed through a Bourdieusian-inspired “epistemic reflexive” self-interrogation process between the two co-authors. Findings – This paper ...

How do Assigned and Self-Initiated Expatriate CEOs Differ? An Empirical Investigation on CEO Demography, Personality, and Performance in China

Abstract Purpose In this chapter, we focus on expatriate CEOs who are assigned by the parent company to work in a subsidiary and compare them to those who themselves have initiated to work abroad as CEOs. Since we do not know much about these individuals, we direct our attention to: (1) who they are (demographics), (2) what they are like (personality), and (3) how they perform (job performance). Methodology/approach Data was sought from 93 assigned expatriate CEOs and 94 self-initiated expatriate CEOs in China. Findings Our findings demonstrate that in terms of demography, self-initiated CEOs were more experienced than assigned CEOs. With regard to personality, we found difference in self-control and dispositional anger: Assigned expatriate CEOs had more self-control and less angry temperament than their self-initiated counterparts. Finally, we found assigned expatriate CEOs to rate their job performance higher than self-initiated CEOs. Originality/value Although there may not always be immediate benefits, career consideration often plays a role when individuals choose whether to become an expatriate. For many years, organizations have used expatriation to develop talented managers for high-level positions in the home country. Recently, however, a new trend has emerged. Talented top managers are no longer expatriated only from within parent companies to subsidiaries. Self-initiated expatriates with no prior affiliation in the parent company are increasingly used to fill top management positions in subsidiaries.

Knowledge Sharing Across National Cultural Boundaries and Multinational Corporations

In this chapter, we describe and discuss processes of knowledge sharing between and within multinational corporation (MNC) business units. While knowledge and knowledge sharing have become increasingly important in all business sectors, this is particularly true for MNCs. A main reason for that is the diversity and dispersion of the MNC: MNCs employ individuals located in different regions with different types of skills and useful knowledge. The sharing of ideas and perspectives can thus be highly valuable in order to create a competitive edge. However, the diverse and dispersed organization of MNCs also creates many challenges for effective knowledge sharing. Therefore, MNCs need to deal with the paradoxical relationship between these two aspects. Based on empirical research in two Danish MNCs, we examine the link between barriers preventing knowledge sharing and the social and sociotechnical factors influencing interaction between and within business units.