Markus Pudelko

Challenges in international survey research: a review with illustrations and suggested solutions for best practice

When conducting international research projects, scholars face a myriad of challenges that reach beyond those encountered in domestic research. In this paper, we explore the specific issues related to international survey research, focusing on the different stages of the research process that include defining the study population and gaining data access, survey development, data collection, data analysis, and finally publication of the results. For each stage, we review the pertinent literature, provide illustrations based on examples from our own research projects, and offer possible solutions to address the inherent challenges by formulating suggestions for improving the quality of international survey research.

Convergence of Management Practices in Strategy, Finance and HRM between the USA, Japan and Germany

The issue of convergence of management practices as between national business systems and cultures is contentious but important given increasing cross-continental cooperation and competition. This article investigates comparative practices in strategy, finance and human resource management in the USA, Japan and Germany. For strategy and finance we used field research in over 70 companies to gain access to top-level decisions; for HRM we surveyed top 500 companies, again in all three countries, yielding responses from 232 HRM managers. Two hypotheses, derived from rich research literatures, are explored. The first hypothesis suggests diffusion of ‘best practices’ for all three management areas - strategy, finance and HRM - to the point of convergence, in spite of national institutional and cultural factors. More specifically, the second hypothesis suggests even greater convergence at the strategic and financial level, given pressures from increasingly common customer and capital markets, as compared with HRM where cultural factors might remain more influential. We found German practices in strategy, finance and HRM lie midway between those in the USA and Japan, and some convergence across all three management areas, particularly between Germany and the USA. Surprisingly, most convergence was found at the HRM level, where imitation of worldwide ‘best practices’ proved more common.

Cross-national learning from best practice and the convergence-divergence debate in HRM

The chief objective of this paper is to develop suggestions as to how to learn from best practices in HRM across national borders. The analysis is based on survey data gathered from 232 HRM managers from American, Japanese and German top 500 companies. The managers provide information on how the HRM model of their respective country is characterized and from which of the other two country models they seek inspiration. The concrete attributes of the models considered worth adopting are described in detail and future developments with regards to convergence of the HRM models explored. The empirical data suggest that HR managers from all three countries expect a partial convergence towards a hybrid model. Curiously, the model that comes closest to this hybrid – the German one – is also the one that rates lowest as a source of inspiration. An argument is made that in order to better understand learning from best practice and resulting convergence tendencies, research should seek more insights regarding the knowledge of managers about foreign management models, their perceptions of these models, and how these perceptions are generated.

Hablas vielleicht un peu la mia language? A comprehensive overview of the role of language differences in headquarters–subsidiary communication

The management of human resources in headquarters (HQ)–subsidiary relationships requires intensive communication, but effective communication often depends on having a shared language. Hence, language differences can be a serious threat to the successful management of human resources in multinational corporations. In this large-scale quantitative study, encompassing data from more than 800 subsidiaries in 13 countries, we investigated four related issues. First, in terms of the importance of language differences, we found that HQ–subsidiary relationships are clearly affected by language differences and that the latter form a distance category of their own, which should not be subsumed under the related, but separate concept of cultural differences. Second, regarding the consequences of language differences for communication outcomes, we found that a lack of a shared language is associated with misunderstanding, conflict and parallel information networks, which could harm HQ–subsidiary interactions. Third, with regard to the impact of language differences on communication methods, we found that a lack of a shared language is associated with a significantly lower level of oral (face-to-face and phone) communication, but not written communication. Fourth, and finally, in terms of a potential solution to communication problems caused by language differences, we found that expatriates can facilitate both communication and knowledge transfer between HQ and subsidiaries.

An analysis of core-competences of successful multinational team leaders

Researchers have endeavoured to understand the factors that enable effective functioning of multinational teams (MNTs) but with few exceptions they have ignored studying the competences of MNT leaders. In this paper we present those competences leaders must possess in order to effectively lead MNTs. Our findings are based on 70 problem-centred interviews with MNT leaders and members from five multinational corporations. The competences our interviewees mentioned most frequently for effective leadership were knowledge management and transfer. Results further indicated that a leader must be cross-culturally competent and multilingual in order to motivate MNT members to fully explore, exploit and transfer valuable knowledge within the team and beyond. Une analyse des compétences clefs des chefs d’équipes multinationaux performants Aida Hajro et Markus Pudelko Les chercheurs ont essayé de comprendre les facteurs qui favorisent le fonctionnement efficace des équipes multinationales mais, à l’exception de quelques-uns, ils n’ont pas étudié les compétences des chefs d’équipes multinationales. Nous présentons ici les compétences que ces leaders doivent posséder afin de diriger efficacement une équipe multinationale. Nos conclusions s’appuient sur 70 entretiens qualitatifs auprès de chefs d’équipes de 5 grandes entreprises multinationales. Les compétences les plus fréquemment mentionnées par les personnes que nous avons interrogées sont la gestion et le transfert des connaissances. Les résultats indiquent en outre qu’un leader doit avoir des compétences interculturelles et être multilingue afin de motiver les membres d’une équipe multiculturelle, ce qui permettra d’explorer, d’exploiter et de transférer des connaissances précieuses au sein et au-delà de l’équipe.

The seniority principle in Japanese companies: A relic of the past?

The seniority principle has often been described as a key ingredient in the traditional Japanese HRM model. However, increasing numbers of testimonials in the literature report that this practice is dramatically declining in significance. Results of this empirical study indicate that: 1) compared to the past, the seniority principle is significantly losing importance for promotion and compensation decisions; 2) this is a trend likely to continue into the future; 3) the seniority principle is declining more than any other Japanese HRM practice; 4) the American model serves as an important source of inspiration in introducing a more performance-oriented system; 5) when compared to western countries, however, seniority is likely to remain of importance. Suggestions are put forward as to how a performance based promotion and compensation system might suit the specific Japanese context better than western practices do.

Editorial for Special Edition: The convergence concept in cross-cultural management research

management research is the so-called convergence–divergence debate. Representatives of the convergence approach (e.g. Kerr et al., 1960; Eisenstadt, 1973; Levitt, 1983; Prentice, 1990; Waters, 1995; Tomlinson, 1999) perceive management as largely independent from the respective national culture, and focus instead on the importance of learning from best practice in order to increase national competitiveness. They argue that the international competitive pressure will ultimately lead to a convergence of management practices toward those ‘best practices’. On the other side of the debate, adherents of the so-called divergence approach emphasize that management practices are strongly influenced by the relevant national cultural and institutional context (e.g. Laurent, 1983; Hickson and Pugh, 2001; Whitley, 2000; Hofstede, 2001). Consequently, these authors are much more sceptical about the possibility of adopting management practices that evolved outside the respective cultural or institutional context and see little room for cross-national convergence of management processes. This debate is significantly influenced by the advent of the multi-faceted phenomenon termed ‘globalization’. It is often stated that globalization leads to more convergence and standardization in areas such as the management of companies, economic policies, politics and even, culturally, in terms of how we lead our lives. Common examples include the increasing importance of shareholder value, the narrowing of national interest rates, the spread of democracy, the convergence of consumer tastes and the worldwide appeal of some global brands. Sceptics, however, argue that even though management practices may converge at a strategic level, we will see less change in terms of how people really behave. Special Section

Recent developments and emerging challenges in international human resource management

Whereas a comprehensive review of the current state and trends of research in International Human Resource Management (IHRM) is clearly beyond the scope of this introduction (for this, see, for exa...

The role of culture at different levels of analysis

The past few decades have seen a tremendous growth in work patterns that involve social actors from different cultural backgrounds interacting with one another, as shown by the increase in number and forms of international staff (Collings et al., 2007) or the rise in the formation of international joint ventures (Pothukuchi et al., 2002). Even actors whose scope of activity is limited to a domestic context are likely to be exposed to foreign cultures as they collaborate with coworkers, partners, suppliers and clients from different ethnic and cultural origins. Although research at the interface between the domestic and international context is still relatively scarce, for example as illustrated by the limited attention that local nationals have received in international assignment research (Toh and DeNisi, 2007; Vance and Ring, 1994), scholars widely agree that culture transcends and thus forms an integral part of many aspects in business. One stream of research has explored the multiple layers that constitute culture and that differ in terms of their degree of tangibility and visibility, distinguishing between observable artifacts and behaviors, deeper-level values and basic assumptions (e.g. Schein, 1992). In this vein, existing cross-cultural research has mainly conceptualized culture as a system of shared, underlying values that explain (Hofstede, 1980; Schwartz, 1994) but may also potentially vary from (House et al., 2004) behavioral practices. Another debate has centered on the multiple levels at which culture has been conceptualized to operate (Chao, 2000; Leung et al., 2005). It has been common to consider a hierarchy of levels in which lower levels are nested within higher levels, for example an individual working in a team that forms part of an organization that, in turn, operates in a specific national market. However, these scholars increasingly also point to the cross-level effects that occur when changes at one cultural level influence and reshape other levels. Although the resulting implications are highly relevant to the understanding of cultural phenomena at large, levels issues in cross-cultural research have thus far focused mainly on the different levels at which national culture influences behavioral outcomes, broadly distinguishing between individual, group, and organization-level effects. In this respect, national culture has been shown to have both direct and moderated effects on a wide range of individual and interpersonal attitudes, cognitions and behaviors (Tsui et al., 2007), impact on team processes (Gelfand et al., 2007) and influence various organizational systems, structures and practices, including capital International Journal of Cross Cultural Management 10(2) 131–136 a The Author(s) 2010 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1470595810376429 ccm.sagepub.com CCM International Journal of Cross Cultural Management

Japanese human resource management : from being a miracle to needing one?

One major characteristic of the Japanese business model is the importance attached to human resources, and accordingly to human resource management (HRM). An indication of the weight given to the latter is the prominent position occupied by the HR department (Rehfeld, 1995). The head of HR is often, after the president, the second most important manager in a Japanese company (Thurow, 1993). It is therefore not surprising that HRM has been identified by many authors as one of the main factors in the astonishing achievements of Japanese companies in the world markets (Inohara, 1990), particularly during the heydays Japanese success story in the 1980s and early 1990s. During that time Japanese HRM practices were widely studied in the West to discover what might be learned from them (see for example Dore, 1973, 1987, 2000, 2002; Vogel, 1979; Ouchi, 1981; Pascale and Athos, 1981; Kenney and Florida, 1988, 1993). Huczynski (1986) described the fascination with Japanese HRM in the West as a major management fad, and books suggesting what Western managers could adopt from Japanese practices joined the best-seller lists and gained almost cult status. Vogel’s Japan as Number One (1979), Ouchi’s Theory Z (1981) and Pascale and Athos’s The Art of Japanese Management (1981) are but three examples.