Mary B. Teagarden

TOWARD A THEORY OF COMPARATIVE MANAGEMENT RESEARCH: AN IDIOGRAPHIC CASE STUDY OF THE BEST INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PROJECT

Cross-cultural international management research is complex, costly, and frequently, nonrigorous. This idiographic study documents the evolution of a multinational, multicultural, interdisciplinary research consortium that sought to remedy this lack of rigor in a project investigating international human resource management practices. We identify key learning points derived from this project and conclude with the rudiments of a midrange theory of a comparative management research methodology.

Conceptualizing and measuring global mindset

The Global Mindset Inventory® has been developed through a very rigorous theoretical and empirical process. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis indicated three components: (a) intellectual capital, (b) social capital, and (c) psychological capital. Each component had good internal reliability. Each component showed evidence for discriminant and convergent validity. The instrument development followed a multiphase, multimethod research methodology, and has robust psychometric properties as evidenced by its strong reliability scores and its multidimensional validity properties.

Strategic international human resource management approaches in the maquiladora industry: a comparison of Japanese, Korean and US firms

The maquiladora option has made Mexico an increasingly attractive off-shore manufacturing site for multinational enterprises (MNEs) seeking global competitiveness. However, MNEs often encounter hum...

International technology-based competitive strategy: A literature review and integrative model

Abstract A multilevel, integrative model of international technology-based competitive strategy is developed through the integration and extension of diverse literature streams. The critical activity in these strategies is sustainment of a development process which results in creation of value-added products or services that can be profitably manufactured and distributed to customers. The model identifies variables and interactions that influence technology-based competitive strategy success at the organization, competitive or task environment, and external domestic and international environment levels. Propositions to be tested in future empirical research are developed.

Technology-based competitive strategy: An empirical test of an integrative model

Abstract At their core, firms competing through international technology-based strategies rely on an organization system that uses a strong culture to bond human assets, senior leadership, and resources together in ways that cultivate and promote core competencies and capabilities. This paper presents empirical tests of the relationship between these factors and organization success. The study is based on the analysis of fifty-six case studies.

The Life Cycle of Academic International Research Teams: Just When You Thought “Virtual” Teams Were All the Rage … Here Come the AIRTS!

The literature on academic international research teams (AIRTs) has drawn conclusions and made recommendations based on cross-sectional “snapshots” of the research team process – observations made prior to the conclusion of the research project. Several large-scale AIRTs have now evolved through a life cycle including result-related publications. We evaluate and extend the literature using a project life cycle perspective, in which each stage exhibits different challenges and opportunities that influence the quality, reliability and validity of the final research output and the overall viability of the knowledge-creation project. We conclude with recommendations for the effective management of AIRTs and, indeed, perhaps all multinational, globally distributed teams engaged in both basic and applied knowledge creation.

Sino–Foreign Strategic Alliance Types and Related Operating Characteristics: Implications for Research and Practice

The reality of foreign business operations in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is challenging foreign investors and Chinese alike. Barely a decade ago, as part of massive economic reform, Chinas doors were cautiously cracked open to the West after an extended period of isolation. The doors have remained open, but the form and degree of foreign investment and involvement in China remain a controversy. Some Chinese prefer less foreign involvement than others, and a small but growing segment even prefer the wholly foreign-owned enterprises. Despite their preference for wholly-owned subsidiaries (WOSs), most transnational corporations (TNCs) engage in some form of strategic business alliance with Chinese enterprises or the government, although the WOS category is growing. These Sino-foreign alliances include (1) equity joint ventures; (2) contractual joint ventures; (3) process/assembly-buyback agreements; (4) long-term licensing agreements; (5) dynamic technology transfer agreements; (6) compensation trade agreements including counter-trade and counter-purchase; and, (7) exploration and research consortia. While reduction of risk, economies of scale, vertical quasi integration, and overcoming government-mandated investment and trade barriers are all identified as motivations for the use of alliances (Beamish, 1985; Contractor and Lorange, 1988), Teagarden (1990) found that the perception of government mandate was the primary motivator for alliance formation in a sample of sixty-seven