Meredith Downes

U.S. Consumer Sensitivity to Corporate Social Performance Development of a Scale

This study develops a scale to measure consumer sensitivity to corporate social performance (CSCSP) using the factor analysis procedure to generate a valid and reliable 11-item scale. Results from a U.S. sample of M.B.A. students suggest that women are more sensitive to CSP than men and that Democrats are more sensitive to CSP than Republicans. Future research can use this scale to measure the correlation between attitudes toward CSP and actual behavior.

Predicting expatriate job satisfaction: the role of firm internationalization

This study is based on the premise that, as organizations gain experience in the international marketplace, the determinants of job satisfaction for expatriate managers will vary. It is hypothesized that significant learning, manifested in firm international experience, will moderate the effects of work/life experience, mentorship, training and environmental benevolence. Findings partially support this theoretical argument and confirm the expectation that the impact of mentoring on satisfaction will lessen over the course of firm internationalization. Further, the impact of training on expatriate satisfaction was more pronounced for highly internationalized firms than for those with limited exposure abroad. Results of the empirical tests are provided, and their implications are discussed.

An empirically-derived multidimensional measure of expatriate success: reconciling the discord

This paper examines the discord surrounding how expatriate success, or effectiveness, is defined. We review the many ways that success has been conceptualized and then seek to reconcile these differences by presenting a multidimensional measure of success, based on data collected from 118 expatriate respondents worldwide. A series of factor analyses, along with reliability and item analyses yielded nine measurement scales which included cultural adjustment, work-related adjustment, career development, HQ-subsidiary coordination, assignment completion, professional/skill development, shaping and controlling the subsidiary, satisfaction and overall assignment effectiveness. The process by which these scales were developed is described in the paper and all items and scale reliabilities are presented.

Cultural distance and expatriate adjustment revisited

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between cultural distance and cross-cultural adjustment. The authors address four hypotheses regarding this relationship: the Cultural Distance Hypothesis; the Cultural Distance Paradox; the Null Hypothesis; and the Asymmetry Hypothesis, in an effort to reconcile the disparities found in the literature. Specifically, portions of the extant literature support a positive relationship, while others support the opposite. There is also some evidence that this relationship may vary depending on the direction of expatriate transfer. Finally, some of the research has failed to support any significant relationship between cultural distance and adjustment. Design/methodology/approach - Survey data were collected from 125 expatriates (117 expatriates and eight repatriates), representing 36 nationalities and on assignment in 32 different countries. Multiple regression analyses were used to regress cultural distance on both general and work-related adjustment. Cultural distance was first operationalized as a composite of the scores on Hofstedes cultural dimensions. Subsequently, distances for each of the dimensions were entered into the regression models. Findings - The authors concur with the Cultural Distance Paradox that greater differences in individualism between home and host cultures facilitates work adjustment. Findings also support the Asymmetry Hypothesis that travel from individualistic societies to more collectivist ones results in greater adjustment than does travel in the opposite direction. Practical implications - Based on the Cultural Distance Paradox, firms may be well-advised to direct their expatriate training efforts toward those assignments where the home and host cultures are presumably similar, as there may be a tendency to take adjustment for granted and therefore forgo cross-cultural training. Similar efforts should be made to ease transfers to locations where the culture is more individualistic than that of the parent country. Originality/value - Rather than fixate on one set of findings from the literature, this study considers all four of the possible relationships between cultural distance and adjustment, as found or suggested in previous research. This comprehensive approach should advance our understanding of cultural distance as a complex construct, with a role that cannot be consistently defined across all situations. This represents a departure from the need to assign static roles to variables that may be dynamic in nature.

The cyclical effect of expatriate satisfaction on organizational performance: the role of firm international orientation

This study explores the role of expatriate satisfaction in organizational performance. It also posits that international transfer of knowledge and corporate learning are determinants in the overall satisfaction of expatriate managers. Moreover, as organizations gain international experience, their expatriate managers contribute to the global learning of the firm. This corporate learning provides the tools (e.g. foreign market experience and know‐how) for future expatriate managers and increases the likelihood of positive overseas experiences. Results from 132 expatriates of Fortune 500 firms indicate that satisfaction is significantly related to the performance of the organization as a whole and, further, that this relationship will vary depending on the international orientation of the organization.

Antecedents and consequences of failed governance: the Enron example

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the demise of Enron, one of the most curious aspects of which was that on the surface it appeared to be thriving, giving no one any cause to question the companys governance structures.Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides a detailed analysis of the composition of Enrons board of directors, demonstrating how directly observable traits are not the sole determinants of effective corporate governance.Findings – The paper finds that collectively, the boards qualifications are less overt, and even more elusive are the ethics and morals that drive the governance process.Originality/value – This case illustrates how ethics and morals are necessary, but that none is sufficient, to deter poor governance, and also underscores the far‐reaching impact of Enrons moral deficiencies.

Individual profiles as predictors of expatriate effectiveness

Purpose – This paper aims to assess the relationship between expatriate personality and effectiveness on overseas assignments.Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were collected from 118 expatriates who were currently on assignments overseas or had been on an assignment in the past.Findings – Results of multiple regression analysis show expatriate personality traits to be significant predictors of two of the effectiveness measured used. Extraversion, emotional stability, and openness have a significant, positive impact on expatriate adjustment, and agreeableness is significant and positively associate with expatriate job performance.Practical implications – Organizations may be well‐served to consider expatriate personality as an important criterion for selection for overseas assignments, as successful assignments reflect on the organization in a number of ways and thus contribute to the companys global competitiveness.Originality/value – Extant research on the connection between expatriate personal...

Business Legitimacy among Business Students in the United States, Great Britain, and South Africa

This study compares attitudes toward business legitimacy in three countries. Positive attitudes toward business legitimacy exist when there is a congruence between organizational activities and societal expectations. Businesses are concerned about the extent to which negative attitudes toward business legitimacy will lead to increased government regulation. The results suggest that business students in all three countries are similar in their attitudes toward business legitimacy; however, blacks have more negative attitudes toward business legitimacy than do whites. This study resulted in the validation of a scale that can be used to measure attitudes toward business legitimacy on a cross-cultural basis. Business legitimacy is a major concern in South Africa as the predominately white business community seeks to give the emerging black majority a stake in the existing economic system.

Racioethnic Differences in Consumer Decision Making Styles

There were differences among White, African-American, and Hispanic consumers on: recreational; impulsive; price conscious; and confused by overchoice consuming. This research suggests that due to the changing demographic composition of the U.S., marketing strategists need to continuously examine possible racioethnic differences in the decision making styles of their consumers.