Saba Colakoglu

Cultural distance, expatriate staffing and subsidiary performance: The case of US subsidiaries of multinational corporations

This study examines the relationship between cultural distance and the use of parent country expatriates in the wholly-owned US subsidiaries of 52 multinational corporations. This study also investigates the link between the use of expatriates and subsidiary performance as a function of cultural distance. Testing hypotheses based on transaction costs theory, our results suggest that firms rely on a greater number of parent country expatriates when they are culturally distant from the subsidiary (i.e. the United States). This study further demonstrates the bounded rationality problem faced by multinational corporations: cultural distance moderates the relationship between expatriate staffing and subsidiary performance such that a higher ratio of parent country expatriates is related to lower subsidiary performance, particularly in cases when cultural distance is high.

Towards a conceptual framework for the relationship between subsidiary staffing strategy and subsidiary performance

Staffing key management positions at host country subsidiaries is a strategic challenge for most MNEs. While previous research in this domain explored the antecedents of MNE subsidiary staffing decisions, strategic outcomes of different staffing patterns (e.g., using parent, host, or home country nationals) have been mostly overlooked. Drawing from the resource-based view of the firm, we develop a theoretical model that explains the links between different strategies for staffing key management positions in host country subsidiaries and the performance of those subsidiaries in their host markets and within their MNE networks. Further, we propose contingencies that moderate the relationship between subsidiary staffing strategy and host country and MNE network performance.

Examining cross-cultural and individual differences in predicting employer reputation as a driver of employer attraction

This study explores cross-cultural and individual differences in predicting employer reputation as a driver of organizational attraction. Controlling for occupational and generational differences, this study examines the importance of employer reputation when choosing an employer among graduate engineering students in nine countries. At the cultural level, the impact of two cultural syndromes of individualism vs collectivism and verticalness vs horizontalness is examined. At the individual level, the influence of their needs for power and achievement is examined. Results suggest that, at the cultural level, collectivism and, at the individual level, need for power and achievement are related to the importance attached to employer reputation. In practice, companies should consider crafting their recruitment message to fit the cultural norms of the country where they are recruiting and also encourage their recruiting staff members to tailor their messages to fit the candidates they are trying to attract. L’examen des différences interculturelles et individuelles en vue de prédire la réputation de l’employeur en tant que moteur de son attractivité Paula Caligiuri, Saba Colakoglu, Jean-Luc Cerdin et Mee Sook Kim Cette étude explore les différences interculturelles et individuelles en vue de prédire la réputation de l’employeur en tant que moteur de l’attractivité de ce dernier. Cette étude examine l’importance de la réputation de l’employeur chez des étudiants sortant d’école d’ingénieurs de neuf pays différents auxquels se pose le choix d’une entreprise. Nous explorons, au niveau culturel, l’impact de deux syndromes culturels, individualisme / collectivisme et verticalité / horizontalité. Puis, au niveau individuel, nous examinons l’influence des besoins de pouvoir et de réussite. Les résultats suggèrent que le collectivisme, au niveau culturel, et le besoin de pouvoir et de réussite, au niveau individuel, sont liés à l’importance attachée à la réputation de l’employeur. Dans la pratique, en matière de recrutement, les entreprises devraient, d’une part, penser à communiquer de telle sorte que leurs messages répondent aux normes culturelles du pays dans lesquels elles cherchent à recruter et, d’autre part, encourager leurs conseillers en recrutement à adapter leurs messages aux candidats qu’ils cherchent à attirer.

Teaching Organizational Culture Using a Projective Technique: Collage Construction

Although the topic of “organizational culture” is an integral part of syllabi across a wide range of core business classes such as Principles of Management, Organizational Behavior, and Human Resource Management, few experiential exercises exist that can enhance student understanding and learning of different layers of organizational culture. In this article, the authors describe their experimentation with the use of a qualitative and projective research technique—collage construction—to teach the topic of organizational culture to business students. Although this projective technique has traditionally been used in the consumer research and advertising domains to tap into consumers’ inner feelings, thoughts, and values, the authors provide evidence from business student evaluations that this technique can also be useful in understanding abstract organizational phenomena such as organizational culture in a classroom context.

Subsidiary-level outcomes of expatriate staffing: an empirical examination of MNC subsidiaries in the USA

This study examines the relationship between expatriate staffing levels and subsidiary performance among the US subsidiaries of foreign companies headquartered in Europe and Japan. Expatriate staffing is hypothesised to be indirectly related to subsidiary performance – through its differential impact on four globally versus locally desired outcomes. Drawing from the MNC strategy literature, it is argued that expatriate staffing in subsidiaries will be positively related to subsidiaries’ degree of shared vision with and the amount of knowledge transferred from their parent companies, but negatively related to their ability to become locally responsive to and their level of local adaptation to host markets. Based on liability of foreignness theory, these four intermediate mechanisms are proposed to be positively related to subsidiary performance. Results support some of the hypotheses and offer several new insights into the international staffing literature.