The competitive international environment of the twenty‐first century is said to require greater collaboration between the multinational corporation (MNC) units, where local employees work toward global as well as local goals. What does it take to motivate local employees to go the extra mile for the sake of the MNC as a whole? This article reports the results of a study conducted among 317 local managers at the Indian and Pakistani subsidiaries of a British MNC in the consumer products industry. Organisational identification, or a psychological bonding with the organisation, was one of several factors contributing to the willingness of local managers to exert extra effort toward organisational goals. Implications of the findings are drawn for expatriate managers who work alongside local managers, and for international human resource management.
Purpose Utilizing a paradox perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the leadership-followership dynamic in foreign firms in China, specifically, the extent to which Yin-Yang leadership behaviors of Japanese expatriates and cosmopolitanism of Chinese employees influence employee commitment.
Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through an online survey of Chinese employees who directly report to a Japanese supervisor in a Japanese subsidiary in China. Based on responses from 97 Chinese employees in three Japanese subsidiaries in China, the authors test if their cosmopolitan orientation and perceived Yin-Yang leadership behaviors of Japanese supervisors are related to employee commitment.
Findings Yin-Yang leadership and cosmopolitan followership have a positive effect on employee commitment. Further, cosmopolitanism moderates the link between Yin-Yang leadership and employee commitment such that the follower's cosmopolitanism compensates for lower levels of Yin-Yang leadership, especially a relative lack of Yin leadership behaviors.
Research limitations/implications Results suggest that Yin-Yang leadership and cosmopolitan followership work together as a two-way street of cultural adaptability to build employee commitment, highlighting the interplay between leadership and followership in multinational enterprises. Future research should attempt to further refine the Yin-Yang leadership construct, and to gain a larger sample representing multiple expatriate nationalities to corroborate the relationships found in this study.
Originality/value The study applies a context-based approach to developing culturally relevant leadership, through analyzing both the emic and etic concepts of culture in China. In doing so, the authors extend the application of paradox theories to the cross-cultural leadership literature utilizing the Yin-Yang principle, which is particularly relevant in societal contexts where rapid and dramatic change brings to the fore competing values, needs and employee preferences.
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate whether a societal context of ethnic conflict influences employee innovation behavior in the work domain and whether a collaborative conflict management style adopted by supervisors plays a moderating role.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the conflict, organizational behavior and innovation literature, the study examines the main and interaction effects of employee sensitivity to ethnic conflict, organizational frustration and collaborative conflict management style of supervisors on employee engagement with colleagues to innovate products, services and job processes. Hypotheses are tested using hierarchical regression analysis, controlling for ethnic diversity in workgroups.FindingsEmployee innovation behavior is greatest when employee sensitivity to ethnic conflict is high, organizational frustration is low and when supervisors are perceived to be highly collaborative in managing conflict, regardless of whether the workgroup is ethnically homogenous or diverse.Research limitations/implicationsThe study findings expand our knowledge of the effects of sociopolitical conflict on employee behavior and the role of collaborative conflict management. Future research can address limitations including self-reports, cross-sectional design and single country setting.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study suggest that employee innovation behavior can be enhanced through developing collaborative conflict management skills of those in leadership positions.Originality/valueThis is the first study to empirically examine the influence of ethnic conflict on employee innovation behavior and is of value to businesses operating in conflict settings.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between employee sensitivity to terrorism and employee attitudes in supply chain firms located in an environment with ongoing terrorist threat. Implications for human resource management in supply chain firms and future directions for research are discussed.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on questionnaire data collected from 898 managers in Sri Lanka. Included in the paper are manufacturing and service firms that constitute integral parts of global supply chains such as garment and textile firms, software solutions firms, and import‐export trading firms. Correlation analysis is used to examine the relationship between variables.FindingsThe results generally indicate a statistically significant negative relationship between employee sensitivity to terrorism and employee attitudes toward the organization, team, and job. Results vary by sector and industry, with a comparatively strong negative association between employee sensitivity to terrorism and employee attitudes in the service sector, particularly among employees in import‐export trading firms.Originality/valueThis paper is among the first to examine the relationship between terrorism and employee work attitudes in supply chain firms. While the direct effects of terrorism on the supply chain have been well documented, such as disruption to the physical distribution of goods, much less is known about the indirect effects of terrorism on supply chain performance.
PurposeThe purpose of this article is to propose a conceptual framework for elucidating cross‐cultural paradoxes in dispute resolution and present a case study of a hybrid process that combines aspects of interest‐based mediation and indigenous dispute resolution in order to inform the design of conflict management systems in multinational enterprises (MNEs).Design/methodology/approach– A case study approach utilizing participant observation and informant feedback is used to present an organizational intervention in the Sri Lankan subsidiary of a European MNE. Discussion of the case is framed by theories of culture and conflict and a literature review of indigenous dispute resolution in Sri Lanka.Findings– The case illustrates how one MNE developed a culturally appropriate conflict management system in its subsidiary by crafting an innovative, informal channel for managing conflict and systematically embedding it into the organization alongside its formal conflict management process.Research limitations/implications– The case study approach limits the generalizability of the results. Future research should include a larger sample of countries, organizations, and dispute resolution practices, and incorporate feedback from employees to better assess the efficacy of the intervention.Practical implications– MNEs have an untapped opportunity to develop innovative approaches for managing conflict in their subsidiaries by melding interest‐based and indigenous mediation processes to develop culturally appropriate conflict management systems.Originality/value– This paper contributes to the literatures on cross‐cultural conflict management and conflict management systems design by presenting an innovative approach to the application of hybrid dispute resolution mechanisms in MNEs. This study provides valuable insights for international managers, conflict systems design practitioners, and cross‐cultural conflict scholars.
The article presents a case study in which business leaders deal with challenging problems related to poverty, involving multiple stakeholders. This emphasizes the importance of training prospective global leaders to manage stakeholder relationships and engage in stakeholder dialogue. The authors highlight the stakeholder role played by nongovernmental organizations and include a simulation that develops stakeholder dialogue skills. They identify practical lessons and assumptions underlying business education that are not shared by all stakeholders in the context of poverty.
