Cross-Cultural Management

Culture is something socially constructed and historically infused in people’s beliefs, perceptions, and behavior. It has been defined as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another” (Hofstede 1980). Since business is made by people, all organizational activities, from leadership to decision-making, are somehow impacted by culture. Cross-cultural management is the group of strategies and policies, usually adopted by international or multinational firms, aiming to improve the coordination and cooperation among employees and between staff and external business actors that embody different behavioral norms and interpersonal expectations due to their respective national cultures. The basic assumption of cross-cultural management is that there is the potential of misunderstandings in the context of relationships between individuals and organizations from differing cultural backgrounds. From the 1970s to the 1990s, culture was described as a barrier to interaction and source of frictions. Yet, recently, the idea of culture as a resource of organizational learning and competitive advantage also emerged. Companies that leverage from their multicultural workforce can better satisfy different clients and speed up knowledge transfers. Therefore, the goal of cross-cultural management studies is to help identify the characteristics of particular cultures, make comparisons, and provide insights on how to conduct the cross-cultural interactions to both avoid conflicts and get benefits from the correct handling of cultural differences

Selling, resistance and reconciliation: A critical discursive approach to subsidiary role evolution in MNCs

Studies of political dynamics between multinational corporation (MNC) parents and subsidiaries during subsidiary role evolution have largely focused on control and resistance. This paper adopts a critical discursive approach to enable an exploration of subtle dynamics in the way that both headquarter (HQ) and subsidiaries subjectively reconstruct their independent-interdependent relationships with each other during change. We draw from a real-time qualitative study of a revealing case of charter change in an important European subsidiary of an MNC attempting to build closer integration across European country operations. Our results illustrate the role of three discourses – selling, resistance and reconciliation –in the reconstruction of the subsidiary-parent relationship. From this analysis we develop a process framework that elucidates the important role of these three discourses in the reconstruction of subsidiary roles, showing how resistance is not simply subversive but an important part of integration. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the micro-level political dynamics in subsidiary role evolution and how voice is exercised in MNCs. This study also provides a rare example of discourse-based analysis in an MNC context advancing our knowledge of how discursive methods can help to advance international business (IB) research more generally

Ethnic minority entrepreneurship: an examination of Pakistani entrepreneurs in the UK

This paper discusses the findings from a pilot study which forms part of a larger,on-going study considering the nature of family dynamics in ethnic minority-owned family businesses based in the UK. The paper explains the cultural theoretical framework for the study and highlights some of the cultural aspects identified in one Pakistani family business.Ethnic minority entrepreneurs, including those of Pakistani, Indian, Asian andCaribbean descent, are making significant contributions to UK economicdevelopment. Previous studies (JEMS 27(2), 241–258, 2001; http://ssrn.com/abstract=1496219, 1990) have shown that in the UK, the number of ethnic minority start-ups is high compared to other groups. However, the contribution of migrant entrepreneurs has been largely neglected by both entrepreneurship researchers (EURS 11(1), 27–46, 2004; EPGP 7(1), 153–172, 1989) and family business researchers.The unit of study for the investigation is the family. Investigations where the family is the unit of study are relatively unusual in the family business literature, and there have been recent calls for more studies of this type (FBR 22, 216–219, 2009). This study extends the work of (IJEBR 10(1/2), 12–33, 2004) by looking in depth at the impact of culture and family on entrepreneurial aspirations in the context of UK-based, Pakistani, family-owned businesses.The pilot study sought to determine the entrepreneurial nature of Pakistani familybusinesses based in the UK, focusing particularly on the cultural aspects of thefamily in order to understand the differences between the Pakistani and UKcontexts.This study contributes to our knowledge as it is, as far as the authors are aware, the first case study to focus on the family in a Pakistani family business in the UK SME sector. It not only explores the cultural and individual struggles experienced by the brothers in the family but also exposes the extreme work-life imbalance that exists in small, family-run businesses and demonstrates the effects that this has on all involved. It offers a unique insight into the business culture and personal culture in a Pakistaniowned family firm, thereby casting light on an aspect of British Pakistani life which is currently under-researched