Article
Institutional Influences on Transnational Strategic Ability: Integrating Foreign Expertise at the Headquarters of Chinese Firms
Academy of International Business (AIB) 2018 Conference, June 25-28, Minneapolis, USA.
(2018)
Abstract
Transnational strategies have been conceptualized as depending on knowledge exchange by networks of culturally and nationally diverse individuals with a mindset that stands above cultural particularism, overcomes ingrained ethnocentrism and transcends nationally entrenched perceptions (Farndale & Paauwe, 2007; Levy et al., 2007). This manuscript draws on institutional theory and a study of international knowledge workers to argue a limited ability of Chinese firms to pursue transnational strategies. The longitudinal study analyzes interview and diary data, and triangulates the perspectives of foreign knowledge workers at different hierarchy levels with those of their local peers. The analysis indicates that knowledge transfer and the integration of international expertise is constrained by organizational mindsets that manifest in utilitarian polycentric HRM approaches, bureaucratic personnel administration rather than talent management, and poor communication practices. Propositions, a model of influences and suggestions for further research are offered to help explain how the observed phenomena may be shaped by a normative institutional context.
Keywords
- Transnational strategy,
- knowledge transfer,
- geocentric,
- polycentric,
- global mindset,
- China
Disciplines
Publication Date
June 26, 2018
Citation Information
Arp, Frithjof, 2018. Institutional Influences on Transnational Strategic Ability: Integrating Foreign Expertise at the Headquarters of Chinese Firms, at 2018 Academy of International Business (AIB) Conference, June 25-28, Minneapolis, USA.