Overview
Globalisation and developments in communication technologies have transformed organisations all over the world. The global marketplace, including the labour market, has become increasingly diverse. The successful management of this cultural diversity hinges on how well organisations understand the manifestations of this diversity and its effects in the organisational and international business contexts.
Many of the cross-cultural research initiatives and programs undertaken by faculty in the Division are motivated by the inherent belief in the cultural causation of human and organisational behaviour across national and cultural boundaries.
The research output has provided valuable insights into understanding significant issues in cross-cultural research, and heightened awareness of its inherent complexity. Different research questions have been examined using different research methodologies, and these have produced different depths of understanding with regard to the network of antecedents, moderators, and consequences at work in cross-cultural research. Some researchers have applied the categories of a priori developed frameworks, while others have used the categories of empirically derived frameworks (e.g. from Hofstede’s seminal study of work-related values).
Projects
(1) Expatriate management in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond: An extremely active cross-cultural management research program has resulted in the development of an important five-country database (USA, Germany, Japan, Korea, and Singapore). Three sets of variables were studied - recruitment and selection, training and development, and organisational and social support - and were found to be significant for expatriate performance. Papers have been presented at the annual Academy of International Business conference in Vienna, and the Asian Academy of Management in Hong Kong in 1998. Two books will soon be published and they are funded by a grant from the Department of Statistics, Ministry of Trade and Industry. Articles on similar themes have also been published in international journals such as Human Resource Development International, and Journal of Transnational Management Development. Another researcher has examined the extent management practices are affected by the national culture of the country by analysing the work values of Singaporean and Japanese managers. A paper was presented at an international management conference in Nepal in 1998.
Progress to date: The research has resulted in a number of publications, including the following:
Progress to date: Although the research is still at an early stage, one publication from this project in the form of a book has already been identified, which will be published by Chuo University, Japan.
(3) Cross-cultural research methodology: One researcher is working with faculty and students from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE), NTU, on the comparative analysis of statistical and non-statistical techniques (factor, cluster analysis, etc. vs neural network analyses) for cross-cultural management decisions. A large international data set will be used to make the comparative analysis.
Progress to date: Based on preliminary findings, two papers were developed and published in two conference proceedings: the Academy of International Business, and IEEE. Both papers are now under review for journal publications. Other selected publications include:
Progress to date: One paper was presented at the recent Asian Academy of Management conference in Hong Kong. Another conference paper is:
Comparative research on language use by Asians and non-Asians in an institutional context is part of a second (ongoing) research project (awarded an academic research grant by NTU). In adopting a pragmatic perspective, the researcher examines the levels of directness and indirectness in relation to linguistic forms and functions.
Another stream of research that has been ongoing at the school for a number of years is concerned with what is known as the ‘New Englishes’. Studies of these new varieties of English enrich our understanding of how the English language has spread, developing new linguistic and cultural features in the countries where they have taken root. Such studies lead to a better understanding of differences in language use and fewer communication breakdowns in business negotiations and networking. Both of the researchers involved in this project focus on those features which distinguish Malaysian and Singaporean English from native-speaker Englishes like British, American, Australian or Canadian English. In particular, they are focusing on some structural and functional differences between native and non-native Englishes.
Progress to date: Articles on cross-cultural communication
research have appeared in IEBM, and papers have been presented at
the international conferences of the Association for Business Communication.
With regard to the language research, Some aspects of this project have
been presented in two conferences: the 6th International Pragmatics
Conference, and the 2nd Association for Business Communication
Asia-Pacific Communication Conference in Singapore in 1998. Articles on
related themes have appeared in Linguistics, Multilingua, and Journal
of Pragmatics. Another researcher has examined the etic dimensions
of cross-cultural communication research by analysing the convergence of
communication strategies, and the global nature of communication patterns.
This has resulted in an article that will appear in the forthcoming issue
of the Journal of Business and Technical Communication (1999).
Faculty involved:
Please contact Dr AAhad Osman-Gani