Cultures & Institutions: country-of-origin effects in MNC “ethnocentric” staffing practices
Introduces our new article in Organization Studies on reframing our perspectives on "ethnocentric" staffing
In this study, we infuse a fresh perspective into research on global staffing – a topic that has been studied for at least four decades – by exploring the mechanisms that underly country-of-origin effects in MNCs’ use of parent country nationals (PCNs) in foreign subsidiaries’ top positions.
Although the practice is often called “ethnocentric”, our findings suggest that MNCs not only “won’t” globalize their staffing, due to their home country’s dispositional tendency to prefer PCNs, but also “can’t” globalize their staffing, due to their home country’s contextual constraints that create hurdles for communication between headquarters and subsidiaries.
- Lee H-J, Yoshikawa K, Harzing A.W. (2022) Cultures and Institutions: Dispositional and contextual explanations for country-of-origin effects in MNC “ethnocentric” staffing practices. Organization Studies, vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 497–519. Available online... - Publisher's version - Related blog post - Short video
Abstract
Although the country-of-origin effect on staffing practices of multinational corporations (MNCs) is well-known, its underlying mechanisms are under-theorized. Drawing on the cross-cultural management and comparative institutionalism literatures, we propose an overarching, theory-based framework with two mechanisms, dispositional and contextual, that might explain country-of-origin effects in MNCs’ use of parent-country nationals (PCNs) in their foreign subsidiaries’ top management teams.
The tendency of MNCs from some home countries to staff these positions with PCNs is typically labeled as “ethnocentric”, a word imbued with negative intentions referring mainly to the dispositional rationale behind this staffing choice.
However, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) of staffing practices of MNCs from ten home countries shows that both mechanisms – dispositional and contextual – have considerable explanatory power. Our methodological approach enables us to analyze conceptually distinct, yet empirically intertwined, societal-level explanations as a pattern, and thus offers a viable solution to integrate different perspectives in international and comparative research.
Related blogposts
- The bridging role of expatriates and inpatriates
- Not all international assignments are equal
- Turning ethnic similarity traps into social advantages
- Why is learning the host country language important for expatriates?
- Of bears, bumble-bees and spiders & who's in charge?
- Should we distance ourselves from the cultural distance concept?
- New research monograph: Managing expatriates in China
Related video
Copyright © 2023 Katsuhiko Yoshikawa. All rights reserved. Page last modified on Tue 7 Mar 2023 08:41
Katsuhiko Yoshikawa is Assistant Professor and Vice President at Shizenkan University and visiting researcher at Waseda University. He is interested in the impact of host and home country environment on MNCs' HRM practices and the drivers of prosocial and proactive behaviors among diverse workforce today. His articles appeared in Journal of World Business, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice. Along with his academic work, Katsuhiko works with various Japanese MNCs as a consultant.
