For Success in a Cross-Cultural Environment, Choose Foreign Executives Wisely

Arp, F. (2012), For Success in a Cross-Cultural Environment, Choose Foreign Executives Wisely, Global Business and Organizational Excellence (Wiley), 32(1), 40-50

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 Last revised: 25 Mar 2013

See all articles by Frithjof Arp

Frithjof Arp

Nottingham University Business School; Monash University - Department of Management

Date Written: October 16, 2012

Abstract

The increasing globalization of the world economy challenges multinational as well as small and medium-sized local organizations to attract and retain global talent. Academic researchers have lately turned their attention from organizational expatriate assignments to various new types of global careers, including self-initiated expatriation in geographically and culturally distant countries. Among these new global careers, foreign executives in local organizations (FELOs) are a very specific phenomenon. Highly visible and often controversial, FELOs are appointed to help organizations compete with -- and even leapfrog -- international competitors. Research shows that a dichotomy exists between the initial reason for FELO appointments and the reasons that actually make cross-cultural workplaces successful in the long term. Local organizations that appoint foreign executives without regard for contextual influences, people management skills, and capacity development do so at their peril.

Keywords: foreign executive, local organization, internationalization, management team

JEL Classification: J24, J41, O15, M12, M51, N35, F23

Suggested Citation

Arp, Frithjof, For Success in a Cross-Cultural Environment, Choose Foreign Executives Wisely (October 16, 2012). Arp, F. (2012), For Success in a Cross-Cultural Environment, Choose Foreign Executives Wisely, Global Business and Organizational Excellence (Wiley), 32(1), 40-50, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2162685

Frithjof Arp (Contact Author)

Nottingham University Business School ( email )

199 Taikang East Road
Ningbo, 315100
China

HOME PAGE: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frithjof_Arp

Monash University - Department of Management

Wellington Road
Clayton, Victoria 3168
Australia

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Abstract Views
971
PlumX Metrics