Temporal boundaries and expatriate staffing: Effects of parent–subsidiary work-time overlap

IF 8.9 1区 管理学 Q1 BUSINESS
Jing Yu Yang , Liang Wen , Stefan Volk , Jane Wenzhen Lu
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引用次数: 2

Abstract

By integrating the boundary-spanning perspective with the expatriate staffing literature, we explore why and how temporal boundaries between multinational enterprise (MNE) parent and subsidiary locations affect MNEs’ deployment of expatriates in foreign subsidiaries. Temporal boundaries, defined as local work-time schedule differences, delimit the degree of work-time overlap between two locations. A lack of work-time overlap between MNE parent and subsidiary locations creates significant barriers in day-to-day, remote real-time communication, resulting in increased deployment of expatriates as intermediaries by parents to overcome these barriers. Conversely, greater parent–subsidiary work-time overlap enables more remote real-time communication via digital technologies, altering the cost–benefit analysis of deploying expatriates over local nationals, consequently reducing parents’ reliance on expatriates as intermediaries. Therefore, we posit a negative relationship between parent–subsidiary work-time overlap and the expatriate ratio in a subsidiary. Further, we posit that the negative relationship is weakened by home – host country distance in terms of information and communication technology development and linguistics because technological and semantic boundaries can reduce the effectiveness of parent–subsidiary real-time communication. Empirical analyses of 22,556 subsidiaries established by 5,912 Japanese MNEs operating in 31 host countries between 1990 and 2018 support our theorizing.

时间边界与外派人员:亲子工作时间重叠的影响
通过将边界跨越视角与外派人员配置文献相结合,我们探讨了跨国企业(MNE)母公司和子公司所在地之间的时间边界为何以及如何影响跨国公司在外国子公司部署外派人员。时间边界,定义为当地工作时间计划的差异,划定了两个地点之间工作时间重叠的程度。跨国公司母公司和子公司之间缺乏工作时间重叠,这在日常远程实时沟通中造成了重大障碍,导致父母越来越多地部署外籍人士作为中间人来克服这些障碍。相反,更大的母子工作时间重叠可以通过数字技术实现更多的远程实时通信,从而改变了部署外籍人员而不是当地国民的成本效益分析,从而减少了父母对外籍人员作为中介的依赖。因此,我们假设母子公司的工作时间重叠和子公司的外派比例之间存在负相关关系。此外,从信息和通信技术发展和语言学的角度来看,我们假设母国与东道国之间的距离削弱了这种负相关关系,因为技术和语义边界会降低母子实时通信的有效性。对1990年至2018年间在31个东道国运营的5912家日本跨国公司设立的22556家子公司的实证分析支持了我们的理论。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
16.50
自引率
11.20%
发文量
73
期刊介绍: The Journal of World Business holds a distinguished position as a leading publication within the realm of International Business. Rooted in a legacy dating back to 1965, when it was established as the Columbia Journal of World Business, JWB is committed to disseminating cutting-edge research that reflects significant advancements in the field. The journal actively seeks submissions that propel new theoretical frameworks and innovative perspectives on International Business phenomena. Aligned with its domain statement, submissions are expected to possess a clear multinational, cross-border, or international comparative focus, while remaining pertinent to the study of management and organizations. JWB particularly encourages submissions that challenge established theories or assumptions, presenting pioneering or counterintuitive findings. With an inclusive approach, the journal welcomes contributions from diverse conceptual and theoretical traditions, encompassing allied social sciences and behavioral sciences. Submissions should either develop new theories or rigorously test existing ones, employing a variety of qualitative, quantitative, or other methodological approaches. While JWB primarily caters to scholars and researchers, it values contributions that explore implications for Multinational Enterprises and their management, as well as ramifications for public policy and the broader societal role of business.
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