Towards Intercultural Effectiveness
in Chinese Organisations
in Southern Africa
Fungai Chigwendere
PhD Candidate
International Symposium on China in Africa. Implications for
Management – Implications for change.
Rhodes University
31st November 2013
Content
 Introduction and background
 Challenges & opportunities faced in Chinese organisations
 Implications of challenges for management
 Status of current research on management of Chinese
organisations in Africa
 Intercultural Effectiveness (IE) & history of the study of IE
 Existing approaches to Intercultural Effectiveness
 Limitations of current approaches
 A new perspective/ new approach to intercultural effectiveness.
 Aims & Objectives of the proposed study
 Research methods and techniques
Introduction & Background
China’s growing importance as an economic partner
to Africa
-
Chinese investments in key development & infrastructure projects iv
various sectors
Progressively growing trade , with for example China assuming
position of South Africa’s top trading partner
Complexity of the China-Africa relationship
-
Upstairs (bilateral, multilateral, political & economic engagement)
Downstairs level (business and community level) (Park & Alden,
2013)
Study aimed at the ‘downstairs’ level which
has so far not been well researched
Challenges faced in Chinese organisations
Both the Chinese & Africans face challenges in their
interaction within the organisation & with local
communities
For China challenges may include a harsh business
environment characterised by;
-
uncertainties of supply
-
negotiation dynamics
resolution of disputes
communication
public image
personal management (Laryea, Leiringer & Hughes , 2010)
Challenges faced in Chinese organisations
Culture Gap impacting on;
- communication, working habit, religion, orientation,
-
coexistence (Feng & Mu, 2010)
Different values & own accepted ways of management
(Universality of management approaches? (Hofstede, 1980)
Power relationships & the connection between
effectiveness & appropriateness (Jackson, 2012)
Challenges faced in Chinese organisations
The nature of the relationship (South-South)
- A new relationship differing from the NorthSouth relationship & presenting a different set
of challenges and/or opportunities
Challenges have implications for
Effectiveness and appropriateness
Response to the Challenges
What to?
Organisations need to move towards avoidance,
minimisation or effective resolution of challenges
How?
Gain a better understanding through research
Develop appropriate training & strategic interventions
to enhance effectiveness & appropriateness
Response to the Challenges
Status of current research
Very little research done
Available knowledge mainly anecdotal and depicted
negatively in the media
Either due to biases of western reporting reflecting
the policies and engagement at the upstairs level
&/or realities of the challenges faced at the
downstairs level
INTERCULTURAL EFFECTIVENESS
Intercultural Effectiveness
To be effective functioning in another culture
“ Intercultural effectiveness is the ability to minimise the
risk of failure and to enhance the individuals and the
organisations chances of success in an international
environment.”
(Center for Intercultural learning, 2011)
What is success & what does it mean to be effective
and from whose perspective?
Need to create a win/win scenario
History of the study of
intercultural effectiveness
Middle of last century
Links with intercultural communication
‘The Silent Language’ (Edward Hall, 1959)
Broadening scope - dimensions of intercultural
effectiveness (Hammer, Gudykunst, Wiseman, 1978)
Factors contributing to identified as including;
intercultural communication, establishment of interpersonal relationships,
understanding of others, adjustment to other cultures
Existing approaches to
intercultural effectiveness
(among others include;)
 Characterisation of intercultural effectiveness and the interculturally effective person e.g.
-
Cross-cultural focus on the interaction between
behavioural, affective and cognitive dimensions of IE.
(Hammer et al. 1978; Cui & van den Berg,1991; Cui and Awa, 1992)
-
Development of the Intercultural Effectiveness Scale
(IES) for evaluation of competencies critical to
interacting effectively with people who are from cultures
other than our own (Mendenhall, Stevens, Bird, Oddou & Maznevski)
 Assessment of Intercultural effectiveness in view of worker
adjustment & job performance (Cui and Awa, 1992)
 Focus is predominantly on effective intercultural communication
and is likely to come through in the study
Limitations of existing approaches
Mostly use the USA base as a reference point with
East/West studies (Liu, Volcic and Gallois, 2011)
Potentially prone culture specific interpretations of IE
which may not be similar to the African context
(Abe & Wiseman, 1983)
One sided - focusing on home country concerns only
without consideration of host country concerns
(effectiveness /appropriateness debate, Jackson, 2012)
Proposed approach
‘DUAL VIEW’ APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING
INTERCULTURAL EFFECTIVENESS TAKING BOTH
HOST & HOME COUNTRY PERSPECTIVES
INTO COGNISANCE
Study in a new South/South Context, against a backdrop of Literature
based on single view East/West perceptions potentially prone to
culture specific interpretations
HHOME COUNTRY
PERSPECTIVE
HOST COUNTRY
PERSPECTIVE
Identify Synergies & gaps that can be optimised to
enhance intercultural effectiveness
External factors may influence PERCEPTIIONS
Why study intercultural effectiveness?
Failure to address intercultural issues may result in:
Continued misunderstandings, discontent &
dissonance
Continued negative reporting in the media
Continuing difficulty in integration
Aims & Objectives of research
Develop a conceptual framework for understanding
intercultural effectiveness in a Sino-African context
through systematic case study research taking into
account limitations of existing approaches.
Objectives of the Research
 Identify and describe perceptions of intercultural
effectiveness & whether they differ between host and
home country
 Identify challenges faced by Chinese owned organisations
impacting on their ability to be effective
 Identify gaps and synergies between Chinese
management culture and host country management
culture and how these affect IE issues
Potential questions to address;
RQ. 1 In what ways do home and host country
perceptions of intercultural effectiveness differ?
RQ. 2 What challenges do Chinese organisations face
that impact on their abilities to be inter-culturally
effective?
RQ. 3 What are the gaps and synergies between
Chinese management culture and the host
management culture, and how does this impact
the ability to be inter -culturally effective?
Contribution
Contribute to the body of knowledge of intercultural
effectiveness theory
Test alternative approaches to understanding
intercultural effectiveness
Practical implications for training, which itself has
been identified as a key strategy for dealing with
many of the challenges emerging in the Sino-Africa
relationship
Research Methods & Techniques
Mixed Methods Research
Embedded design
 Qualitative dominant approach where quantitative
data collection methods provide a secondary
supportive role to enlarge the largely qualitative
research as appropriate
Research Methods & Techniques
Multiple embedded case study
Data collection through;
- In-depth interviews (semi-structured & open ended
questions. Formulated from previous research on IE and
that on Chinese and African management culture)
-
Questionnaires (drawn from qualitative data)
Documentary analysis (reports, memos, minutes of
meetings, inter-office memos, and all other materials relevant to the
maintenance of the organization )
Research Methods & Techniques
Selection of Cases
Purposeful Sampling to represent different Chinese
organisational typologies
-
2 state owned enterprises
-
2 multinational corporations (manufacturing of electronics)
Chosen due to size and potential to provide greater
representation of Chinese and African’s workers and
managers
Research Methods & Techniques
Data Analysis
 Qualitative data
– Content Analysis
– Cross - Case Comparison
Quantitative data
– Factor Analysis
Data Analysis software (NVIVO & SPSS)
Thank You!