The determinants of the boundary-spanning functions of Japanese self-initiated expatriates in Japanese subsidiaries in China: individual skills and human resource management

Furusawa, M. and Brewster, C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5314-1518 (2019) The determinants of the boundary-spanning functions of Japanese self-initiated expatriates in Japanese subsidiaries in China: individual skills and human resource management. Journal of International Management, 25 (4). 100674. ISSN 1075-4253 doi: 10.1016/j.intman.2019.05.001

Abstract/Summary

Self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) who work for a subsidiary of a multinational enterprise from their country of origin and hence are familiar with both countries’ language and culture can be expected to act as boundary-spanners between the assigned expatriates sent from the parent country and host country nationals, and between the headquarters and the subsidiary. We develop a new model of boundary-spanning that encompasses both individual and organizational antecedents and validate the model using survey data from Japanese-affiliated companies in China. We find that familiarity with Chinese language and culture and the potential dual allegiance of SIEs contribute to enhancing their boundary-spanning behavior. We also find that relationships of trust among the parties concerned (social capital) and global career opportunities for such self-initiated expatriates (geocentric staffing) have positive influences on their dual allegiance. Finally, normative and systems integration of human resource management are associated with increasing levels of social capital and geocentric staffing.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/83707
Identification Number/DOI	10.1016/j.intman.2019.05.001
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Henley Business School > International Business and Strategy
Publisher	Elsevier
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