Dynamics of Human Resource Strategies and Cultural Orientations in Multinational Corporations

The search for new market opportunities in order to expand operations has been on the increase globally, and organizations are progressively pouring their resources into these expansions probably because of the huge turnover and return on investment derived from new market explorations. Multinational corporations (MNCs) that seek the market expansions in other developing countries transfer specific advantages and benefits to the emerging markets in order to operate effectively. The MNCs are required by law to comply with the legal obligations, local regulations, and cultural adaptations in the bid to transfer specific advantages. The situation becomes more complex because of the different cultures in different countries. New strategies are introduced to resolve the new challenges that each new market entrance offers. These strategies pose tremendous risk to expanding markets and their operations, especially to developing markets. Recommendations are suggested to HRM practitioners and scholars, and issues are considers for future research.

Collective Reactions to Epidemic Threat: Attachment and Cultural Orientations Predict Early COVID-19 Infection and Mortality Rates and Trajectories

Hypotheses on culture-level attachment and individualism/collectivism relationships with COVID-19 infection and death rates during a period at the beginning of the epidemic were tested in data from 53 countries and 50 U.S. states. Results from multilevel growth curve analyses showed group-average anxious attachment predicted a lower initial number of cases and deaths cross-culturally and in the United States, while avoidant attachment predicted a higher initial number of COVID-19 infections in the United States and a higher initial number of deaths in both studies. Yet, during this period, culture-level anxious attachment was associated with a higher growth rate of infections and deaths, while a lower growth rate of infections and deaths was observed in countries and U.S. states with higher individualism and avoidance. The research provides new insights into attachment and culture relationships and points to different mechanisms that may explain initial and growth rate trajectories at the beginning of the epidemic.

Sustainability Psychology of Disruption: Attitude towards Water Purification Technology Can Be Predicted by Cultural Value Orientation and Personality Traits

The clean water crisis, particularly drinking water, is an issue that is strongly tied to water sustainability. The availability of disruptive technology that is cheaper and easy to use, such as a water purifier, is one answer to the ongoing crisis. Unfortunately, a disparity exists in the attitudes of Indonesia’s society toward this technology. Five cultural orientations are set as predictors, each hypothesized as able to predict such attitudes as mediated by relevant personality traits. This study applied a correlational-predictive design toward 244 individuals (112 males and 132 females, Mage = 23.766 years old, SDage = 6.196 years) residing in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital city. The main results were: (1) uncertainty avoidance can predict attitudes toward water purification technology through the conscientiousness trait; (2) power distance is unable to predict attitudes through neuroticism; (3) collectivism can predict attitudes through agreeableness; (4) masculinity is unable to predict attitudes through extraversion; and (5) long-term orientation can predict attitudes toward water purification technology through the openness trait. Prior studies have generally employed culture and personality as two separate predictors, yet this study might be the first in setting culture and personality as socio-psychological processes that shape a person’s attitude toward water purification technology in a single theoretical model.

The Role of Collectivism–Individualism in Attitudes Toward Compliance and Psychological Responses During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study examined the role of individual differences in horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism, trust and worries, and concerns about COVID-19 in predicting the attitudes toward compliance of health advice and psychological responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese university students (N=384, 324 female) completed measures of individualism and collectivism, trust, attitudes toward compliance, and psychological responses to the pandemic. Results showed that not only vertical collectivist orientation but also horizontal individualist orientation significantly predicted higher willingness to comply, whereas vertical individualist orientation significantly predicted lower willingness to comply. Vertical individualist and vertical collectivist orientations predicted higher psychological response in terms of distress, anxiety, and depression, while horizontal collectivistic orientation significantly predicted less psychological problems. Implications of the effect of individual-level cultural orientations on attitudes toward public health compliance and psychological well-being during global health crises are discussed.

Transnational Spaces in Amitav Ghosh’s The Circle of Reason

This essay maps the unmapped nuances of transnational/cultural spaces in Amitav Ghosh’s debut novel, The Circle of Reason (1986; 2008) which underscores the inter-territorial itinerary of Alu, the protagonist, who after being accused of being a terrorist, runs from Lalpukur, near Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Goa to Al-Ghazira, a fictional gulf-state and finally to Algeria. The novel, Bildungsroman in nature and thematic treatment, poignantly deals with James Clifford’s idea of ‘assimilation’ (of) / ‘travelling’ cultures, geo-political boundaries and hybridization of language. The rationale of the paper is to deconstruct the binaries—tradition and modernity; oriental and occidental cultures; and emigration and immigration, which are, to me, the themes of the narrative of the novel. Ghosh has dexterously intertwined the cultural matrix of different spaces in the novel to show how in this age of mobility, open economy and transnational migration, transcultural awareness is all to value. This essay also traces the trajectory of mobility in the age of fluidity and underpins patterns of movement which affect cultural orientations, sensibilities, and, consequentially, creative expressions.

Biculturalism and Self-Esteem: Differential Associations Based on Cultural Domain

Acculturation is multidimensional in that it encompasses both heritage and dominant cultural orientations, and it can take place across multiple domains; therefore, biculturalism, an acculturation strategy involving strong orientations to both heritage and dominant cultures, can also occur for the domains of behaviors and practices, values and beliefs, and cultural identity. The current study is the first to compare the relations between biculturalism and self-esteem across these three cultural domains. Mexican American undergraduate students ( N = 219; Mage = 18.82 years, SD = 1.09), who were primarily women (72.15%) and born in the US (81.74%), responded to an in-person survey. We found that biculturalism is differentially associated with personal and collective self-esteem depending on the domain, with stronger associations for bicultural behaviors and weaker associations for bicultural values. Our findings highlight the importance of recognizing the multidimensionality of biculturalism in theory, research, and practice.

A Cultural Orientation Approach to Work Orientation: Mongolian Workers’ Jobs, Careers, and Callings

Culturally held beliefs about the self and its relations with others affect the way individuals view their work. In this study, we examined the associations between individualism-collectivism and the three work orientations (i.e., viewing work as a job, a career, or a calling). We also investigated whether the positive effects of a calling orientation can be generalized to a developing eastern country, Mongolia. Using a sample of 352 Mongolian workers, we found that those endorsing horizontal collectivism tended to view their work as a calling more than as a job or a career. Mongolians with a calling orientation reported having better satisfaction with job, salary, and life, more work meaningfulness, and less turnover intention than those viewing work as a job or a career. The results suggest that cultural orientations and work orientations are intertwined, and the positive roles of a calling orientation are generalizable to Mongolia.