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This study aims to consider the transition that took place between two major telecom multinational companies (MNCs) during an acquisition in an emerging market, Laos. The differences in the orientation of top management, corporate culture and cultural distance led to the ineffective performance of the acquired telecom company.

Content analysis is used to identify the key factors in the case. The sources of data are annual reports, past interviews, market reports, and participant observation.

The ineffective performance of the acquisition was related to the lack of cultural compatibility of the new top management, a corporate culture that emphasized costs over customer satisfaction and the failure to close the cultural gap between the Middle Eastern cultural values and the Lao values.

The data are mostly secondary data with some interviews of key managers. The case study would benefit with more extensive primary data, but the company was reluctant to respond.

The match between the top management leadership style, the complementarity of the new corporate culture with the existing one, and the reduction in the gap in national cultures are all critical in the continuing successful performance of an acquisition. A strategy of localization increasing the competencies of the local managers and professionals and the adaptation of the organization processes and practices to the local context are more effective in achieving positive performance.

The change in corporate cultures from the collaborative/customer satisfaction emphasis of Tigo to a competitive/cost culture of Beeline led to a significant conflict with other telecom providers in Laos. This had performance consequences for Beeline and also the telecom sector.

This study is a unique demonstration of what happens in an acquisition of a telecom company in an emerging market. It is an interesting interplay of two major telecom companies with similar strategic choices but very different corporate culture orientations.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of cultural values and cultural adaptability of Chinese expatriates and Thais on organization performance.

The designed perceptual scale research instrument adapted from Schwartz’s instrument is used to conduct a questionnaire survey in which 180 sample Chinese expatriates and Thai coworkers participated. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and regression analysis were used to analyze the data obtained.

The authors found that cultural value variables that are significantly related to productivity are social order, openness, and tradition; while cultural adaptability variables found significantly related to productivity are open-mindedness and judgment. When organization performance is focused on innovation, cultural value variables that are found statistically significant are openness and tradition; while cultural adaptability variables that are significant include open-mindedness and personal values. Finally, when customer satisfaction is the organization performance focus, only one cultural value variable is found to be statistically significant, that is, tradition; while cultural adaptability variables that are significant are personal values and judgment.

The results of this study can be used to design new approaches and HRM practices (i.e. recruitment and training) to enhance the corporate culture and cooperation among Chinese expatriates and Thai coworkers to maximize organization performance in a new competitive environment.

This study contributes to the literature on cultural management and cultural adaptability. It empirically investigates the perception of both Chinese and Thais on cultural values influencing the performance of multinational companies. Further, the modified Schwartz’s values survey instrument used in a Thai business operating context makes it a very rare empirical study that provides insight into these issues.

Greater contribution of voluntary simplicity to sustainability may extend beyond the scope of consumption behavior. This paper aims to argue that work behavior is also important and it explores how and why personal consumption of the voluntary simplifiers relates to the way they work.

This qualitative study uses in-depth interviews to explore the consumption–work experience relationship and driving values of voluntary simplifiers. Thailand is the chosen context, as it represents an emerging economy aiming to converge economic growth and sufficiency.

The findings demonstrate that, driven mainly by contentment and integrity, simple living complements leisurely, meaningful and, most intriguingly, ethical work. In return, such work behavior provides enough earnings and fulfills the beginners, as well as the progressive and extensive simplifiers.

The consumption–work relationship model of the voluntary simplifiers provides an alternative starting point for further research and practice to tackle overconsumption, inequality, inequity and corruption – the critical challenges of sustainability.

This research takes a more complete approach to study the voluntary simplifiers. The empirical results demonstrate the greater scope of voluntary simplicity literature beyond sustainable consumption and work–life balance. Based on the consumption–work relationship driven mainly by contentment and integrity, this paper proposes meaningful and ethical work as the promising contribution of voluntary simplicity to sustainability.

The term praxis is used in this article to identify the specific relationship between theory and practice in cross‐cultural management. It denotes a commitment on the reflection of the assumptions and values underlying theory, practice and research within this field. It also implies a commitment to a more informed practice of cross‐cultural management based on this reflection and oriented to the mutual understanding of participants in cross‐cultural situations.

Introduction Vietnam is one of the new stars for foreign investment in the 1990s. As of mid‐1993, 685 projects were licensed with a total of US$6.1 billion. Major investors in Vietnam include Australia, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Japan, France, the UK and Thailand. However, almost every advanced industrial country is lined up for future projects, according to Vietnam's State Committee on Co‐operation and Investment.

It is argued that as the trend to globalisation continues and Southeast Asia becomes a major focal point for investment and the transfer of technology for export‐oriented growth, the issue of organisational culture will become more important. A perspective on the issue of culture, organisation and its implication for the management of technology is developed and a Thai case study presented.

The issues of culture and leadership in the Asian context are discussed and the cultural perspectives related to Asian management style are reviewed. A qualitative research study is presented in which two different groups of Asian managers describe their best or worst leader. The results indicate that leadership behaviours are better indicators of effective leadership than are leadership characteristics. This sample of Asian managers prefers leaders who are both task‐and people‐oriented. They prefer participation to direction.

The characteristics of cross‐cultural negotiation in the Asian context are reviewed. Findings are presented concerning an exercise in negotiation in an executive development programme in which participants were to develop a strategy of marketing a computer system to a bank. The two basic strategies of negotiation – instrumental and collaborative – are compared.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the influence of competitiveness, strategic direction (SD), and competencies on the level of globalization and technology development in Thai firms from the executive perspective.

A pilot survey of 64 respondents in executive MBA programs was employed to identify the strategic factors that influence globalization and technology development.

The analysis specified important factors linked to SD, strategic management competencies, and global actions related to globalization performance and technology development. To achieve a better global performance and business development, Thai companies should adopt global standards, select potential international partners, use cross‐national projects, and focus more on the level of globalization of their operations. Top managers in strategy or business operations in high‐performing firms perceive a significantly higher globalization performance and technology development.

The survey was limited to the perceptions of executive participants in Thailand using a survey only in English.

Thai executives need more effective strategic approaches to compete in the global marketplace and to determine the appropriate strategies to achieve a global level of performance and increased technology competence.

The paper shows that the strategic competencies and global competencies of executives play a significant role in firms' level of global performance and technology development. These competencies support effective strategies to improve the competitiveness of Thai companies on a global level.

This paper seeks to explore whether strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR), the latest stage of conceptual development in CR, is evident in real business practices.

Using Thailand as a context, the paper responds to the call for study beyond the developed economic regions. With a limited number of proactive companies in CSR in the country, this qualitative study employs in‐depth interviews supplemented with reviews of sustainability reports and other available corporate documents to explore the frontier of CSR practices in Thailand. The informants include key executives directly in charge of CSR and corporate direction in the organizations.

The assessment finds that a small group of recognized CSR leaders have started integrating CSR into their corporate strategy to gain competitive advantages, suggesting a gradual emergence of strategic CSR with various benefits. However, a mixed response from the market implies conditions for management consideration.

CSR can be viable in competitive strategy particularly in gaining a social license to operate and for corporate reputation. Nevertheless, balancing stakeholder interests should be managed with extra care. Positive stakeholder reaction in one issue may alleviate but cannot offset deeply rooted problems in another.

Based on the synthesis of several CSR models, this paper proposes a new stratification scheme to identify the stage of CSR development. The empirical results also indicate the development of strategic CSR in the context of emerging economy.