Thomas Downes and Kieran Killeen
The purpose of this paper is to explore why school districts in the USA made so little use of local sources of non-tax revenues, even when faced with declines in traditional…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore why school districts in the USA made so little use of local sources of non-tax revenues, even when faced with declines in traditional revenue as occurred during the Great Recession? The analysis uses the case of Colorado, where historically districts have made more use of alternative revenues.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for the analysis are drawn from the NCES’s Common Core of Data with administrative data to create a panel of Colorado school districts. The paper presents estimates of traditional panel models, as well as spatial panel models, that give the correlates of variation in alternative revenue for education.
Findings
As is true nationally, in Colorado school districts made no increased use of non-tax revenues in fiscal downturns, while the presence of expenditure limits does increase use, though not as might be expected. Revenues from overrides of the limits and alternative local revenues appear to be complements. Further, there is no evidence of spatial relationships for the alternative revenue sources considered.
Originality/value
This paper uses richer data than has ever been used to explore the determinants of alternative revenues, making it possible to explore relationships others could not. In addition, synthetic cohort analysis is used to generate plausible instrumental variables for passage of an override of an expenditure limitation. Further, no existing analysis of nontraditional revenues considers the possibility that use of those revenues might be spatially correlated.
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Jörg Hruby, Lorraine Watkins-Mathys and Thomas Hanke
Within the literature of global mindset there has been much discussion of antecedents. Few attempts have been made, however, to analyze the outcomes of a global mindset. Our…
Abstract
Within the literature of global mindset there has been much discussion of antecedents. Few attempts have been made, however, to analyze the outcomes of a global mindset. Our chapter undertakes a thematic analysis of global mindset antecedents and outcomes in the 1994–2013 literature. Adopting an inductive approach and borrowing methods from international business and managerial cognition studies, we map, assess, and categorize 42 empirical and 10 theoretical studies thematically. We focus on the antecedents and outcomes at individual, group, and organizational levels. We conceptualize corporate global mindset as a multidimensional construct that incorporates global mindset at the individual level and is dependent on a robust communications infrastructure strategy for its cultivation throughout the organization. Our study categorizes antecedents and outcomes by level and identifies the gaps in global mindset outcomes and firm performance for future researchers to address.
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Areeg Barakat and Faten Moussa
The purpose of this paper is to identify the variables that influence the international assignment – expatriate learning relationship and the expatriate learning – organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the variables that influence the international assignment – expatriate learning relationship and the expatriate learning – organizational learning relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper contains a literature review of the research on expatriates' learning and organizational learning
Findings
The paper provides an integrative framework that identifies the moderating variables that influence both the relationship between the expatriate international assignment and expatriate learning as well as the relationship between expatriate learning and organizational learning. In addition, this framework specifies the process by which the international assignment influences organizational learning and shows that expatriate learning mediates this relationship. Several hypotheses were generated to provide avenues for future investigation.
Research limitations/implications
The paper does not provide an exhaustive set of the moderating variables and does not focus on the interaction between situational and individual differences moderators.
Practical implications
Managers should pay attention to the selection, maintenance and repatriation of expatriates and facilitate the conditions under which expatriate learning and organizational learning can be maximized. To remain competitive, managers should engage in the continuous process of assessing the effectiveness of international assignments in enhancing expatriate and organizational learning.
Originality/value
The present research identifies the conditions that facilitate or hinder expatriate learning and organizational learning as well as the process by which international assignments influence organizational learning. Expatriate learning and organizational learning are critical for the continuous growth and competitive advantage of organizations, and, accordingly, it is imperative to study the factors and the process that influence learning in organizations, especially in response to the increasing popularity of globalization and the pressure to remain competitive.
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This conceptual paper starts from the recognition that internationalisation of business is an information‐intensive process and aims to investigate two key modes for the…
Abstract
Purpose
This conceptual paper starts from the recognition that internationalisation of business is an information‐intensive process and aims to investigate two key modes for the acquisition of knowledge: expatriates and immigrant employees.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper sets out a conceptual framework which examines nine popular modes of knowledge acquisition essential to the internationalisation process and their comparative strengths and weaknesses. This is coupled with a more intensive evaluation of the relative merits of the two strategies of expatriates and immigrant employees.
Findings
The analysis suggests that the modes of expatriates and immigrant employees can both be cost effective and yield high levels of relevant knowledge underpinning internationalisation. However, there are key differences between the two and it may be more useful to consider them as complements rather than simply substitutes. The strength of expatriates is their considerable knowledge of the home market, industry and firm. Their weakness is the need to gradually acquire overseas market knowledge. The strength of immigrant employees is their knowledge of overseas target markets. Their weaknesses are limited understanding of the home country business system, the firm and even the industry.
Research limitations/implications
The paper has several limitations. It is conceptual in nature and tentative in assessment. It does not consider all available knowledge gathering modes. To fully understand this process more research is required, particularly work that extends the narrow case approach typically used.
Practical implications
The analysis suggests that different information gathering modes offer different advantages with none clearly superior in all situations. A similar situation appears to also hold for the modes of expatriates and immigrant employees and the two modes may be more usefully considered as complements.
Originality/value
The key contribution of the paper is in evaluating these two modes from the perspective of market knowledge and diffusion.
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Tassilo Schuster, Judith Ambrosius and Benjamin Bader
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of personality and mentorship on expatriates’ psychological well-being. The authors argue that certain personality traits…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of personality and mentorship on expatriates’ psychological well-being. The authors argue that certain personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience) have positive effects on expatriates’ psychological well-being and that these personality traits enable them to derive a greater benefit from mentorship. By doing so, this study identifies for which personality traits which type of mentoring (home or host country mentor) is most beneficial.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on socioanalytic theory, the authors develop theory-driven hypotheses and test them against data of 334 expatriates.
Findings
The study shows that several personality traits as well as home country mentorship have a significant positive impact on psychological well-being, whereas host country mentorship shows no significant positive effects. Moreover, the study indicates that home and host country mentorship partially moderates the relationship between personality traits and psychological well-being.
Originality/value
Since the authors derive important implications for the selection process of expatriates as well as for the implementation of mentoring in multinational corporations, this study is of value for researchers and practitioners in the areas of human resource management and organizational studies.
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A sample of 343 Western business expatriates assigned to Hong Kong responded to a mail survey regarding usage of corporate career development activities and their extent of…
Abstract
A sample of 343 Western business expatriates assigned to Hong Kong responded to a mail survey regarding usage of corporate career development activities and their extent of international adjustment. Although such activities are targeted at the job and its context, there was no (positive) association as anticipated between career development activities and work adjustment of the expatriates. Instead, there was a significant positive relation between these activities and psychological adjustment, as measured by subjective well‐being. Implications for globalizing corporations of these findings are discussed in detail.
Western business expatriates, mostly from the USA, France, the UK and Sweden, responded to a mail survey exploring career issues and their degree of international adjustment…
Abstract
Western business expatriates, mostly from the USA, France, the UK and Sweden, responded to a mail survey exploring career issues and their degree of international adjustment. Unexpectedly, it was found that meeting career goals within the corporation does not significantly affect work adjustment, but it does have a positive impact on the other two dimensions of sociocultural adjustment, general and interaction adjustment. As predicted, it does also have a positive affect on psychological adjustment, as measured by subjective well‐being. Surprisingly, none of the other variables depicting career issues for expatriates, career development fit, wrong/ useful career move, and supportive corporate attitude to expatriation, had any significant effect on either sociocultural or psychological adjustment. These unexpected findings are discussed in detail and approaches for further research in this area are recommended.
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In 1899 the medical practitioners of Dublin were confronted with an outbreak of a peculiar and obscure illness, characterised by symptoms which were very unusual. For want of a…
Abstract
In 1899 the medical practitioners of Dublin were confronted with an outbreak of a peculiar and obscure illness, characterised by symptoms which were very unusual. For want of a better explanation, the disorder, which seemed to be epidemic, was explained by the simple expedient of finding a name for it. It was labelled as “beri‐beri,” a tropical disease with very much the same clinical and pathological features as those observed at Dublin. Papers were read before certain societies, and then as the cases gradually diminished in number, the subject lost interest and was dropped.
Avan R. Jassawalla, Nader Asgary and Hemant C. Sashittal
Sending key managers on foreign assignments is common practice for multinational and international firms. Although firms spend considerable resources to support expatriates, the…
Abstract
Sending key managers on foreign assignments is common practice for multinational and international firms. Although firms spend considerable resources to support expatriates, the return they receive remains disappointing. Current research suggests that expatriates are very likely to cut short their visit, and/or return to dissatisfying careers. Effective mentoring promises to remedy some of these problems, yet few firms seem to implement the mentor concept in practice. Based on depth‐interviews of expatriates, we delineate the mentor’s role both in the home and host office. We also develop a checklist of activities for home‐office mentors.
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Dana B. Minbaeva and Snejina Michailova
Research on multinational corporation (MNC) knowledge transfer has argued continuously for the behavior of knowledge senders to be a determinant of knowledge transfer. Although…
Abstract
Research on multinational corporation (MNC) knowledge transfer has argued continuously for the behavior of knowledge senders to be a determinant of knowledge transfer. Although the importance of disseminative capacity regarding knowledge transfer has been illustrated in numerous conceptual studies, substantial empirical support is largely absent. Based on previous studies, re‐operationalizes disseminative capacity as being dependent upon the ability and the willingness of organizational actors to transfer knowledge where and when it is needed in the organization. Using the context of expatriation, suggests that MNCs may apply different mechanisms depending on whether they want to develop expatriates' ability or willingness to transfer knowledge. Suggests that MNCs may enhance expatriates' willingness to transfer knowledge through the employment of long‐term expatriate assignments, whereas expatriates' ability to transfer knowledge may be increased through their involvement in temporary assignments such as short‐term assignments, frequent flyer arrangements, and international commuting. Tests the hypotheses empirically based on data from 92 subsidiaries of Danish MNCs located in 11 countries.