TY - JOUR

T1 - Applying Critical Realism to the MNC

T2 - Exploring New Realities in Staffing and Expatriation

AU - Rees, Chris

AU - Smith, Chris

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - This article argues that critical realism (CR) offers an ontological position suited to understanding the dynamic relations between multinational companies (MNCs) and the complex political spaces within which they operate. After outlining the core assumptions of CR, the key arguments are elaborated through two case studies which focus on issues of staffing and expatriation. The first case concerns recent developments in the Middle East, highlighting the shifting reality of nationality-based definitions of staffing the MNC, and the second examines the internationalisation of Chinese firms, exploring the way MNCs restructure space to retain access to home-country advantages.

AB - This article argues that critical realism (CR) offers an ontological position suited to understanding the dynamic relations between multinational companies (MNCs) and the complex political spaces within which they operate. After outlining the core assumptions of CR, the key arguments are elaborated through two case studies which focus on issues of staffing and expatriation. The first case concerns recent developments in the Middle East, highlighting the shifting reality of nationality-based definitions of staffing the MNC, and the second examines the internationalisation of Chinese firms, exploring the way MNCs restructure space to retain access to home-country advantages.

KW - Chinese MNCs; critical realism; expatriation; Gulf Cooperation Council states; MNC staffing.

U2 - 10.1108/S0733-558X20160000049009

DO - 10.1108/S0733-558X20160000049009

M3 - Article

VL - 49

SP - 265

EP - 293

JO - Research in the Sociology of Organizations

JF - Research in the Sociology of Organizations

SN - 0733-558X

ER -