Multiple Interpretations of “National Culture” and the Implications for International Business: The Case of Taiwan

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Abstract

This paper considers the implications for international business of cases whereby a country may have two, or more, conflicting interpretations of its “national culture”. A case study of the different ways in which Taiwanese self-initiated expatriates of the benshengren and waishengren social categories use their status as “Taiwanese” to do business in London suggests that the varying interpretations which people of the same national origin and ethnic group have of their “national culture”, as a symbol of identity, affects the social resources they can use. The paper concludes by considering new directions for studying national culture in international business, and for re-evaluating earlier research.
Original languageEnglish
Article number101128
Pages (from-to)1-13
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of World Business
Volume55
Issue number5
Early online date10 Jul 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2020

Keywords

  • International HRM, Culture, Identity, Ethnicity, Networks, Expatriates

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