International Business Program Copyright (c) 2013 Boise State University All rights reserved. http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub Recent documents in International Business Program en-us Thu, 14 Feb 2013 01:47:50 PST 3600 It Takes Two to Tango: Entrepreneurship and Creativity in Troubled Times—Vietnam 2012 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/9 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/9 Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:14:15 PST This study focuses on perceived values of entrepreneurship and creativity within a turbulent environment. The initial hypothesis is that a typical entrepreneurial process carries with its "creativity-enabling elements". In a normal situation, businesses focus on optimizing their resources for commercial gains, thus perceptions about values of entrepreneurial creativity are usually vague. However, in difficult times, the difference between survival and failure may be creativity. This paper examines many previous findings on entrepreneurship and creativity, and suggests a highly possible “organic growth” of creativity in an entrepreneurial environment and reinforcing value of entrepreneurship when creativity power is present.

In other words, the authors see each idea reinforcing the other. The authors survey Vietnamese firms during the chaotic year of 2012 to learn about the entrepreneurship‐creativity nexus”, looking at influential cultural values, namely risk tolerance, relationship, and dependence on resources — to assess how they influence entrepreneurial decisions. A set of 137 qualified responses was obtained for this statistical examination. A categorical data analysis is performed to confirm that creativity and entrepreneurial spirit could hardly be separate, for both entrepreneurial and accomplished companies. Although the most important factor during implementation is still "relationship", business people are increasingly aware of the need of creativity/innovation in troubled times.

]]> Nancy K. Napier et al. Getting to the Real Story: What Vietnamese Business People Wish Foreigners Understood About Doing Business in Emerging and Transition Countries Like Vietnam – BEFORE They Start http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/8 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/8 Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:41:27 PDT Knowledge sharing typically examines organizational transfer of knowledge, often from headquarters to subsidiaries, from developed country sites to emerging country sites, or from host to local employees. Yes, recent research, such as Prahalad's Bottom of the Pyramid, raises the question of reverse transfer of knowledge, or whether knowledge could and should be transferred from local sites to home country sites within an organization. As several emerging economies build their capabilities in knowledge, research and development, marketing, and the like, it only makes sense to consider what type of knowledge and how to transfer it in reverse or bi-directional manners.

This reflection paper takes one step back in the process. Rather than focusing on what knowledge transfer may make sense within an organization, we consider, through a series of small case studies and experience, what types of knowledge are important for foreigners to know at the initial stages of engagement abroad as they consider whether to do business in an emerging country.

]]> Nancy K. Napier et al. Gang Rules: Creativity in Unexpected Places http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/7 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/7 Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:41:01 PST Reports how a group of people from very different types of jobs (jail deputies, dancers, software engineers, football coaches, actors and advertising executives) came together to form a 'gang' that fosters the members' creativity and helps to find solutions to organizational problems. Describes how the initial group formed after being contacted as part of a research project into creativity, the others joining when they heard about the group and how well it worked. Discusses how group members work together to spark creativity and innovation, and learn from each other. Sets out the rules that the group has derived from its experience for developing similar networks or groups. Lists these rules, explains their significance and gives examples of the learning that group members transferred to their organizations.

]]> Nancy K. Napier The Risk of Adopting Disruptive Technology to Gain Global Competitive Advantage http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/6 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/6 Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:51:35 PST Nancy K. Napier Dealing with Cultural Differences Within an Organization: The Aha Experience http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/5 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/5 Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:39:04 PST Scholars and managers have long worried about a future talent shortage of employees and leaders able to act effectively across cultures in global organizations. One of the biggest challenges is helping employees learn to develop cultural sensemaking, or an ability to understand and make sense of the experiences they encounter when they work with people from various cultural backgrounds. This chapter offers a framework to help organizations and their employees "speed up" the process of understanding cultural differences and achieving cultural sensemaking within global organizations. The "aha experience" model integrates research on cross-cultural communication with that in creativity and insight to help organizational participants use insight to learn rapidly and solve intercultural problems in innovative ways.

]]> Nancy K. Napier et al. Improving the Probabilities of Success of Expatriate Managers in the Global Organisation of the 21st Century http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/4 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/4 Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:24:25 PST As globalisation begins to accelerate, the need for personnel to staff organisations will reach a critical juncture. Two issues appear to be heading for conflict: 1) the need for adequate supply of global managers; 2) the need to change the staffing regimen of the past to meet the needs of the evolving global organisations. While there has been an ongoing debate in the academic literature about the effectiveness and the rate of success of expatriate managers, it is increasingly clear that that selection, training/development, compensation, performance appraisal of expatriate managers will have to change to reflect current environmental/political circumstances. We address the modifications that need to be made to the historic/traditional concept of expatriation to include creative solutions and means of implementing them as a way for expatriate managers to fit the staffing requirement of the 21st century global organisation. One might say, that it could be 'a last ditch' effort to improve the probabilities of success of expatriate managers in global organisations.

]]> Michael Harvey et al. Interpreting Dual Career Couples’ Family Life-Cycles: Identifying Strategic Windows of Global Career Opportunity http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/3 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/3 Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:45:17 PDT Dual career families are more resistant to undertaking expatriate assignments primarily due to the difficulties associated with the trailing spouse not being able to find a job overseas and the potential net financial loss for the couple. As reported in other research, the failure of spouse or family to adjust is the number one reason for expatriate failure, therefore, a model for selecting expatriate candidates that accommodates the dual career family should help international human resource managers. This paper examines some of the particular gender and sociological issues surrounding the dual career expatriate couple, such as family and career Life-Cycles, to identify ‘strategic windows’ of opportunities for relocating expatriates overseas. Several selection methods based on self selection, such as accomplishment review, plus corresponding appraisals by management are proposed as an alternative to the present dual career couple dilemma. The significance of this research lies in the necessity for organisations to be primarily aware of rapidly changing recruiting environments and to be willing to undertake the changes allowing for greater effectiveness of HRM process in global environments.

]]> Michael Harvey et al. Mentoring Global Dual-Career Couples: A Social Learning Perspective http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/2 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/2 Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:31:26 PDT This paper explores the dimensions and means to implement a global dual-career expatriate couple mentoring program. The rationale is that learning from an experienced mentor mitigates the complexity of global assignments, leading to more successful completion of overseas assignments. We explored the impact of such mentoring programs on "nontraditional" global managers, along with their trailing spouses. Social learning theory was used as the foundation for the development of such a mentoring program. To add to the contextual understanding of global assignments imposed on global dual-career couples, we explored the effectiveness of mentoring by investigating temporal (before, during, after expatriation) and gender-related dimensions. Further, we analyzed the level of mentor involvement (personal, organizational, and professional) regarding psychosocial and career development.

]]> Michael Harvey et al. The End of a "Period": Sustainability and the Questioning Attitude http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/1 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/internationalbusiness_facpub/1 Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:26:17 PDT This article reports on sustainability in education related to student attitudes and how they can be empowered to participate in sustainable change. The article discusses how educators can instill the practice of questioning into students so that they can pursue lifelong learning and self-discovery. This paradigm shift is discussed in relation to the role of sustainability in business and management. Information is also provided on educational curricula, business education, scientific inquiry, and human and social capital.

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