Multinationals are Multicultural Units: Some Indications from a Cross-Cultural Study
Nantawan Noi Kwanjai & Friso den Hertog
#2008-018
This paper makes a case for the value of looking at culture and
multinationals from a management and organizational perspective because
it is one which could direct greater attention towards culture as a
significant factor in future investigation on multinational
corporations. We attempt to illustrate that multinationals are
fundamentally multicultural units in more ways than one. This paper is
based on selected materials from a qualitative study of culture and
learning in organizations and management. The study investigated four
selected Dutch firms in Thailand using evidences collected through
observations and open-ended interviews. All evidences were analysed
under grounded theory procedure. Parts of the evidences and theorization
from the study are presented in this paper, which begins with two
cultural riddles from one of the cases as a backdrop for subsequent
discussions. Following the riddles is an abridge version of the key
finding of the study-a grounded theory of cross-cultural intelligence.
Then the two riddles are revisited, this time to illustrate how the
proposed theory could illuminate an understanding of their covert
meanings vis-a-vis culture and learning in multinationals. Last, we
reinstate how our study and its theoretical and empirical findings can
elucidate the central thesis that multinationals are essentially
multicultural units.
Keywords: case study, culture, cultural intelligence, multinationals,
Netherlands, Thailand
JEL codes: F23, M16
UNU-MERIT Working Papers
ISSN 1871-9872