Volume 29, Issue 5, 2020
DOI: 10.24205/03276716.2020.1038
Employees Perspectives of the Determinants of Corporate Culture in Western-based Multinational Corporations Operating in China
Abstract
The culturally diverse workforce in Multinational companies (MNC) makes it challenging to maintain a unified vision of the corporate management culture across all the MNC’s subsidiaries. This study examined the determinants of the corporate culture of Western-based MNC in China as well as reviewed the perspectives of Chinese and Foreign employees regarding their level of adaptation to the corporate management culture within the MNC. Five determinants of corporate management culture for MNCs were identified. These include workplace-related elements, corporate image, and strategy, vision and values, development and rewards, as well as community and task accomplishment. The results also show that similarities and differences exist between Chinese and foreign staff's level of adaptation to the corporate culture in the same MNC operating in China. It is concluded that even within the same MNC, Chinese nationals and foreign nationals interpret the corporate culture differently, and also foreign nationals find it harder to adapt than do Chinese nationals.
Keywords
Western-based companies, corporate culture, cross-cultural management, and multinationals