Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior - Soltanieh ...

616 M IRIAM E REZ
FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL WORK CONTEXTS
For many years, the dominant theories of organizational behavior were mostly Western/
American, generated and validated on Western samples of managers and employees, working
in Western organizations.
In the late 1980s, the fierce competition between Japan and the USA called attention
to cultural issues. During this period, articles in business papers reflected fear of Japan,
attempting to understand how Japan was growing, why it was dangerous, and what could
be done about the supposed threat to Western hegemony (Smith, 1990 ). Over the years,
an increasing number of American managers found themselves negotiating with the
Japanese, marketing their products in Japan, offering services to foreign customers, and
managing operations outside their home countries. As a result, the popularity of guidebooks
on how to do business with the Japanese and other foreign countries grew. The demand for
such books testified to the fact that managers recognized their lack of knowledge and
competence in managing across cultural borders.
By the late 1990s, the competition between companies situated in different cultures
turned from conflict to cooperation in the form of international mergers and acquisitions,
joint ventures, and business alliances. A wedding ceremony becomes a common metaphor
for international mergers, with a question mark overhanging these unions: will they last,
or unravel?
Cooperation rather than competition requires a better understanding of one ’s international
partner. It is not enough to merely know of one’s collaborator but rather the need
Global Integration
and Interpersonal
Responsiveness
Global Culture
National Culture
Organizational Culture
Group Culture
Individual
Cultural selfrepresentation
Bottom
Up
Cultural
Interface
Top
Down
FIGURE 33.1 A multi - level model of culture (based on Erez and Gati, 2004)