Premium
Analyzing harsh words in a sensitive setting: American expatriates in communist China
Author(s) -
Doucet Lorna,
Jehn Karen A.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of organizational behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.938
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1099-1379
pISSN - 0894-3796
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1379(199711)18:1+<559::aid-job907>3.0.co;2-h
Subject(s) - communism , china , psychology , political science , social psychology , law , politics
Abstract This paper demonstrates the use of computer‐aided text analysis to investigate a sensitive issue in organizations: hostile conflict. The context is American expatriate managers in the People's Republic of China. The text analyzed is from interviews of American expatriate managers describing conflicts with other Americans in the Sino–American joint venture and with their Chinese counterparts in the joint venture. We use interpretive categorization techniques and multidimensional scaling analysis, frequency counts and context ratings of the conflict descriptions to develop and investigate research questions regarding the use of hostile words in a sensitive setting (communist China). We discuss the disparities among the text analysis methods and why some may not be appropriate for examining organizational conflicts in foreign countries. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.