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Intercultural interaction: A burden on international managers?
Author(s) -
Janssens Maddy
Publication year - 1995
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/job.4030160206
Subject(s) - multinational corporation , intercultural relations , shock (circulatory) , context (archaeology) , intercultural communication , social psychology , psychology , sociology , political science , communication , geography , medicine , archaeology , law
This study discusses the applicability of culture shock and cultural distance with respect to intercultural interaction, one of the cross‐cultural adjustment dimensions. It examines the relationship of intercultural interaction with length of time in the host country and location of the foreign assignment. This study used a sample of 162 international managers from five multinational companies. The results suggest that the culture shock hypothesis does not hold for intercultural interaction. Rather, intercultural interaction continued to increase over time. The cultural distance hypothesis is also questioned. European managers completing a foreign assignment in Europe showed less intercultural interaction than European managers in North America and Asia. The desirability of intercultural interaction is discussed in the context of the strategic balance between global integration and local responsiveness and the need for dual citizen and mediating persons.