Beliefs on “avoidant cultures” in two French multinational corporations

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the trajectory of cultural stereotypes on Uncertainty Avoidance emergent from two French multinational corporations. The exploration of respondents' comparisons of their own culture with other cultures illustrates that cultural stereotypes are derived from structural conditions that had developed over time, but came to be (mis)attributed to innate and prevalent cultural habits. Design/methodology/approach -Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources, characterized by qualitative methodologies. Primary data respondents were predominantly ethnic Chinese Singaporeans, and secondary data respondents were predominantly French. In-depth interviews were introduced in three phases. Findings -The stereotype of the "uncertainty avoidant" Chinese Singaporean employees was employed by the top manager in one of the case studies (ECI) to lend legitimacy to the employees' exclusion from top management positions. The converse argument was made that "uncertainty avoidance" is absent among the French, who are hence more qualified as ECI top managers. Both claims were unfounded in this inquiry. Further evidence points to structural factors mediating employee behavior. Research limitations/implications -Structural factors were found to lend greater credibility in accounting for employee behaviors outlined in this study, more so than cultural ones. Future research surfacing complementary statistical insights will provide more concrete and representative evidence to this exploratory inquiry. Originality/value -An alternative view of Uncertainty Avoidance through a structural account is proposed, based on evidence from qualitative inquiries.

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