Holistic ethnography: Studying the impact of multiple national identities on post-acquisition organizations

Moore, Fiona

doi:10.1057/jibs.2011.11

Cited by 83 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In practice, we adopted a pragmatic approach making the best of opportunities we encountered in the field and crossfertilizing them with theoretical perspectives that opened up new insights and explanations. That said, our methods are consistent with criteria of data 'trustworthiness' (Lincoln & Guba, 1985): we had a 'prolonged engagement' with the research site over two separate data collection phases and 'triangulated' different sources of data, including interviews at multiple hierarchical and functional levels in order to capture diverse viewpoints (Moore, 2011). Aware of the dangers of essentializing the 'Other' (Jack & Westwood, 2006), we maintained a reflexive vigilance by drawing on our own experiences as migratory academics, bringing a variety of perspectives onto our subject matter.…”

Section: Data Collection and Analysismentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Furthermore, she conducted several ethnographic interviews (i.e. informal, non-recorded conversations, see Moore, 2011) with front-line operatives and the HR manager. Most of these were conducted before or after the informants' calls or during their lunch breaks, allowing the opportunity to capture spontaneous reactions and emotions of the front-line operatives towards their work, colleagues and customers.…”

Section: Data Collection and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Englishization in offshore call centers: A postcolonial perspective

2014

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The spread and use of English as the lingua franca of international business -'corporate englishization' -has received increasing scholarly attention in recent years but the focus has mostly been on the communication benefits and challenges of using English as a shared language inside multinationals. In this paper, we examine how English is used externally in the provision of business services and apply a postcolonial perspective to frame our analysis. Drawing on fieldwork in India within the call center units of two outsourcing organizations serving Anglo-American firms, we show how corporate englishization (1) relies on, and contributes to producing, comprador managerial cadres; (2) serves to construct a transnational intra-linguistic hierarchy of power and privilege; and (3) undercuts its own effectiveness by simultaneously eliminating and maintaining the alterity of the 'Other' through processes of mimicry. We thus show how corporate englishization does not merely overcome or, conversely, worsen transnational communication problems; it also (re-)produces colonial-style power relations between the 'Anglosphere' and the 'Rest'. Our analysis deepens our understanding of corporate englishization and opens a new avenue for postcolonial research on the role of language in international business. Our analysis also advances the field of postcolonial organization studies and has implications for international business scholarship more generally.

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Section: Data Collection and Analysismentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Data Collection and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Englishization in offshore call centers: A postcolonial perspective

2014

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“…The role of silence in the collaboration process was studied through an ethnographic approach that explored in depth the conversations between participants, using a combination of field observations, casual conversations, and interviews (Moore, 2011). Observations were conducted at two three-day workshops in the Netherlands and China, providing first-hand data about the interactions of scientists and academics involved in developing and implementing the joint centre.…”

Section: Methods and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Silence in Intercultural Collaboration: A Sino-Dutch Research Centre

Verouden¹,

Sanden²,

Aarts³

2018

AASoci

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China is widely recognized as a significant scientific partner for Western universities. Given that many Western universities are now operating in the Chinese context, this study investigates the everyday conversations in which international partnerships are collaboratively developed and implemented. In particular, it draws attention to the interpretations of the meanings attached to silence in these conversations, and how these can have unintended consequences for how these joint partnerships are accomplished. The findings come from an ethnographic case study that investigated collaboration within the context of setting up a Sino-Dutch research centre between the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and South China University of Technology (SCUT) as experienced by Dutch researchers in their interaction with their Chinese partners. The findings reveal that the Dutch researchers attached meaning to what was not said by the Chinese, interpreting it as lack of communication, resulting in judgements, uncontested trusts, and distancing that negatively influenced the achievement of common goals. Finally, the relevance of the findings is discussed for those managing communication in international academic partnerships.

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“…Having scouted the literature, we came to the conclusion that discourse as a part of "lived experience" (Witte, 2012) of the members of the business community was best suited to be investigated through an interpretive ethnographic research process. This approach has been gaining ground in IB studies (e.g., Moore, 2011;Van Maanen, 2011;Westney & Van Maanen, 2011;Witt & Redding, 2008;Yagi & Kleinberg, 2011) in response to calls for a deeper contextualization of research and the use of innovative methods in the field of IB (Tsui, 2007). Its advantage is that it is not limited to one fact gathering procedure.…”

Section: Reflections On Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Building professional discourse in emerging markets: Language, context and the challenge of sensemaking

Kuznetsov

Kuznetsova

2014

J Int Bus Stud

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Using ethnographic evidence from the former Soviet republics, this article examines a relatively new and mainly unobserved in the International Business (IB) literature phenomenon of communication disengagement that manifests itself in many emerging markets. We link it to the deficiencies of the local professional business discourse rooted in language limitations reflecting lack of experience with the market economy. This hampers cognitive coherence between foreign and local business entities, adding to the liability of foreignness as certain instances of professional experience fail to find adequate linguistic expression, and complicates cross-cultural adjustments causing multi-national companies (MNCs) financial losses. We contribute to the IB literature by examining cross-border semantic sensemaking through a retrospectively constructed observational study. We argue that a relative inadequacy of the national professional idiom is likely to remain a feature of business environment in post-communist economies for some time and therefore should be factored into business strategies of MNCs.Consequently, we recommend including discursive hazards in the risk evaluation of international projects.

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Holistic ethnography: Studying the impact of multiple national identities on post-acquisition organizations

Cited by 83 publications

References 38 publications

Englishization in offshore call centers: A postcolonial perspective

Englishization in offshore call centers: A postcolonial perspective

Silence in Intercultural Collaboration: A Sino-Dutch Research Centre

Building professional discourse in emerging markets: Language, context and the challenge of sensemaking

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