What if we focus on developing commonalities? Implications of a relational concept for transcultural management

Abstract

Organisations such as multinational enterprises (MNEs) coexist and constantly compete and cooperate in complex networks of value creation that cross geographical and cultural borders. To address the corresponding management implications, traditional theoretical concepts have often focused on national cultures, thus simplifying cultural complexity and the realities of cross-cultural cooperation. This is reflected in a prevailing problem-focused view of culture and solutions such as adaptation, adjustment, and the development of intercultural skills at an individual level. Against this backdrop, this article explores the conceptual implications of a transcultural approach to management that focuses on developing commonalities rather than on managing cultural differences. Such an approach is in line with the “relational turn” in the social sciences, which proposes a conceptual shift away from a focus on entities (e.g., nations, individuals, leaders, groups or organisations) towards a focus on continuously unfolding relations. Accordingly, transculturality emphasises the relational nature of culture itself and pursues the continuity of cooperation as its main goal. Specifically, this article develops a total of four models of transcultural management: it introduces the relational event as the unit of analysis, describes an experience-based and commonality-focused transcultural learning model, develops an approach to identify and foster cooperation corridors, and finally presents the Transcultural Management System to productively relate the global and local level of MNEs.