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MGT 310: Cross Cultural Management: Articles / Expat training programs

Created by Dana Gordon, Acting Business & Economics Librarian, Spring 2010; latest revision by Terrence Bennett, Fall 2024

Finding Journals at TCNJ

DOES THE TCNJ LIBRARY HOLD A JOURNAL YOU NEED?  FIND OUT HERE.

Find videos about non-US business culture

Search Academic Video Online (AVON), a TCNJ Library database, for videos about workplace culture in your target country. Some of these may be suitable to include in your team's in-class presentation. Some examples include Singapore: First Meetings, Working with the Germans, French Meetings, South Africa Business Culture, and Latin America: Culture & Business.

Finding Articles

Find articles from business publications (about expatriate training; expatriate experiences; and more)

ABI / Inform Global:  https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/abiinform-global/

  • Change search interface from Basic to Advanced
  • Search for keywords and phrases (in Citation and document text), then use suggested search terms (or Subject terms from relevant results) to refine search
  • Examples:
    • business etiquette as a subject AND china as a location
    • expatriate employees as a subject
    • expatriate employees as a subject AND repatriation as a subject
  • Use the asterisk (*) as a "wildcard" character.  "Expat*" retrieves expat or expatriate

Sample results:

Paludi, M. I., Barragan, S., & Mills, A. (2021). Women CEOs in Mexico: Gendered local/global divide and the diversity management discourse. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 17(1), 127-146. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/cpoib-08-2018-0071

Shortland, S., & Porter, C. (2020). Unlocking inhibitors to women's expatriate careers: Can job-related training provide a key? Journal of Global Mobility, 8(1), 85-105. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JGM-10-2019-0051

Business Source Premier: https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/business-source-premier/

  • Change search interface from Basic Search to Advanced Search.
  • Search for keywords and phrases, then use Subject terms from relevant results to refine search
  • Examples:
    • business etiquette as a subject AND China as a geographic term
    • employment in foreign countries as a subject AND expat* as a term

Sample results:

David, E. M., Volpone, S. D., & Nandialath, A. M. (2021). Fostering longevity attitudes in women expatriates: the role of general and targeted types of organizational support. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 32(18), 3833–3861. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tcnj.edu/10.1080/09585192.2019.1640766

Sahakiants, I., & Dorner, G. (2021). Using social media and online collaboration technology in expatriate management: Benefits, challenges, and recommendations. Thunderbird International Business Review, 63(6), 779–789. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tcnj.edu/10.1002/tie.22233

Note: You can browse postings from Harvard Business Review about cross-cultural management (and other related topics) online at https://hbr.org/topics. Only limited full-text access is available for non-subscribers to this site, but you can access all articles from the print version of the Harvard Business Review (from 1922 to present) within Business Source Premier.

Google Scholar: https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/google-scholar/

  • Find citations to scholarly articles (including accounting research articles), then retrieve the full text from TCNJ's journal collection (if available).  Note: if you connect to Google Scholar from off campus, be sure to connect via the Library's website in order to receive information about TCNJ's holdings for items found in Google Scholar

Find information about arts and mass media within a country

Communication & Mass Media Complete: https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/communication-mass-media-complete/

  • Change search interface from Basic Search to Advanced Search.
  • Search for keywords and phrases, then use Subject terms from relevant results to refine search

Sample results:

Downing, J. D., & Gamil, A. I. (2021). Blackness in Arab transnational television comedy: Fresh pushback against entrenched stereotypes. International Communication Gazette, 83(3), 260–279. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tcnj.edu/10.1177/1748048519898378

Song, M.-S. (2019). Cooking love in Asia: Food, belonging and the making of a multicultural family on Korean film and television. International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, 15(2), 197–211. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tcnj.edu/10.1386/macp.15.2.197_1

ComAbstracts: https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/comabstracts/

Humanities Index:  https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/humanities-full-text-wilson-web/

Project Muse: https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/project-muse/

Art -- Full Text: https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/art-full-text-wilson-web/

RILM Abstracts of Music Literature: https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/rilm/

Think strategically about relevant search terms; if "art" doesn't yield the type of results you were hoping to find, try specific terms such as "dance", "theater", "painting", "drama", etc.


Find articles from newspapers and publications in other disciplines

Access World News:  https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/access-world-news-newsbank/

  • Full text from a number of US and international newspapers

For this assignment, it may be more useful to simply search for the website of relevant local and national newspapers.  See the Country Information tab of this LibGuide for links to newspapers (and broadcast media) from around the world.

PAIS International: https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/pais-international/

  • Includes business, economics, international relations, political science, and other social sciences.  Materials indexed are from all over the world and include journal articles, statistical compilations, and research reports.

Sample resultsAnn-Zofie, D., Trude, L., & Mats, J. (2020). Impact of a reform towards shared parental leave on continued fertility in Norway and Sweden. Population Research and Policy Review, 39(6), 1205-1229. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11113-020-09574-y

Cuesta, J., & Julieth, P. (2020). The gendered poverty effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia. The European Journal of Development Research, 32(5), 1558-1591. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41287-020-00328-2

Sociological Abstracts:  https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/sociological-abstracts/

  • Useful for demographics, socio-cultural analysis, and policy studies.

Sample results: Badimon, M. E. (2013). Does unemployment spark collective contentious action? evidence from a Moroccan social movement. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 31(2), 194-212. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02589001.2013.781319

Diaz, A., & Sellami, K. (2014). Traits and roles in gender stereotypes: A comparison between Moroccan and Spanish native samples. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 70(11-12), 457-467. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-013-0335-7

Keep in mind that adaptation to new cultural surroundings is enhanced by a deeper understanding of many aspects of daily life.  The citations below offer a small example of the kinds of activities that may be relevant for inclusion in your training program:

Nasir, K., & Pereira, A. A. (2008). Defensive dining: notes on the public dining experiences in Singapore. Contemporary Islam, 2(1), 61-73.

Baerveldt, C. (2015). The veil and the search for the self: From identity politics to cultural expression. Culture & Psychology, 21(4), 532. 

Kraidy, M. (2009). Reality Television, Gender, and Authenticity in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Communication, 59(2), 345-366.

Rodriguez Mosquera, ,P.M., Manstead, A. S. R., & Fischer, A. H. (2002). Honor in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, 33(1), 16-36. 

Lee, S. (2003). Managing 'face', hygiene and convenience at a Chinese funeral in Singapore. Mortality, 8(1), 48-66. doi:10.1080/1357627021000063124

Maeda, E., & Ritchie, L. D. (2003). The concept of shinyuu in Japan: A replication of and comparison to Cole and Bradac's study on U.S. friendship. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 20(5), 579-598.

Kawano, S. (2004). Scattering Ashes of the Family Dead: Memorial Activity among the Bereaved in Contemporary Japan. Ethnology, 43(3), 233-248.

McNeill, D. (2008). ‘Black Magic’, nationalism and race in Australian football. Race & Class, 49(4), 22-37.

Finding existing training programs

It may be difficult to gain access to a detailed, published expatriate training program for the country that your team has chosen. [Many such programs exist, but they are often created by for-profit companies or consultants who are not inclined to give away their expertise for free.]

When searching within the article databases listed on this page, keep in mind that you may need to be strategically creative with your search terms.  If a search for "training programs" and "expatriates" doesn't yield any promising results, then try likely variations, such as "acculturation" and "expatriate managers"; or "expatriate adjustment" or "expatriate success." Results from these searches may include articles that discuss studies of successful (and unsuccessful) expatriate assignments; you can then use this information to draw your own conclusions about the essential components of a comprehensive expat training program.

You may be able to get some ideas about the components of a comprehensive expat training program by examining the marketing materials from some of these firms, including Communicaid, Culture Wizard, IOR Global Services, and Commisceo Global.

Some large multinational consulting firms also offer expat relocation services.  For example, an overview of one of Deloitte's expat management service programs is available here.

There are also a number of websites focused on expatriate communities. The blogs, FAQs and other resources from these sites may help you to gain additional insights into the type of information needed for a successful expat experience. Some of these sites include InterNations and Expat Focus. The Financial Times has tagged articles of interest to expats. [Some articles are only available to subscribers; online access to the Financial Times is available via several TCNJ Library databases.]

Some companies that offer services to expats could be a good resource for essential or supplemental information to include in your expatriate training program.  For example, Cigna provides useful information about health insurance options for expatriate workers. As an add-on bonus, Cigna offers more expat information resources through its "country guides for the globally mobile."

Similarly, HSBC not only offers information about banking and other financial services for expats, but also provides more resources through its expat explorer, including expat tax information.