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Cross-Cultural Effectiveness of Western
Expatriate-Thai Client Interactions:
Lessons Learned for IHRM Research and
Theory
by Gregory B. Fisher and Charmine E. J. Härtel,
The Authors
Gregory B. Fisher is a lecturer at the Australian National University. He has
worked at universities in Australia, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates, and
has also held positions in training research and HRM in both the public and pri-
vate sectors. Currently he is completing a PhD focusing on intercultural effective-
ness issues. His research interests include international management, diversity,
leadership in international settings, people issues in e-business, virtual teams, and
international business strategy.
Charmine E. J. Härtel, PhD is Associate Professor of HRM and Organisational De-
velopment in the Department of Management at Monash University. She has 26
years of industry experience, 13 years of international industry consulting experi-
ence for companies such as ANZ, GE, DSTO, IBM, and AirServices Australia. Her
current research and consulting activities focus on cross-cultural and interpersonal
work relationships; organizational and individual difference factors influencing at-
titudes, behaviours, information processing, and emotions at work; and compati-
bility of organizational systems with human factors to enhance employee safety,
well-being, development and performance.
Expatriates who perform poorly in their overseas assignments cost multina-
tional enterprises (MNE’s) billions of dollars, damage firm reputation, disrupt re-
lationships with local nationals (Harvey, 1996; Welch and Welch, 1994), and
often exact a cost on expatriates’ psychological well-being (Solomon, 1996). The
survival of business in the globalized environment therefore depends a great deal
on the success of these cross-cultural encounters. International human resource
management (IHRM), which assumes the crucial responsibility of managing expa-
triates, should be able to identify the determinants of effective expatriate perform-
ance. Furthermore, IHRM should be able to evaluate cross-cultural competence
and the overall effectiveness of organizational members participating in overseas
projects (Kamoche, 1996; Kopp, 1994; Ngo, Turban, Lau, and Lui, 1998).
4 Cross Cultural Management
Unfortunately, whilst there is recognition within the fields of strategic hu-
man resource management (SHRM) and IHRM that human resource practices
need to be aligned with characteristics internal and external to the MNE (includ-
ing culture and industry networks) (De Cieri and Dowling, 1998), little research is
available on the role of culture in determining cross-cultural effectiveness in
expatriate-client interactions. Furthermore, the impact of the host country partner
upon the effectiveness of such interactions is rarely taken into account. The pres-
ent research contributes conceptually and empirically to these research vacuums
and responds to the call for IHRM research and theory to be grounded in multiple
cultures and disciplines (De Cieri and Dowling, 1998; cf. Perlmutter, 1969).
This research is important practically in that it identifies processes that may
improve expatriate performance. Furthermore, the research findings are relevant
to Thai and Western MNEs who seek to sustain a competitive advantage through
successful expatriate programs.
Intercultural effectiveness
Intercultural effectiveness is defined as the ability or competence of a person within
the intercultural environment. It has been suggested that there are three factors
that contribute to intercultural effectiveness (Gudykunst and Hammer, 1984;
Hammer, 1987; Hammer, Gudykunst, and Wiseman, 1978). These are, first, the
ability to communicate effectively, second, the ability to establish interpersonal re-
lationships and third, the ability to cope with psychological stress. One replication
study (Abe and Wiseman, 1983) using a sample of 57 Japanese students identified
an alternate five-factor model comprising both cultural general or etic factors (i.e.
factors applying across cultures) and cultural specific or emic factors (i.e. factors
applying within an individual culture). The balance of subsequent research, how-
ever, has supported the three-factor model (Dean and Popp, 1990; Martin and
Hammer, 1989) or demonstrated it as equally a plausible solution as the five-
factor model (Gudykunst and Hammer, 1984; Hammer, 1987). The breadth of
support for the three-factor model is used to argue against the existence of
culture-specific factors in favor of an etic perspective in cross-cultural research
(See Jordan, 1995 for a discussion of the etic-emic research continuum).
Trait-based models of intercultural effectiveness have a long and prominent
history (Adler, 1974; Bochner, 1973). Issues of generalizability and the lack of
empirical support for the links between traits and performance, however, has led
researchers in recent times to shift the focus from traits or personality characteris-
tics to behaviors (Hammer, 1987).
Expatriates are proposed to gain intercultural communication skills and,
consequently, intercultural effectiveness through a cultural learning process
(Furnham, 1987). While it is interesting and important to conduct research into
the cognitive process of how the skills necessary to be interculturally effective are
Volume 10 Number 4 2003 5
gained, the focus of the present study is the influence that existing abilities have
on effectiveness in the intercultural situation.
IHRM framework
Our research adapts De Cieri and Dowling’s (1998) framework of SHRM in MNEs
to provide a macro description of IHRM. This framework depicts the strategic
stance of an MNE as interacting with HR strategy which, in turn, has a reciprocal
relationship with characteristics of the MNE and relevant local and international
environmental characteristics. We build upon their assertion that factors that are
exogenous (external) to the organization determine the effectiveness of employee
attitudes and behaviors and therefore need to be considered when designing HR
practices relative to performance (i.e. training, selection, and procedures). In par-
ticular, we extrapolate from their macro and strategic perspective of exogenous
and endogenous (internal) factors affecting strategic HR and take a micro or indi-
vidual perspective aimed at informing IHRM practice. Specifically, we identify the
culture of the client/customer associated with organizational tasks as a crucial ex-
ogenous factor in IHRM and the provider-customer/client team as a crucial en-
dogenous factor affecting employee effectiveness. These modifications recognize
that: (a) the culture of the client, which may differ from the host country, needs
to be considered in designing IHRM interventions; and (b) the extent that a task
includes interaction with customers or clients, task effectiveness is determined, in
part, by the culture and other characteristics brought to that task by the cus-
tomer/client.
This paper provides a theoretical explication of the relationships between
the factors of intercultural effectiveness, socio-biographical characteristics, and
perceived task and contextual performance of individual managers operating in an
intercultural environment. In particular, we apply our framework, which incorpo-
rates the cultural perspectives of both the expatriate and the host country client,
to an examination of the intercultural effectiveness of Western expatriates operat-
ing in intercultural teams within Thailand.
Before addressing each of these areas in detail, it is necessary to define a few
terms. The term manager is used in this paper to include both Thai and Western
(also known as Ferang) managers, professionals, consultants, and specialists
working within the intercultural environment. Almost invariably, both Thai and
Western managers have degree level qualifications or better. The term Thai man-
ager is used to identify managers who are Thai nationals and the term Western
manager is adopted to identify Anglo and European managers. Ferang is the col-
lective noun that Thai use to categorize Anglo and European people regardless of
their true ethnic background or nationality (in much the same way as Westerners
may categorize Thai into the collective category Asian).
6 Cross Cultural Management
Culture, management and organizations
It is well documented in literature that national culture affects the way that peo-
ple of different cultures interact (Haire, Ghiselli, and Porter, 1963; Hofstede,
1980, 1991, 1995; Triandis, 1982; Trompenaars, 1993). Further, at the functional
level, culture has been identified as influencing HRM practices (Luthans, Welsch,
and Rosenkrantz, 1993), leadership (Dorfman and Howell, 1988), and organiza-
tional strategy (Schneider and De Myer, 1991). There is, however, significant de-
bate as to whether this translates into actual performance differences in the
international setting.
The four-dimensional model of national culture (power distance, uncertainty
avoidance, individualism-collectivism, and masculinity-femininity) suggested by
Hofstede (1980) has been broadly accepted as a descriptor of national culture
(Chow, Shields, and Chan, 1991; Triandis, 1982). In attempting to apply culture
to the management of organizations, Hofstede and associates (1995; Hofstede
and Bond, 1988) suggest that five, rather than four, dimensions influence the way
that managers manage. The fifth dimension is long and short-term time focus,
also called Confucian values (Hofstede, 1980). This dimension is consistent with
the Kluckholm and Strodtbeck (1961) time orientation dimension. It is noted,
however, that there has been little comprehensive empirical research as to the re-
lationship between Hofstede’s time dimension and performance outcomes (Son-
dergaard, 1994). The research available tends to focus on a limited number of
dimensions and/or a small number of countries. Often performance is not meas-
ured, but when it is, it tends to be represented with a single measure of financial
performance, which reflects organizational, not managerial, effectiveness.
Theories on the role of culture in relation to organizational effectiveness in
multinational environments can be grouped along a continuum ranging from di-
vergent to convergent (Schuler, Fulkerson, and Dowling, 1991). Divergent theo-
rists argue that organizations are more effective and competitive when the
practices in the organization are consistent with culture (Burns and Stalker, 1961;
Earley, 1994; Powell, 1992; Sullivan, Rothwell, and McLean, 1995). By contrast,
convergent theorists see that organizations should transcend differences in na-
tional culture (Porter, 1986) and operate under a common corporate culture (Yip,
1992). Between these groups are writers who argue that corporate culture can in-
fluence, but not eliminate, national cultural values (Adler, 1997; Ricks, Toyne,
and Martinez, 1990), or who argue for crossvergence, which is defined as a com-
bination of organizational cultural and national cultural values (Ralston, Gustaf-
son, Cheung, and Terpstra, 1993; Ralston, Gustafson, Terpstra, and Holt, 1995).
Regardless of whether management is converging, diverging or crossverging, cul-
ture can be seen as having an important influence on performance. The solutions
to the culture problem suggested by the theories are, respectively, to reflect, elimi-
nate or adapt.
Volume 10 Number 4 2003 7
Comparison of Thai and Western management styles and practices
The limited literature available on Thai and Western management generally sup-
ports the notion that Thai and Westerners differ in their personal and professional
values, management style, decision-making, and management practices (See Sing-
hapakdi, Rallappalli, Rao, and Vitell, 1995). Cooper (1994) specifically questions
the applicability of universal modern management methods to the Thai business
environment. Holmes and Tangtongtavy (1996) discuss four reasons why the
Western management paradigm needs to be examined in the Thai business envi-
ronment, specifically: (a) uniqueness in the way Thai people view the legitimate
use of power; (b) differences between Thai and Western concepts of deadlines;
(c) how Thai concepts of loyalty are different from both the Western and Chinese
viewpoint; and (d) how the implementation of management practices, such as
delegation, accountability, motivation, teamwork, rewards, and performance
evaluation are viewed. Although Fieg (1989) identifies areas of convergence be-
tween Thai and Westerners, he predominantly attributes this to educated Thai’s
awareness rather than adoption of Western values.
Extensions to contemporary theoretical and research approaches to
intercultural effectiveness
Role of host country national in intercultural effectiveness
To date, the published research pertaining to intercultural effectiveness tends to
focus on two areas. First, on male Western expatriate managers employed by a
Western parent country MNE who have worked in a host country for an extended
period of time (Welch and Welch, 1994). Second, on the intercultural communi-
cation and management experiences of international students in Western coun-
tries. Moreover, much of this research looks at the relationship of the expatriate’s
cognition, behavior, or pre-departure training with performance in the foreign cul-
ture. These approaches reflect traditional models of communication, which con-
ceptualize communication as information giving (Shannon and Weaver, 1949).
The study of intercultural effectiveness, we argue, will benefit from the in-
corporation of modern communication theory (Berlo, 1960; Limaye and Victor,
1995). Namely, that communication consists of sender and receiver transactions.
This point has been recognized by a number of authors who cite the importance of
considering the host country national as an active participant in the communica-
tive process (Haworth and Savage, 1995; Limaye and Victor, 1995). The host
country national contributes peculiar perceptions, biases, expectations, task-
specific skills, communication skills, organizational knowledge, and work experi-
ences, all of which can contribute to the degree of effectiveness of the communica-
tion process. Consequently, studies of intercultural effectiveness need to account
for the knowledge, skills, and experience that the host country national brings to
the relationship.
8 Cross Cultural Management
Cultural setting and intercultural effectiveness
Another feature of studies of intercultural effectiveness is that a majority focus on
one Western culture (United States) and one Asian culture (Japan). Japan and the
United States (US) share the characteristic of being economically highly devel-
oped. Although they are important countries and cultures to examine, it is impera-
tive to examine other cultural groupings, even if only to confirm that the same
principles are applicable outside Japanese and US cultural settings. Extending the
breadth of nations considered in comparative research will assist the identification
of generalizable and cultural-specific features affecting intercultural effectiveness.
The present research, which compares Western and Thai perceptions of effective-
ness in intercultural teams, contributes to this research agenda.
Role of host country manager
Many studies of intercultural effectiveness assume that the Western manager (or
consultant) is the senior team manager, with the local manager assuming the sub-
ordinate role. However, a significant proportion of Western consultants and man-
agers in Thailand work in organizations where they report to, or work with, locals
rather than expatriate management. Therefore, research is needed which ad-
dresses different power relationships among expatriates and locals specifically re-
garding: (a) socio-biographical characteristics; (b) models of intercultural
effectiveness; (c) differentiating between intercultural communication and effec-
tiveness; and (d) measures of intercultural effectiveness, all of which are dis-
cussed next.
Perception of socio-biographical characteristics and intercultural effectiveness
According to Mamman (1995, 1996a), socio-biographical characteristics influence
intercultural communication and the intercultural effectiveness of expatriates. The
phenomenal fields of the sender and receiver are distinct and reflect their knowl-
edge of, and attitudes and cultural orientation toward, the role of cultural factors
in their communication process (Haworth and Savage, 1995)
The socio-biographical characteristics proposed in the literature as influenc-
ing expatriate effectiveness are: (a) cultural setting (culture toughness, ethnocen-
trism, homogeneity–heterogeneity); (b) age; (c) gender; (d) ethnicity/nationality
(ethnic background, stereotype, prejudice, and self perception); (e) religion; (f)
linguistic ability; (g) education; (h) intercultural experience; and (i) role (ex-
pected role, enacted role, role status, role in terms of economic and social bene-
fit). To date, however, these groupings have not been assessed empirically. The
need to consider the role of individual socio-biographical characteristics in studies
of expatriate effectiveness is, however, well grounded in the intercultural litera-
ture (with the exception of the role variable) (Mamman, 1996a, 1996b) (See Ta-
ble 1).
Volume 10 Number 4 2003 9
Mamman (1996b) has grouped further these characteristics into primary,
secondary, and mediating variables influencing the interaction adjustment of di-
verse employees. To date, this categorization has also not been tested empirically
(Mamman, 1996b).
Mamman’s treatment of the role of these characteristics in intercultural ef-
fectiveness is limited to host culture perceptions of the expatriate’s socio-
biographical characteristics. Intercultural effectiveness, however, depends upon
the values, interpretive framework, behaviors, and skills of all parties in the com-
munication process. Consequently, theory and research relating to intercultural ef-
fectiveness is needed that considers the socio-biographical characteristics of other
parties in the team. The present research addresses this need as discussed below.
Table 1: Literature Sources of Socio-Biographical Items
Socio-biographical item Reference
Culture toughness Black, Mendenhall and Oddou (1991),
Gudykunst (1985)
Ethnocentrism Adler (1991), Bochner (1973), Gudykunst and
Kim (1984)
Heterogeneity of Hosts Culture Gudykunst and Kim (1984)
Ethnic Background Triandis and Davis (1965)
Ethnic Stereotype Gudykunst and Hammer (1987), Martin and
Hammer, (1989)
Prejudice Adler (1991), Martin and Hammer (1989)
Gender Westwood and Leung (1994)
Nationality Dean and Popp (1990)
Linguistic Ability Black, Mendenhall and Oddou (1991),
Gudykunst (1985)
Religious Background Bochner (1976)
Age Hofstede (1994), Kim (1977)
Educational Qualifications Harris and Moran (1991)
To date, no empirical testing of the interrelationships of Mamman’s pro-
posed socio-biographical characteristics or of their contribution to intercultural ef-
fectiveness has been undertaken. Such culture-based research is required
especially since foreigners are often not expected by locals to abide by cultural
norms, and prejudice regarding a socio-biographical characteristic (e.g. gender)
possessed by locals may not extend to expatriates possessing that same socio-
biographical characteristic (Adler, 1987). This research contributes to filling this
gap by investigating the socio-biographical characteristics relevant to intercultural
relationships in a Thai business setting.
Models of intercultural effectiveness
Models used to study intercultural effectiveness tend to be task independent. They
describe behavior, personality, attitudes, and aspects of the expatriate’s cognitive
10 Cross Cultural Management
frame that are necessary to achieve effectiveness in the intercultural context. In
relatively few cases, the models proposed recognized that it may be possible to be
competent in the intercultural situation but still fail to be effective overall (Brislin,
1993; Mamman, 1995, 1996a; Spitzberg and Cupach, 1984).
Differentiating intercultural communication from intercultural effectiveness
In the literature, the distinction between intercultural communication effective-
ness and intercultural effectiveness is often blurred (See Abe and Wiseman, 1983;
Dean and Popp, 1990; Hammer, 1987; Martin and Hammer, 1989). We argue,
however, that it is imperative to keep these concepts separate. Just as it may be
possible to be interculturally effective, but not effective in the overall sense, it may
be possible to be an effective intercultural communicator, but fail to achieve over-
all task and contextual goals. It could also be argued that it is possible to have
poor intercultural communication effectiveness, but still achieve overall task
goals. Although it is expected that intercultural effectiveness will be facilitated by
intercultural communication effectiveness, it is important to retain distinction be-
tween the two concepts. Again, this distinction will be addressed in the present re-
search.
Measures of intercultural effectiveness
Assessment in intercultural effectiveness research tends to rely on self-report
measures consisting of a single criterion. Commonly, the question asked of the re-
spondent is, ‘Were you effective?’ or ‘How effective were you?’ (Abe and Wise-
man, 1983; Dean and Popp, 1990; Hammer, 1987; Martin and Hammer, 1989).
Measuring intercultural effectiveness with this type of question has three prob-
lems. First, it places the focus on the individual only, rather than the outcome of
the project. Second, because it is a self-report measure it fails to take into account
the views of the other parties within the intercultural encounter. Last, it biases the
sample as it excludes those who perceive themselves to be less than effective in
the intercultural setting. Furthermore, when only the first question is asked, the
degree of effectiveness is not always taken into account.
Individual performance effectiveness
Within the HRM literature there are two broad views of how individual perform-
ance effectiveness should be measured. One view focuses on the achievement of
outputs or results measured in terms of outcomes (Bernardin, Kane, Ross, Spina,
and Johnson, 1995; Lockett, 1992) or in terms of goal setting (Armstrong, 1994;
Lockett, 1992; Rummler and Brasch, 1995). Williams (1998: 90-93) identifies six
problems in measuring performance using this method: (a) the difficulty of inte-
grating individual and organizational goals; (b) subjectivity in the interpretation
of an objective criterion; (c) difficulties in joint goal setting (Macdonnell, 1989);
(d) the problem of turbulence; (e) difficulty in applying goal setting to complex
Volume 10 Number 4 2003 11
tasks; and (f) the tendency to measure what is easy to measure (Henderson,
1984).
The second view focuses on the behaviors of the individual in the measure-
ment of performance. Within this paradigm, some writers seek to link explicitly
the relevance of behavior to organizational goals or outputs (Campbell, McCloy,
Oppler, and Sager, 1993; Murphy, 1989). However, this definition ignores other
aspects of the job that may not be relevant to the task, but are important aspects
of overall performance. To address this limitation, several contemporary research-
ers have proposed a multi-dimensional model that incorporates both task and con-
textual behavioral dimensions as contributors to overall effective performance (cf.
Borman and Motowidlo, 1993; Härtel, 1999). Task performance includes behav-
iors that produce goods and/or services or support the technical core that makes
this production possible (Borman and Motowidlo, 1993; Motowidlo and Van Scot-
ter, 1994; Van Scotter and Motowidlo, 1996). Contextual performance behaviors
“support the broader organizational, social, and psychological environment in
which the technical core must function” (Motowidlo and Van Scotter, 1994: 476).
Examples of contextual performance include volunteering, persisting with enthusi-
asm, co-operating and helping others, following organizational rules and proce-
dures, and supporting organizational objectives (Bateman and Organ, 1983;
Borman and Motowidlo, 1993; Van Dyne, Cummings, and Parks, 1985).
We contend that in addition to considering the ability or competence of a
person within the intercultural environment (i.e. their intercultural effectiveness)
there is a need to consider the perceptions of overall effectiveness from the per-
spective of the expatriate manager and the local client manager. In other words,
there is a need to distinguish between a manager’s competence and the perception
of that manager’s competence in order to understand what factors determine
whether an interculturally effective person is perceived as effective overall by their
culturally different counterpart(s). Although to date this issue has not been exam-
ined in intercultural project teams, the role of personal characteristics in effective-
ness perceptions has long been recognized in studies of performance judgment
(See Härtel, 1993). Similarly, research shows that people differ in what strategies
they perceive as effective and that these differences can often be predicted by
socio-biographical characteristics such as gender (See Kaman and Härtel, 1994).
We suggest, therefore, the need to examine perceived overall effectiveness in
the intercultural environment. This term, coined in this research, is defined as a
combination of task and contextual effectiveness as rated by the expatriate and lo-
cal members comprising the project team. Within the performance literature, task
performance includes behaviors that produce goods and/or services, or support
the technical core that makes production possible (Borman and Motowidlo, 1993;
Motowidlo and Van Scotter, 1994; Van Scotter and Motowidlo, 1996). Contextual
performance behaviors support the broader organizational, social, and psychologi-
12 Cross Cultural Management
cal environment within which the technical core occurs (Motowidlo and Van Scot-
ter, 1994).
From the foregoing review, three propositions were derived. First, it was ex-
pected that the collectivist cultural values of the Thai (e.g. maintaining surface
harmony) and the individualist values of Westerners (e.g. focus on outcomes)
would be reflected in the weighting Thai and Western raters give to the contextual
and task aspects of performance. In other words, it was anticipated that compara-
tively Thai and Western managers would conceptualize intercultural effectiveness
differently. Second, it was proposed that differences would be found in Thai and
Western managers’ perceptions of the relative importance of socio-biographical
characteristics to the effectiveness of a Western manager. Third, the research en-
deavored to identify if there were other socio-biographical items unique to the
Thai socio-cultural environment.
Research method
Qualitative research was undertaken which adopted the scientific realism episte-
mological paradigm (Bailey and Eastman, 1996). This paradigm was selected for
this research for three reasons. First, it is the paradigm followed by previous stud-
ies in this area and on which this research seeks to build. Second, the research is-
sues examine not only observable events but also mechanisms and experiences,
and third, the research has a real world component that makes ‘laboratory style’
experimentation difficult (Martin and Bateson, 1993). Realists view reality as a
composite of events, experiences and generative processes that cause events
(Bhaskar, 1978). While realism attempts to identify a ‘real reality’ it views that the
reality apprehended is an approximation (Bhaskar, 1978; Guba and Lincoln,
1994).
The research purpose was twofold. First, the research aimed to identify com-
paratively how Thai and Western managers conceptualize intercultural effective-
ness. In particular, the research also aimed to identify features of perceived
overall effectiveness for Thai and Western managers operating in intercultural
project teams. This was accomplished through an evaluation of previous research
as well as consultation with a Thai expert reference group. As noted above, within
the intercultural literature, goals or task achievement and contextual success are
also suggested, with the emphasis placed on the cultural and societal aspects of
the environment. Given the collectivist orientation of the Thai business environ-
ment, it could be argued that contextual issues, such as maintaining (surface) har-
mony in the workplace and following organization rules, policies, and procedures
would be of greater importance to Thai managers than to their Western counter-
parts. Consequently, the research included questions about an individual’s views
and values regarding both task and contextual aspects of performance.
Volume 10 Number 4 2003 13
The second aim of the research was to identify the extent to which percep-
tions of socio-biographical characteristics are important to Thai managers’ percep-
tions of the effectiveness of a Western manager and vice versa. Questions
regarding each socio-biographical characteristic (See Table 1) were asked with re-
spect to their importance to the effectiveness of Western expatriates working with
Thai project managers.
Furthermore, a collectivist case study design was adopted as a number of in-
strumental cases were researched in the one study in order to obtain a greater un-
derstanding of the phenomenon being researched (Stake, 1994). This design also
gives the research external validity in that the case studies were not seeking gen-
eralizability but rather an understanding of the particular cases chosen in the Thai
business setting (See Kincheloe and McLaren, 1994).
Data collection method
Modified convergent in-depth interviews and focus groups were used to collect
data over a six-month period. Convergent interviewing is an iterative technique
useful in exploratory studies where the aim is to collect, analyze, and interpret
qualitative information about people’s values, attitudes, experiences, and beliefs
or to identify important issues for further empirical analysis (Dick, 1990). Conver-
gent interviews begin relatively unstructured. Initial interviews inform subsequent
interviews so that the interview questions become progressively more structured
and refined over time (Dick, 1990). This iterative technique also enhanced the re-
liability and validity of the study (Remenyi, Williams, Money, and Swartz, 1998).
The transcription of interviews within 24 hours after completion also added to the
reliability of data collection, avoiding the loss of valuable information (Miles and
Huberman, 1994).
The convergent interviewing method was modified for this research some-
what, insofar as while a small group of managers were re-interviewed on a
number of occasions, others were interviewed only once. The convergence in the
latter group occurred progressively over the period of the study, with different
questions being asked at each point to confirm the divergence or convergence of
the views expressed by others.
Sample
A purposive sampling technique was used to select the participants, which were
Thai and Western managers, consultants, and academics. This technique was used
to select participants who were representative of the same experience or knowl-
edge and not because of their demographic reflection of the general population
(Morse, 1994). All of the participants were working in managerial or professional
roles in Bangkok.
14 Cross Cultural Management
As the purpose of the research was exploratory and a case study design was
adopted, the sample size was relatively small, which aligns with qualitative re-
search theory (Crabtree and Miller, 1992). It consisted of 55 people who were in-
terviewed (35 Thai and 20 Westerners) within a six-month period. There were 30
females and 25 males in the sample. The selection of the sample followed a net-
working approach as depicted below:
a) the Australia Thai Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok arranged two focus
groups and two individual interviews. Subsequently three additional
managers suggested by focus group members were interviewed,
b) at the Office of the Civil Service Commission, a number of individual
interviews with Thai and Western managers and consultants were conducted
as well as a single focus group of 12 Thai managers,
c) individual and small group interviews were conducted with Western and
Thai management academics from four universities, and with Western and
Thai managers from six statutory authorities,
d) several further individual interviews were conducted with individuals in the
private sector as suggested by other interviewees.
While this is not a randomly selected sample, the interviewees do come from
a diverse range of organizations, covering private, semi-government, public, and
university sectors. As the purpose of convergent interviewing is to identify a fairly
stable pattern of agreement and disagreement across the interviewees (conver-
gence), the diversity of the participants may be argued to be sufficient for this
purpose.
Research findings
Data from transcribed interviews were coded following the convergent technique
of Dick (1990). This coding technique incorporates both deduction and induction
to ensure that identified themes are representative of the sample. Inter-rater reli-
ability is not needed when coding of this type is used.
Thai-Western perceptions of partner socio-biographical characteristics
A number of differences and similarities were found between Thai and Western
managers’ perceived importance of socio-biographical characteristics to successful
Thai-Western consulting relationships. There were several issues related to the
cultural setting characteristic. Thai and Western managers both perceived Thai
culture to be very different from Western culture. The uniqueness of Thai culture
within the ‘Asian’ cultures was also noted by both groups of managers. Thai man-
Volume 10 Number 4 2003 15
agers tended to attribute this to the fact that Thailand was the only country that
had never been colonized by another Western or Asian country. Western manag-
ers however, while recognizing unique aspects in Thai culture, noted the strong
economic influence of Japan and the US over the past 30 years. Several Thai’s
commented that Western managers could never understand Thai culture and
therefore Thai practices because they were not Thai. Western managers, however,
saw the belief that Westerns could not understand the Thai way, rather than the
uniqueness of the Thai way itself, as the barrier in Thai-Western interactions. In-
deed, among older Western managers, the administrative practices that existed in
Thai were seen as similar in many respects to the administrative practices they ex-
perienced in their early careers in the West. Overall, Western managers perceived
Thai culture as ethnocentric and homogeneous rather than heterogeneous, and
relatively tough for Westerners to operate in.
Age and gender
The age and gender of the expatriate manager were rated as unimportant, as long
as the educational qualification was deemed appropriate. Further, Western man-
agers, particularly those with experience in other Asian countries, frequently re-
called the surprise they had experienced initially when confronted by the large
number of Thai middle and senior managers who were female. Both male and fe-
male Thai managers supported the notion that gender was not important, except
in a limited number of technical professions, notably engineering. However, in
two of the focus groups, Thai managers spontaneously identified females who
were project managers of major construction projects. When pressed on the ap-
parent contradiction of these two propositions, the reasons given were that: (a)
workers did not expect females to be engineers but did expect them to be manag-
ers; and (b) women in Thailand do not study engineering but do study architec-
ture and business. Social class also appeared to have an impact both in relation to
acceptance of age and acceptance of gender because the elite and middle class
were perceived to have considerably better access to higher education.
Nationality
Nationality (or citizenship) of the Western expatriate was not seen as important
by either Thai or Western managers. However, the Thai managers identified racial
background and ethnicity as having a significant impact on the likely success of an
expatriate. One senior manager of a Thai MNE used the example of a
Vietnamese-American sent to work with them by their joint venture partner. The
expatriate had great difficulty operating in Thailand because of Thai staff expecta-
tions regarding his Vietnamese background. The same person was noted as oper-
ating very successfully in the Thai-US joint venture branch in Malaysia. Many of
the Thai managers indicated that Burmese, Bangladeshi, Indian, and Pakistani
managers had difficulty operating in Thailand because the Thai had difficulty ac-
16 Cross Cultural Management
cepting persons from these backgrounds as skilled since most persons coming to
Thailand from these countries are unskilled workers. Western managers corrobo-
rated the difficulty experienced by managers from these racio-ethnic groups, but
were not generally supportive of the rationalization provided by the Thai manag-
ers.
In addition, African-Americans were perceived by Thai managers as unlikely
to be effective because Thai exposure to African-Americans was generally limited
to poorly educated military personnel. By contrast, several government managers
cited the effectiveness of African managers working at United Nations (UN) or-
ganizations. On the surface this apparent contradiction is supportive of the Thai
rationalization. However, this contradiction may have more to do with the nature
of the role undertaken by UN African managers, which frequently involves the
provision of social and economic benefits to Thailand. Another possible explana-
tion is the perceived social class and educational background of all UN managers.
We suggest that further research would be required to clarify this point.
Stereotypes
Both Thai and Western managers described a range of positive and negative
stereotypes about the other group. Thai managers, for example, tended to believe
that Westerners experienced no prejudice in Thailand, were richer and very asser-
tive. Westerners, on the other hand, tended to describe older Thai managers as
seeing change they sanctioned as modernization and change they disapproved of
as Westernization, and therefore not in line with Thai culture. The latter percep-
tion also relates to the culture toughness component of the cultural setting.
Religion
Religion was seen as unimportant to perceptions of effectiveness by both Thai and
Western managers. In particular, Western managers who had worked in other
Asian countries commented on the acceptance by Muslims, Christians, and Bud-
dhists of each other at all levels of the business and the broader cultural environ-
ment.
Linguistic ability
High levels of Thai linguistic ability also did not seem to play an important role in
the effectiveness of Western expatriate managers, as English was considered the
language of business. However, some Western managers indicated that even if
they did possess a high level of Thai linguistic ability, the hierarchy of the organi-
zation acted as a filter, placing constraints on direct communication with lower
levels of staff. They commented that it was often beneficial to let a Thai manager
communicate to Thai staff at lower levels rather than for Western managers to
communicate with them directly.
Volume 10 Number 4 2003 17
Intercultural experience
Intercultural experience was seen as important to effectiveness by the Western
manager but unimportant by the Thai manager. It could be concluded that this
also relates back to the ethnocentric nature of Thai culture, that is, the view that
Thailand is unique within Asia.
Role
The findings related to role were less clear. However, both Thai and Western
managers were conscious of the need for the expatriate to act in a manner that
was relatively close to the expectations of the Thai, if the Western manager was to
be seen as successful. No additional socio-biographical characteristics were found
in Thai or Western managers’ considerations of intercultural effectiveness.
Task and contextual items identified
There were differences in the way that effective performance was perceived by
Thai compared to Western managers. It is important to note that these differences
were relative, differing by degree. Namely, Thai managers perceived task effec-
tiveness (i.e. achieving the objectives of a project) as important but less so than
their Western counterparts. Western managers, on the other hand, perceived con-
textual effectiveness (i.e. issues related to process) as important but less so rela-
tive to Thai managers.
Analysis of the qualitative data revealed differences in the relative impor-
tance perceived by Thai and Western managers of: (a) task-related behaviors in-
cluding planning and organizing work, meeting deadlines, overall technical
performance or competence, developing the skills of others, and completion of
overall tasks; and (b) contextual performance behaviors including encouraging
and valuing participation in decision-making, following the organization’s policies,
rules and procedures, demonstrating initiative and volunteering to help others, ac-
cepting responsibility for one’s actions and effects on others, and maintaining har-
mony in the workplace. A survey study examining perceptions of both parties in a
Thai-Western consulting dyad is currently underway to test how significant these
relative differences are.
Discussion
A primary mission of contemporary research in the field of IHRM is to provide
conceptual and empirical insight on HRM in MNEs (De Cieri and Dowling, 1998).
In addition to the domestic and intra-national diversity concerns of HRM, IHRM
deals with cross-national diversity issues since culture determines the success of
its HR activities. Therefore, contemporary HRM and IHRM imperatives include
achieving intercultural effectiveness among the diverse workforce of an organiza-
tion within and across national boundaries, and achieving intercultural effective-
18 Cross Cultural Management
ness in intercultural business interactions. This paper, through a conceptual
analysis of the literature and an empirical analysis of the cross-cultural effective-
ness of Western expatriates operating in intercultural teams in Thailand, identi-
fied a number of lessons that should be taken into account in the study and
management of employees in intercultural situations.
The first lesson for IHRM research on expatriate-client interactions learned
from our conceptual and empirical analysis is that the customer or client impacts
upon the effectiveness of such interactions. We identify two ways in which this oc-
curs. First, using De Cieri and Dowling’s (1998) framework, which conceptualizes
IHRM as being affected by exogenous and endogenous factors, we propose that
the culture of the client/customer associated with organizational tasks is a crucial
exogenous factor in IHRM and that the provider-customer/client team is a crucial
endogenous factor affecting employee effectiveness. These modifications to De Ci-
eri and Dowling’s framework recognize that: (a) the culture of the client, which
may differ from the host country, needs to be considered in designing IHRM inter-
ventions; and (b) to the extent that a task includes interaction with customers or
clients, task effectiveness is determined, in part, by the culture and other charac-
teristics brought to that task by the customer/client. This implies that the identifi-
cation of competencies underlying effective expatriate performance requires
identification of the factors that host country nationals consider in their formula-
tion of effectiveness evaluations. Similarly, it is essential that evaluations of cross-
cultural competence and the overall effectiveness of expatriate-client interactions
include both expatriate judgments and host-national counterpart judgments.
These issues highlight the criticality of grounding IHRM research and theory in
multiple cultures.
Secondly, the lesson for IHRM underscored by the conceptual approach
taken herein is the importance and value of drawing upon multiple disciplines to
theorizing about expatriate-client interactions. A framework was developed that
integrated behavioral dimensions of intercultural effectiveness, socio-biographical
characteristics, and individual effectiveness. These concepts draw upon multiple
disciplinary perspectives. Writings on intercultural effectiveness draw on two con-
cepts from the broader literature on culture and intercultural communication.
First, the concept of socio-biographical characteristics is influenced by the litera-
ture on culture and intercultural effectiveness; and second, the concept of task
and contextual dimensions of individual effectiveness is derived from the contem-
porary perspective of individual performance measurement in the discipline of
HRM and acknowledgment of the influence of the cultural frames of reference of
the interacting individuals.
A third lesson is that in order to achieve the HRM objectives of intercultural
effectiveness in intercultural interactions between employees, and between em-
ployees and clients both within and across national boundaries, HRM needs to not
only identify the cultural factors that influence the achievement of intercultural ef-
Volume 10 Number 4 2003 19
fectiveness and ways to assess employees on these factors, it needs to develop and
evaluate interventions based on this knowledge. Interventions include diversity
awareness training, cross-cultural training, expatriation preparation that teaches
employees relevant cultural mental models and how to take these into considera-
tion in host country interactions and negotiations, and exposure to foreign travel
as part of development or business needs. Selection systems should also incorpo-
rate assessment of candidate’s intercultural effectiveness. For example, openness
to diversity (Härtel, Douthitt, Härtel, and Douthitt, 1999), interpersonal ability,
and language skills can be assessed (cf. Ayoko and Härtel, 2000). HR initiatives
aimed at promoting an organizational culture of awareness and acceptance of di-
versity is also crucial (cf. Härtel and Fujimoto, 2000).
The conceptual and empirical contributions of this paper include: (a) use of
the grounded theory approach to develop theory in the under-researched area of
the Thai-Western project team; (b) empirical examination of the ‘neglected’ di-
mension of socio-biographical characteristics; (c) adaptation of existing task-
context measures of effectiveness to the intercultural situation; (d) explication of
the link among behavioral dimensions of intercultural effectiveness, socio-
biographical characteristics, and individual effectiveness; and (e) use of the Thai
categories that Westerners and Thai use to describe the participants in the inter-
cultural situation, in contrast to the typical approach which adopts Western cate-
gories resulting in comparisons of a single Western country with the lumped
consideration of Asian cultures.
The qualitative study undertaken for the present research identified three
factors. The first factor is the socio-biographical characteristics relevant to the
Thai-Western project team, which warrants further study. Second, the applicabil-
ity of the Western concept of task and contextual effectiveness to the Thai-
Western project team, and third, items that should enable quantitative assessment
of differences in the perception of task and contextual effectiveness between Thai
and Western managers.
The findings support the proposition that many of the items that make up
the socio- biographical characteristics suggested by Mamman (1996a, 1996b) do
indeed have a role to play in the perceived effectiveness of Western expatriate
managers operating in Thailand. The nature of that effect should be examined in
future research, using a larger sample, a longitudinal study and a quantitative
method such as path analysis. In addition, the study shows that there are differ-
ences in the way Thai and Western managers perceive effective performance.
These differences can be described in terms of expectations related to task and
contextual behavior. Again, quantitative analysis of the nature of these differences
and their impact on the behavior of the Western expatriate manager should be un-
dertaken also using a larger sample.
20 Cross Cultural Management
In this paper, we theoretically derived factors expected to affect perceptions
of intercultural effectiveness. We also argued that intercultural effectiveness needs
to consider task and contextual aspects of performance and intercultural differ-
ences in the perceptions of the relative importance of these different performance
components. The empirical data obtained from interviews with Thai and Western
managers operating in Thailand support the need to examine these factors from
various cultural perspectives. The data also provided insight on the factors that af-
fect Thai and expatriate perceptions of Western expatriate performance in Thai-
land.
Acknowledgments
This research comprises part of the first author’s PhD thesis in management un-
dertaken at the University of Queensland under the supervision of the second
author. Portions of the present study were presented at, and published in, the
refereed proceedings of the 12 International Conference of the Australia New
Zealand Academy of Management, Adelaide, South Australia in December 1998.
Volume 10 Number 4 2003 21
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