Intercultural sensitivity of expatriate human resource managers towards training practices in their host countries

ABSTRACT

This article investigates the intercultural sensitivity of expatriate human resource (HR) managers, with a specific focus on training practices at an intermediate skill level. The pape, therefore, contributes to the literature on expatriates, with a specific emphasis on the particular relevance of intercultural sensitivity in training in multinational companies. Using a qualitative approach, including expert interviews with German expatriates in subsidiaries in India, China, and Mexico, combined with a deep analysis of the data, we were able to reveal the perceptions of expatriates. Our results show a mixed picture of intercultural sensitivity towards training culture in their host countries through three different types of expatriates’ perceptions. Hence, our results lead to the conclusion that multinational companies might focus on this aspect by putting more emphasis on intercultural sensitivity of their HR managers in foreign subsidiaries, to improve the performance of their subsidiaries long term.

KEYWORDS:

• Intercultural sensitivity of expatriates
• training
• India
• China
• Mexico

Acknowledgements

The data presented here are embedded in a research project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) under the title “Global strategies and local forms of technical education and training in German multinational enterprises – a regional comparison in emerging economies” (PI 418/5-1). We thank our project partners Prof. Dr. Martina Fuchs (University of Cologne), Dr. Judith Wiemann (Ruhr University Bochum), and Dr. Kristina Wiemann for their raw data collection and many valuable insights and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [PI-418/5-1]