توسعه صلاحیت های محلی مدیران مقیم خارج برای بازارهای نوظهور: یک رویکرد مبتنی بر دانش

This paper proposes a theoretical framework for developing expatriate managers’ local competence in emerging markets from a knowledge-based perspective. We argue that local knowledge in emerging markets differs significantly from corporate knowledge transferred to those markets, and that its very nature determines its critical importance to expatriate managers’ business performance. We explore the processes and mechanisms through which local knowledge can be acquired and integrated into expatriate managers’ knowledge base supporting local talent development and their effective strategic decision-making. We suggest that conventional local competence development strategies may not be effective methods for developing global managers for emerging markets.

The growing influx of foreign investment in emerging markets, such as China, India, and countries in Eastern Europe, drives an increasing demand for global managers with the specific capabilities required to manage in these culturally, economically and institutionally distant markets (Collings et al., 2007 and Harvey et al., 1999). Despite the growing debate around issues of expatriate failure and performance (Björkman and Xiucheng, 2002, Briscoe and Schuler, 2004 and Dowling and Welch, 2004), the utility of expatriate managers in emerging markets is inevitable because of the strategic roles these managers play and the severe shortage of talent within these economies, particularly shortages of qualified local senior executives (Lenartowicz & Johnson, 2007). According to recent surveys by the New York-based Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) of hiring activities in key emerging markets, about 12 percent of senior executives of multinational companies (MNCs) operating in those markets cannot be replaced by host country nationals (Bindra, 2008). Yet by attempting to fill these positions in the emerging markets, MNCs face particularly acute challenges associated with the recruitment and retention of expatriates as well as local talent. One important challenge is to manage the performance of individual expatriate employees (Harzing, 2002). Expatriate performance may be determined by many factors such as motivation, flexibility, extra-cultural openness, and family situation (Arthur & Bennett, 1995). Yet, it has been argued that the success of international business depends most critically on the distinctive competences of senior expatriate employees in MNCs ( Caligiuri and Tarique, 2009 and Doz and Prahalad, 1986). Such competences mainly encompass technical competence (home-based corporate knowledge), personal adaptability to foreign culture, and familiarity with assignment country (local market knowledge) ( Bonache and Fernandez, 1999, Cascio, 2006 and Tung, 1982). Nevertheless, when selecting expatriate managers MNCs often overly focus on technical competence which lacks adequate consideration of cultural and context-specific factors ( Brewster, 1991). Extant research suggests that a lack of adequate local and contextual knowledge can greatly impede global managers’ effective decision-making and threaten their performance in foreign markets ( Lord and Ranft, 2000 and Makino and Delios, 1996), particularly in dynamic emerging economies. Yet little research has been devoted to the question of how expatriate managers can build up their local competence supporting their effective strategic decision-making in those emerging markets. In an attempt to address this gap this paper proposes a theoretical framework for developing expatriate managers’ local competence in emerging markets from a knowledge-based perspective. Using China, the world's largest and most challenging emerging economy, as our research context, we will firstly examine the nature of local knowledge in emerging markets. We argue that local knowledge in emerging markets differs significantly from corporate knowledge transferred to those markets, and that its very nature determines its critical importance to expatriate managers’ business performance. Based on this understanding, we will then investigate processes and mechanisms through which local knowledge can be acquired and integrated into expatriate managers’ knowledge base supporting their effective strategic decision-making. Subsequently, we will discuss what work practices may facilitate the implementation of these strategic processes. Prior studies have paid limited attention to implementation issues associated with strategies for developing global leaders. Finally, we will present implications for research and management.

The framework we proposed here advances our understanding of the practice of global talent management by filling an important gap – how to develop the local competence of expatriate managers for emerging economies. The growing demand for expatriate managers with local competences required to succeed in emerging markets has long identified to be a major challenge for MNCs (Collings et al., 2007). Prior studies on expatriate management have focused on selection, pre-departure training, adjustment, compensation, performance evaluation, career development and return (see for example, Brewster, 1991 and Shay and Baack, 2004). Little however is known about the nature of local competence required, what expatriate managers can do to develop such competence, and what work practices can be designed to facilitate its development strategies with particular reference to emerging markets. Our paper has addressed these critical issues in detail. Using China as our research context, we have examined the nature of local knowledge required to manage successfully in emerging markets. We have argued that local knowledge in emerging markets is highly tacit, undiffused and fast-changing and thus differs significantly from corporate knowledge transferred to those markets, and that its very nature determines its critical importance to expatriate managers’ business performance. Based on this understanding, we have adopted a knowledge-based approach to explore the processes and mechanisms through which local knowledge can be acquired and integrated into expatriate managers’ knowledge base supporting their effective strategic decision-making. In this local competence development framework, undiffused explicit and transferable tacit local knowledge is constantly acquired externally through socialized activities and codified and diffused internally into corporate explicit knowledge base for public use through in-built knowledge articulation and diffusion systems. Expatriate managers and other corporate members make sense of this explicit knowledge base during business decision-making. This corporate explicit knowledge can be embedded into the expatriate manager's business behaviour. For highly tacit local knowledge, which takes considerable time, and demands considerable resource to acquire, expatriate managers can integrate it into corporate-level integrated local knowledge through business co-operation so that local knowledge holders utilize their tacit expertise to contribute to expatriate managers’ decisions. To facilitate the effective implementation of this framework we have identified three enabling conditions – managerial ties, common knowledge, and motivation – under which dispersed local knowledge flows from external and internal local knowledge holders to the MNC and is made visible to expatriate managers. We have argued that local knowledge becomes fluid in the presence of managerial ties between expatriate managers and elite managers of external local organizations, common knowledge between expatriate managers and local knowledge holders, and motivation to share and utilize knowledge from local knowledge holders.