The International Research Process

(Research programme 1995-current)

This programme consists of a number of loosely coupled projects or articles that focus on research process issues in international research. Many projects in this programme are also characterised by a critical evaluation of received wisdom. Doing international research is more difficult than doing purely domestic research. Partly because of this, little empirical research has been done in several areas of International Business and Management and various myths have been created. The first is the myth of high expatriate failure rates, created by massive (mis)quotations (see my 1995 International Journal of HRM article). A large-scale update of this issue (Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2002), places this myth in the wider context of how referencing errors undermine our academic credibility. The IJHRM article has generated considerable interest and more than 40 ISI citations, while the 2002 JOB article is now included in many PhD courses and is starting to gather citations. A final article in this series (with Claus Christensen) suggests abandoning the concept of expatriate failure.

Another myth is the presumed homogeneity of Europe. Many researchers uncritically generalise findings from domestic research as applying worldwide or generalise about Europe from research in a single European country. Research in International HRM & Staffing Policies and HQ-Subsidiary Relationships in MNCs showed that large differences exist between European countries in the area of staffing policies, control mechanisms, international strategy and performance and even response rates to surveys.

In the area of entry mode studies the Kogut & Singh (1988) index of cultural distance has reached an almost mythical status. A very detailed and critical review of research in this area (published in Advances in International Management) shows that there is little or no evidence for the proposed relationship between cultural distance and entry mode choice. Research in this field seems to be characterised by a reductionist approach to culture and an almost complete disregard for both sample idiosyncrasies and research conducted in related areas.

A major stream of research in this programme concerns the process of data collection through international mail surveys. Two articles that draw lessons about (response rates in) international mail surveys (1997 International Business Review and 2000 Industrial Marketing Management) have been widely cited (a total of more than 70 ISI citations) and used by researchers in the field. An important aspect of international mail survey research that has been largely neglected so far is language. I have led a project that involves collaborators from more than 25 different countries, representing all major cultural clusters in the world. The project investigated the impact of language on responses to a questionnaire that included both questions on cultural values and other more "neutral" questions. Several conference papers have been presented about this project and the first journal article with a preliminary analysis for 7 countries was published in Language and Intercultural Communication, while the full results were published in the International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management and showed that the use of English-language questionnaires may obscure national differences. An article dealing with a comparison of pre- and post-September 11 data for our US sample (International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management) and a paper on cross-national diferences in response styles (International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management) draw important conclusions for cross-national research. Based on data collected in the project on Language in International Business we compare ranking and rating as alternatives to study cross-cultural differences.

Related publications

Related online papers - Full list of publications

(Excludes working papers; * indicates a refereed journal article or research-based book chapter.)

  1. * Harzing, A.W.K. and 26 collaborators (review) Ranking or rating: what is the best way to reduce response and language bias in cross-national research?, under review.
  2. * Josiassen, A.; Harzing, A.W.K. (2008) Descending from the ivory tower: Reflections on the relevance and future of country-of-origin research, European Management Review, vol. 5, no. 4.
  3. Harzing, A.W.K. and 26 collaborators (2007) Ranking and rating in native-language versus English-language questionnaires: A methodological comparison, conference proceedings of the EIBA annual meeting, 13-15 December, Catania, Italy.
  4. Harzing, A.W.K. and 26 collaborators (2007) Ranking versus rating: What is the best way to reduce response and language bias in cross-national research?, conference proceedings of the ANZIBA annual meeting, 8-10 November 2007, Newcastle, Australia.
  5. * Harzing, A.W.K. (2006) Response styles in cross-national mail survey research: A 26-country study, The International Journal of Crosscultural Management, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 243-266.
  6. * Harzing, A.W.K. (with 32 country collaborators) (2005) The use of English questionnaires in cross-national research: Does cultural accommodation obscure national differences?, International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, vol. 5, no. 2, 213-224.
  7. Harzing, A.W.K. (2004) Response styles in cross-national mail survey research: Are we comparing apples and oranges?, conference proceedings of the ANZIBA annual meeting, November 5-6, Canberra, Australia.
  8. Harzing, A.W.K. (2004) Comparing work values across countries: The role of response effects, paper presented at the 9th International Conference of Work Values and Behavior, New Orleans, August 4-6.
  9. * Olivas-Luján, M.R.; Harzing, A.W.K.; McCoy, S. (2004) September 11, 2001: The influence of threats on cultural values and cosmopolitanism, International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, vol. 4 (2), pp. 211-228.
  10. * Harzing, A.W.K. (with country collaborators) (2004) - Does language influence response styles? A test of the cultural accommodation hypothesis in fourteen countries, in: Setiadi, B.N.; Supratikny, A.; Lonner, W.J.; Poortinga, Y.H. Ongoing Themes in Psychology and Culture, International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (Selected and revised papers from the 16th IACCP congress).
  11. * Harzing, A.W.K. (2003) The role of culture in entry mode studies: from negligence to myopia?, Advances in International Management, vol. 15, pp. 75-127.
  12. Olivas-Luján, M.R.; Harzing, A.W.K.; McCoy, S. (2003) September 11, 2001: Two quasi-experiments on the influence of threats on cultural values and cosmopolitanism, paper presented at the 63rd Annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Seattle, August 1-6.
  13. * Harzing, A.W.K; Maznevski M. (with country collaborators) (2002) The interaction between language and culture: A test of the cultural accommodation hypothesis in seven countries, Language and Intercultural Communication, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 120-139.
  14. Harzing, A.W.K (with country collaborators) (2002) The role of language in cross-national mail survey research: A test of the cultural accommodation hypothesis in fourteen countries, paper presented at the 62nd Annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Denver, August 9-14.
  15. * Harzing, A.W.K. (2002) Are our referencing errors undermining our scholarship and credibility? The case of expatriate failure rates, Journal of Organizational Behavior, vol. 23, February, pp. 127-148.
  16. Harzing, A.W.K (with country collaborators) (2002) Does language influence response styles? A test of the cultural accommodation hypothesis in fourteen countries, paper presented at the XVI Congress of the International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology, July 15-19, 2002.
  17. Harzing, A.W.K (with country collaborators) (2002) The interaction between language and culture and its impact for cross-national mail survey research: A seven country study, paper accepted for presentation at the ANZAM/IFSAM VIth World Congress, 10-13 July.
  18. Harzing, A.W.K; Maznevski M. (with country collaborators) (2001) Language and Culture: How do they interact? A seven-country study, paper presented at 27th EIBA conference, Paris, 13-15 December.
  19. * Harzing, A.W.K. (2000) Cross-national industrial mail surveys: Why do response rates differ between countries?, Industrial Marketing Management, vol 29, No 3, May, pp. 243-254.
  20. * Harzing, A.W.K. (1997) Response rates in international mail surveys: Results of a 22 country study, International Business Review, vol. 6, no. 6, pp. 641-665.
  21. Harzing, A.W.K. (1996) How to survive international mail surveys: An inside story, conference proceedings of the 22nd EIBA conference, Stockholm, 15-17 December, 1996, pp. 313-339.
  22. * Harzing, A.W.K. (1995) The persistent myth of high expatriate failure rates, International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 6, May, pp. 457-475.
  23. * Harzing, A.W.K. (1995) Research Note: an International Bibliography, European Journal of Industrial Relations, vol 1 (3), pp. 405-412.

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