Separation, emulation and competition: Hybridization styles of management cultures in Thailand, Mexico and Israel

Abstract

Purpose

The paper's aim is to show three different styles local managers around the world use to hybridize global corporations' and local management practices and values.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is qualitative research based on managers' stories.

Findings

The paper provides data of the styles of hybridization of management produced by local managers in Thailand, Mexico, and Israel of two global corporations headquartered in Sweden and the USA.

Research limitations/implications

Through a focused inspection of 24 managers in three different countries (two offices in each country) this paper attempts to identify local styles of hybridization –obviously, further research is needed to confirm the findings of this research. Managers who were interviewed are in urban sites in Thailand, Mexico and Israel, senior managers with academic degrees in engineering or business, and they manage highly trained workers. The cultural processes this paper develops are most applicable to people like those interviewed

Practical implications

Recognizing the styles of hybridization shown in this paper can be of assistance for global corporations in setting the conditions not only for the transfer but also for the appropriate integration and adaptation of their management values and practices to the local.

Originality/value

The paper suggests seeing local managers of global corporations as acknowledgeable agents who do not absorb the corporations' management forms as they are but use different styles to integrate them in their own.

Citation

Shimoni, B. (2008), "Separation, emulation and competition: Hybridization styles of management cultures in Thailand, Mexico and Israel", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 107-119. https://doi.org/10.1108/09534810810847066