Expatriate management of Emerging Market Multinational Enterprises : Influence of informal institutional environment on expatriate effectiveness with the case of Chinese MNEs

Abstract: In face of the rapid globalization, more and more emerging market MNEs (EMNEs) are assigning expatriates to establish and manage overseas tasks in order to gain the competitive advantages in global markets. Consequently, the issue of expatriate management within the context of EMNEs has become an important concern in the field of IHRM. The purpose of the thesis is to delineate how expatriate management of Chinese MNEs that shaped by unique Chinese informal institutional environment may impact upon the expatriate effectiveness (work adjustment and job performance) in foreign countries. The thesis uses a qualitative research and collects empirical data from 11 Chinese expatriates working in 3 different Chinese MNEs’ Nordic divisions. The empirical results reveal the fact that Harmony is positively related to work adjustment through indoctrinating the specific corporate value, Group Orientation (family attachment) has positive relationship with job performance, Top-down control has negative relationship with work adjustment because of the hierarchy pressure, and Guanxi has no link with expatriate effectiveness under the given regulations and staffing policies. In the context of EMNEs, the influences of four different informal institutional factors are able to intervene the IHRM practices so as to increase or decrease the expatriate effectiveness.