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A narrative analysis of the subjective experience of U.S expatriate managers

Ambuske, Gail Cort
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1054921493

Abstract Details

1990, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Organizational Behavior.
The world economy is becoming increasingly interdependent. Corporations in the United States have become less competitive in this global marketplace as reflected in a dramatic decline in percentage of market share. Pivotal to our ability to collaborate and compete in a world economy are our human resources deployed abroad. This study focused on the expatriate manager. Specifically, the narratives of fifteen returned expatriate mangers were content analyzed to develop an understanding of the subjective experience of the individual while abroad. The subjective experience of the individual was defined as a complex of relationships, causal linkages and personal values. The following questions guided the inquiry: (1) What are the contextual components of the expatriate experience as delineated and interpreted by individuals having worked abroad as mangers? (2) What are the recurring subjects or ideas within or across stories and narratives that reflect significance for the individual expatriate? (3) What is the relationship of these themes to organizational and individual objectives abroad? (4) What are the images and metaphors that function as personal frameworks of analysis for the manger abroad? (5) What are the implications of these images and metaphors for expatriate behavior and organizational outc omes abroad A research methodology was developed using the assumptions and methods of rhetorical criticism, literary criticism, and ethnography. Data analysis involved contextual analysis of the individual narratives, structural analysis of stories embedded within the narratives, and thematic analysis of narrative content Themes and overarching metaphors were developed and used to explore the implications of specific subjective meanings for the individual and the organization(s) to which the expatriate manager belongs Major findings included the following: (1) Individual narratives contained rich data for our understanding of the subjective experience of the individual abroad. (2) A methodology that combines the approaches of rhetorical criticism, literary criticism, and ethnography can develop enlarged understandings of the human experience using the natural artifacts of that experience. (3) The expatriate subjective experience abroad exists in a complex, reciprocal relationship with the objective characteristics of the assignment abroad. (4) The themes of failed dependence, escape from complexity, gamboling, nascence, institutionalized marginality, illusion, and heightened visibility of self reflected the subjective reality of the experience for the individual expatriate. (5) The metaphors of the game, the romantic journey, the tragedy, and the battle link individual experiences into a unified framework for the expatriate manager. (6) These findings indicate an expanded role for the human resource function in the organizations that send employees abroad. The role includes the importance of assisting in the process of individual sense-making before, during, and after the assignment abroad.
Eric Neilsen (Advisor)
207 p.
Business Administration, Management
U.S. expatriate managers

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Ambuske, G. C. (1990). A narrative analysis of the subjective experience of U.S expatriate managers [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1054921493

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Ambuske, Gail. A narrative analysis of the subjective experience of U.S expatriate managers. 1990. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1054921493.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Ambuske, Gail. "A narrative analysis of the subjective experience of U.S expatriate managers." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 1990. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1054921493

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1054921493
1,087
© 1990, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.