Overview

Trade between China and Africa is increasing year on year, while the West increasingly debates the nature and implications of China’s presence. Yet little research exists at the organizational and community levels. While western press reporting is overwhelmingly negative, African governments mostly welcome the Chinese presence. But what happens at the management level? How are Chinese organizations run? What are they bringing to communities? What is their impact on the local job market? How do they manage staff? How are they working with local firms? This book seeks to provide a theoretical framework for understanding Chinese organizations and management in Africa and to explore how their interventions are playing out at the organizational and community levels in sub-Saharan Africa. Based on rigorous empirical research exploring emerging themes in specific African countries, this book develops implications for management knowledge, education and training provision, and policy formulation. Importantly it seeks to inform future scholarship on China’s management impact in the world generally, on Africa’s future development, and on international and cross-cultural management scholarship. Primarily aimed at scholars of international management, with an interest in China and/or in China in Africa, this important book will also be of great interest to those working in the area of development studies, international politics, and international relations.

Full Product Details

Author:   Terence Jackson (Middlesex University, UK) ,  Lynette Louw (Rhodes University, South Africa) ,  Dev K. Boojihawon (Open University, UK)
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   0.453kg
ISBN:  

9780367623463

ISBN 10:   0367623463
Pages:   306
Publication Date:   30 May 2022
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

PART I The context 1 1 Current research on Chinese organizations in Africa: what do we know, and what do we need to do? 3 TERENCE JACKSON International management research on China in Africa in its geopolitical context 5 The nature of Chinese organizations in Africa 8 Chinese engagement with African communities 12 What do we still need to know about China’s engagement at the organizational level? 16 Understanding the theoretical implications for international management studies 17 Appropriate research methodologies 17 From motivation to action 18 Chinese firms and their contribution to Africa’s development 19 References 19 2 Why is the Chinese presence in Africa important to management scholars? 23 LYNETTE LOUW Motives of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa 26 Contents viii Contents Critical development theories: relevance for international and cross-cultural management studies 29 Cultural synergy and divergence: implications for management scholars 33 Factors influencing the transfer of technology and knowledge: implications for management practices 35 Influence of Chinese and African cultural philosophies and practices on Chinese HRM practices 40 Summary 43 References 46 3 Potential symbiotic Sino-African relations and policymaking: underexplored, under-researched or clearly misunderstood? 53 ELLIS L.C. OSABUTEY, ROBERT E. HINSON AND OGECHI ADEOLA Existing scholarly work on Sino-African relations 55 China–Africa trade and investment policy review 56 Technological and innovative capacity building through FDI 58 Chinese investments in Africa and the potential symbiotic benefits 60 Emerging literature and a new research framework 63 Conclusion 67 Acknowledgement 69 References 69 4 International human resource management strategies of Chinese firms in Africa 74 CHENGCHENG MIAO Chinese FDI 75 The strategic motives of Chinese FDI 75 The characteristics of Chinese FDI in Africa 78 Types of firm ownership 79 Voices about Chinese FDI in Africa 81 The impacts of traditional culture on HRM in China and Africa 84 IHRM strategies of Chinese companies 85 International staffing approach 86 Chinese expatriates in subsidiaries 88 Managing Chinese expatriates in Africa 90 Contents ix Towards a conceptual framework of Chinese expatriation in Africa 93 Research opportunities 94 References 96 5 Towards intercultural effectiveness in Sino-African organisations: exploring synergies and differences in communication culture 103 FUNGAI CHIGWENDERE China in Africa: the situation and the challenges 104 A multi-view conceptual framework 105 Exploring synergies and differences in Western, African and Chinese communication culture 108 Values and guiding philosophies (1): comparison and implications for communication 111 Self-perceptions (2): comparison and implications for communication 117 Nature of communication (3): comparison and implications for communication 117 Degree of interaction (4): comparison and implications for communication 118 Objective of communication (5): comparison and implications for communication 119 Process and style of communication (6): comparison and implications for communication 120 Implications for management and theory development 120 Conclusion 121 References 122 PART II Countries and themes 129 6 Cross-cultural communication and knowledge transfer in China–Africa joint ventures: anglophone versus francophone experiences 131 ABDOULKADRE ADO Background: anglophone vs. francophone Africa 133 What we were looking for in this research 136 How we conducted the research 137 x Contents What we found in our research 138 Chinese people working in Africa 138 Understanding Sino-Africa communication 139 Study highlights 143 Poor language as a significant obstacle to knowledge transfer 143 Anglophones like teaching English, francophones like learning Mandarin 144 Towards hybrid languages in Sino-African joint ventures: Chinglish and Frenchnese 146 Conclusion 148 References 149 7 Chinese organisations and management in Zimbabwe: an analysis of press representation 152 ZINDIYE STANISLOUS Introduction 152 Chinese relations with Zimbabwe 152 Chinese firms and the local community 154 The impact of the Chinese on the local job market 156 Chinese organisations and the management of Zimbabwe staff 157 General issues, problems, positives and negatives 158 The positives 158 The negatives 160 Conclusion 162 References 163 8 South African employees’ commitment to a Chinese organisation 166 STEVEN PATERSON AND LYNETTE LOUW Concept of organisational commitment used in this study 166 Factors influencing organisational commitment 167 Open communication 168 Leadership 168 Supervisory support 168 Job security 168 Opportunities for training and development 169 Compensation 169 Promotional opportunities 169 Contents xi What we were looking for in our research 169 How we conducted this research 170 What we found from our research 171 Open communication 171 Leadership 172 Supervisory support 172 Opportunities for training and development 173 Compensation 173 Job security 174 Promotional opportunities 174 Recognition (new factor) 175 Trust (new factor) 175 Levels of organisational commitment 176 Conclusions and Implications 176 References 179 9 The influence of organisational culture on a high-commitment work system: the case of a Chinese multinational corporation in South Africa 184 LINDA MABUZA AND MATTHEUS J. LOUW Organisational culture and HCWS in a Chinese MNC 184 A narrative of organisational culture 185 HCWS and employee commitment 186 What we wanted to achieve in our research 186 How we conducted this research 187 Our findings from the research 187 Organisational culture of the MNC (Objective 1) 188 The nature of the Chinese MNC’s HCWS (Objective 2) 193 Discussion and conclusions relating to our findings on culture and HCWS 196 Managerial implications and recommendations 199 Limitations and further research 200 References 201 10 Experiences of Chinese and Tanzanian cooperation in a Chinese organisation in Tanzania 204 CLAUDE-HÉLÈNE MAYER AND CHRISTIAN MARTIN BONESS Contextual insights 204 Managing Chinese organisations in African contexts 205 xii Contents How we did the research 206 How we analysed and interpreted our data 209 What we found from our research 210 Experiences of Chinese and Tanzanian employees within the organisation 210 Strategy 211 Structure, decision-making and participation 211 Leadership styles 212 Staff and managers 213 Recruitment 214 Qualifications and training 215 Knowledge sharing 216 Working conditions and atmosphere 216 Motivation, benefits and rewards 217 Conclusion on the experiences of Chinese and Tanzanian employees within the organisation 218 Chinese and Tanzanian employees’ perceptions of their societal and organisational work environment 219 Interaction with community and local organisations 219 Interaction with government and trade unions 220 Benefits for Africa and Tanzania 221 Conclusion on the Chinese and Tanzanian views on the societal and organisational work environment 221 Chinese and Tanzanian views on culture 222 Chinese views on Chinese and African values 222 Tanzanian views on Tanzanian and Chinese values 223 Conclusions on the Chinese and Tanzanian views on cultural values 224 Chinese and Tanzanian ideas of future collaboration 224 Summary of Chinese and Tanzanian ideas towards future collaboration 226 Reflections on our findings 227 Concluding remarks and recommendations 229 Acknowledgements 230 References 230 11 Chinese firms in Uganda: the important role of the mediator 234 CHARLES MBALYOHERE What we were looking for in this study 235 How we conducted this research 236 Contents xiii What we found from our research 237 The mediator role 237 Mediation between Chinese managers and African employees 240 Mediation between Chinese managers and the hosting communities 242 Mediation between Chinese managers and regulatory institutions 244 Mediation between Chinese managers and clients/market stakeholders 244 Integrated perspectives about the mediatory role 245 Suggestions to enhance the mediatory role 246 Conclusions 247 Limitations of the study and implications for future research 248 References 248 PART III Implications 253 12 How can we help to develop Chinese and African managers? Building synergies through hybrid practice-based management partnerships 255 DEV K. (ROSHAN) BOOJIHAWON The failings of management education in Africa 257 Refusing to play the game: The case for a hybrid practice-based approach for African management 259 Tapping into Chinese management approaches 261 Modelling hybridization for Africa: a China–Africa hybrid practice-based management development (CAHPMD) framework 264 Implications for African management education and research 267 Conclusion 269 References 269 Index 275

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Author Information

Terence Jackson is Emeritus Professor of Cross-Cultural Management, Middlesex University Business School, London, UK, and a visiting professor in the Department of Management, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. Lynette Louw, appointed in the Raymond Ackerman Chair of Management, Department of Management, is the Deputy Dean, Faculty of Commerce at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. Dev K. (Roshan) Boojihawon is Associate Professor of Strategy at University of Birmingham, Business School, Department of Strategy and International Business.

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