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Transnational Organizations and Cross-Cultural Workplaces pp 155–189Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Mediators: Trust in Individuals and Groups

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Abstract

This chapter highlights the roles of expatriate and host national employees as mediators. Japanese expatriate and Indonesian employees forge links between and among themselves in different circumstances and at different times, creating formal and informal networks. Although nationality is undeniably salient in influencing their relationships, the author’s focus includes biological (e.g. gender, age), personal (e.g. life stages), cultural (e.g. religion), and organizational (e.g. career) factors. This chapter highlights the importance of trust, which is established in individual work and non-work relationships. Trust greatly supports employees to act as mediators, and small talk functions to generate trust. Talk as an action allows them to create porous spaces on the surface of their groups’ bubbles and transfer information which circulated within each bubble.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

    Yukimi Shimoda

  2. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan

    Yukimi Shimoda

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  1. Yukimi Shimoda
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Shimoda, Y. (2017). Mediators: Trust in Individuals and Groups. In: Transnational Organizations and Cross-Cultural Workplaces. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52212-2_5

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