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Transnational Business/Social Ties: Consequences of Interactions

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Transnational Organizations and Cross-Cultural Workplaces

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Abstract

Using the results of a short survey together with ethnographical findings, this chapter examines the consequences of face-to-face interactions between expatriate and host national employees within and beyond host societies. Face-to-face interactions through everyday work and life transmit “thick” information and bring about other outcomes, such as shared emotions and feelings, among participants. This chapter demonstrates that some ties between expatriate employees and the host society, especially host nationals, are unbounded by the specific geographical place or time of an expatriate assignment period. With a focus on the emotional dimension of their relationships, this chapter offers a macro picture of employees’ social networks and the consequences of their transnational movements. It suggests the creation of a latent transnational business/social community beyond geographical and social boundaries.

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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). Transnational Business/Social Ties: Consequences of Interactions. In: Transnational Organizations and Cross-Cultural Workplaces. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52212-2_7

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