Cross cultural management challenges in Hong Kong: In the eyes of North American expatriates

Abstract

In recent years, globalization has enhanced the interaction of global relationships in the aspect of culture, people and economic activity. With few restrictions on company entering and quitting the market, Hong Kong’s economy is extremely open, thus attracting multinational companies to set up overseas locations here. One of the challenges that companies face in overseas location is the difficulties in cross-cultural management. In 2011, there were 55,236 Whites, of which 40.5% were managers and administrators and 46.3% were professionals or associate professionals in Hong Kong. Obviously, the Whites play an important role in management positions in Hong Kong and this paper aims to study the cross- cultural management difficulties that the North Americans faced in Hong Kong. A total of 98North American executives were interviewed through in-depth interviews. The results showed that there are cultural differences between Hong Kong and North America in five dimensions. The results also indicated that the North Americans are more willing to adapt to the local culture when they face cross-cultural management challenges.