不仅是“入乡随俗”:外派经理的跨文化“三环学习”

Not Only “When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do”:Expatriate Managers’ Cross-cultural “Triple-loop Learning”

本研究以中国跨国公司派驻德国、日本、墨西哥三国四地的外派经理为样本,通过案例研究构建跨文化"三环学习"理论模型,能够较好地说明"有效的"外派经理并不仅仅"适应"文化差异,克服文化障碍可能引起的"负向偏差";而且能利用文化差异创造新的行动方案,促进组织新的"协商文化"形成。本研究显示:外派经理在"单环学习"中,通过工具性学习,在管理实践和行为层面进行调整,以适应新情境下的文化。在"双环学习"中,通过变革性学习,变革和调整了自己部分信念和价值观,形成更贴近当下情境的解释框架。在"三环学习"中,与跨文化工作伙伴通过对话学习,认识到被彼此视为理所当然的潜在基本假设是根植于特定的和"有偏的"社会文化系统,并在对话中将其进行意义解构和意义重组,涌现出新的行动方案,成为"协商文化"的微观基础。跨文化"三环学习"培育和发展了外派经理的全球领导力,从个人的文化适应逐渐走向促进组织的文化协商。

Sampling from managers in Germany(Munich and Elsenburg), Japan and Mexico of a Chinese MNE, this study constructs a theoretical model of "triple-loop learning" through a case study. It illustrates effective learning patterns and learning strategies which are instrumental to varied levels.Thus, it provides a better explanation that, "effective" expatriate managers not only can "adapt" to cultural differences and overcome the "negative bias" caused by cultural barriers, but also can use cultural differences to create novel action plans working with partners and affect the formation of a fresh"negotiation culture". Therefore, this model illuminates the process by which expatriate managers transform the cultural differences, from the "negative" resistance to management to "positive" assistance to innovation. Besides, the relationship between the transformation and the cross-cultural adaptation of expatriate managers is pictured.It shows that in "single-loop learning", expatriate managers adjust to management practices and behaviors through instrumental learning, aiming to conform to the culture of the new context. In"double-loop learning", through transformative learning, they transform and rectify partial beliefs and values to form an interpretation framework closer to the current situation. In "triple-loop learning",expatriate managers and cross-cultural partners recognize that the deep beliefs taken for granted are rooted in specific and "biased" social and cultural systems through dialogue learning. What’s more, they conduct sense-deconstructing and sense-reorganizing to the conflicting "potential basic assumptions",emerging new action plans. These innovative action plans will integrate to organizational experience,laying a micro basis for the "negotiation culture". From individual cultural adaptation to the promotion of organizational cultural negotiation, cross-cultural "triple-loop learning" nurture and develop the global leadership of expatriate managers.The theoretical contributions are threefold: Firstly, the constructed "triple-loop learning" model integrates three different learning models, "instrumental learning", "transformative learning" and"dialogue learning", into a dynamic theoretical framework. Secondly, this study applies the "doubleloop learning" theory to cross-cultural learning situations and expands it. Thirdly, this study replaces the"static culture" perspective of culturalism with a "negotiation culture" perspective, expounding the dynamic process of global leadership development and the micro-foundation of cultural evolution in cross-cultural workplaces. The cross-cultural "triple-loop learning" model established in this study can afford favorable theoretical implications and practical guidance for the cross-cultural management practices and global leadership development of expatriate managers.