跨国经营企业员工的外派动机形成机理:基于扎根理论的研究

Research on the Formation Mechanism of Expatriates’ Motivation of the Chinese Operating Across Border Enterprises Based on Grounded Theory

以任务为导向的企业外派是促进企业国际化、实施企业“走出去”战略的重要举措。如何有效识别员工个体的动机水平,以提升企业外派有效性是我国企业外派管理实践中亟待解决的问题。本研究以自我决定理论作为切入点,重点关注中国跨国经营企业员工的外派动机形成机理和理论构建,通过扎根理论方法,对27名外派员工进行访谈。本文深入挖掘中国跨国经营企业员工的外派动机因素,并构建了外派动机形成机理的理论框架。研究发现,外派动机依据自我决定程度的高低可分为自我发展性动机和职责驱动性动机两类,二者并非相互对立的动机,而是处于一个连续体中。研究对员工的外派动机形成的前因也进行了探索,发现外派自主性需求、社交需求和胜任需求对个体外派动机的形成具有关键影响。此外,受到跨文化环境的影响,来自外部的支持性环境和限制性环境在外派动机形成过程中发挥了重要的边界作用。本研究拓展了动机理论在外派领域的应用,为企业有效识别、激励和管理外派员工提供了理论指导。

Assigned expatriates is an essential measure to promote the internationalization of enterprises and the "go global" strategy implementation. How to effectively identify the motivation level of individuals to improve the effectiveness of expatriates is an urgent problem to be solved in the practice of expatriate management in China.Based on the self-determination theory and the grounded theory method, this study conducted interviews with 27 expatriates of Chinese operating across border enterprises to explore their motivation and formation mechanism. This paper deeply explores the motivation factors of expatriates and constructs the theoretical framework of the formation mechanism of motivation. We found that according to the degree of self-determination, assignment motivation can be divided into self-development motivation and duty-driven motivation, which are not opposed to each other, but in a continuum. At the same time, the need for autonomy, the need for social interaction, and the need for competence have a significant impact on the formation of the expatriates’ motivation. Besides, the formation of the motivation to expatriates is moderated by the external supportive environment and restrictive environment. This study expands the application of motivation theory in the expatriation field and provides theoretical guidance for enterprises to effectively identify, motivate and manage employees for expatriation.