Search results

Drawing on experiential learning theory, this study seeks to understand how the perceived cultural difference in a foreign country and learning flexibility, which enables more integrated experiential learning from international experience, influence expatriates’ cultural intelligence (CQ) and consequently their adjustment and job performance.

Survey data were collected from 169 expatriates in China. Polynomial regression analyses were employed to test curvilinear relationships between cultural difference and CQ and between learning flexibility and CQ. Mediation hypotheses were tested either by the MEDCURVE procedure if a curvilinear relationship was confirmed or by the Haye’s Process procedure if a curvilinear relationship was not confirmed and instead a linear relationship was confirmed.

The results demonstrated a positive relationship between cultural difference and CQ and an inverted U-shape relationship between learning flexibility and CQ. CQ mediated the relationship between cultural difference and expatriate adjustment and partially mediated the relationship between learning flexibility and expatriate adjustment. CQ positively influenced expatriates’ job performance via expatriate adjustment.

Our findings suggest that companies should not hesitate to send expatriates on assignments to culturally very different countries and focus more attention on the selection of expatriates. The findings of this study suggest firms should choose candidates who are moderate or high in learning flexibility and could engage in integrated learning and specialized learning in a more balanced manner.

This research is the first study that examines the influence of learning flexibility on CQ and expatriate effectiveness. It examines cultural difference through the lens of experiential learning theory and argues that cultural difference constitutes “stimuli” in the experiential learning environment for individual learning in an international context. The results advance our knowledge of the role of experiential learning in developing capable global managers.

Welcome to Volume 6 of Advances in Global Leadership. Our objectives in this volume remain the same as in Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this series (Mobley, Gessner, & Arnold, 1999; Mobley & McCall, 2001; Mobley & Dorfman, 2003; Mobley & Weldon, 2006; Mobley, Wang, & Li, 2009). We seek to advance the definition, conceptualization, and understanding of global leadership processes, and the development of international and global leaders.

Welcome to Volume 5 of Advances in Global Leadership. Our objectives in this volume remain the same as in Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this series (Mobley, Gessner, & Arnold, 1999; Mobley & McCall, 2001; Mobley & Dorfman, 2003; Mobley & Weldon, 2006). We seek to advance the definition, conceptualization, and understanding of global leadership processes and the development of international and global leaders.

William H. Mobley is professor emeritus of management and advisor on executive education at China Europe International Business School in Shanghai. He also is an experienced executive and management consultant and coach working primarily with executives and leadership teams based in China and the Asia Pacific region. He is the president and managing director of the Shanghai-based Mobley Group Pacific (MGP). MGP focuses on: executive assessment for selection and development; executive coaching; organizational design, culture and effectiveness; and China business entry and development. He earned his BA degree in psychology and economics from Denison University, USA and his Ph.D. degree in psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA. He also has been awarded honorary degrees from the University of Americans in Pueblo Mexico and the University of Akron and is an honorary professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has served as a visiting professor at National Taiwan University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and as a visiting fellow at Cornell University. He is author of Employee Turnover: Causes, Consequences and Control (Addison Wesley) and is executive editor of Advances in Global Leadership (JAI/Elsevier). He is a registered organizational psychologist and a fellow of APA, APS, and the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology. Bill previously served as corporate manager of HR Research and Succession Planning for PPG Industries; as dean of the College of Business Administration and later president of Texas A&M University; as managing director of PDI Asia Pacific, and president of the Global Research Consortia Ltd. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of several companies and foundations in Hong Kong, China, and the United States. He is a US representative on the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) (e-mail: Mwilliam@ceibs.edu).

This paper aims to contrastively investigate the antioxidant behavior and tribological performance of a novel multifunctional additive (PBT) and dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) in complex lithium grease (CLG).

PBT was successfully synthesized through esterification reaction. The antioxidant behavior of PBT and ZDDP was investigated by thermal analysis, and meanwhile, their tribological performance was evaluated by Optimol SRV-IV oscillating reciprocating friction and wear tester (SRV-IV test) and MRS-1J four-ball tester (Four-ball test). Furthermore, their anticorrosion ability was determined by copper strip corrosion test.

Four-ball tests showed that the extreme pressure property of PBT was a little inferior to that of ZDDP. Besides, all the other results demonstrated that PBT showed more superior antioxidation stability, friction-reduction and antiwear ability, as well as anticorrosion performance than ZDDP.

This work provides a study of hindered phenol derivative as a multifunctional additive in lubricant grease, which can contribute to the development of substitution of ZDDP.

This research attempts to investigate the differences of consumer perceptions on product quality, price, brand leadership and brand personality among national brands, international private labels and local private labels. It aims to use product categories as the moderator of the preceding perceptions.

Data were collected outside the entrances of the main rail station of Taipei, Taiwan. A systematic sampling was adopted and 254 questionnaires were eventually collected.

The findings revealed that on the whole national brands were perceived as significantly superior to international private labels, while international private labels were perceived as being superior to local private labels in terms of all perceptions except price perception. The findings also revealed that product categories moderated price and brand personality perceptions across the three brand types, while product categories failed to moderate the effect of the three brands types on quality and brand leadership perceptions.

This research represents one of the few pioneer works that empirically investigate the aforementioned issues.