Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to self‐reflexively deconstruct a paper published by the author in 1996 about a Singaporean entrepreneur for whom the author worked. Through the deconstruction a number of important methodological and epistemological issues are raised. Firstly, the way...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of a dialogical approach, associated with the Russian literary critic and philosopher Bakhtin, in understanding the portrayal of managerial identity in management narratives. In particular, it applies these ideas critically to...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the idea of expatriate adjustment through naturally occurring data. Specifically, through an investigation of three e‐mails sent to the author by a friend, Doug, the paper explores the notion that adjustment is a fluid concept and that...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer an ontological and methodological alternative to the functionalist paradigm which currently dominates study of the self-initiated expatriate (SIE). It argues conceptually, and with a practical example, that actor-network theory (ANT) offers an...

This paper focuses on the relatively unexplored link between international experience and academic careers. Drawing on a study of 30 British academics in four countries, it reports how they accounted for their decision to take an overseas appointment and how they evaluated that appointment. The...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of realistic job previews (RJPs) and realistic living conditions previews (RLCPs) during the recruitment of a group of internationally mobile knowledge workers who elect to go overseas independently rather than as part of an overseas...

This paper describes and evaluates the use of two methods of case analysis in the conduct of “live” case studies undertaken by MBA students as part of their curriculum. Five small New Zealand businesses were involved and teams of students had to use a “Harvard” or “Western” approach....

Re‐engineering presumes that organizational structures and processes govern behaviours in an organization; seen as, essentially, a North American approach to management. Investigates the transferability of the re‐engineering concept, as proposed by Hammer and Champy, to two companies in...

The current trend among corporations to clearly identify management behavioural competencies, that would enable managers to perform more effectively, has led to many developing what are apparently the dimensions of effective management and leadership behaviour. There are many problems with this...