Third-country nationals as intercultural boundary spanners in multinational corporations

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the central roles, functions and competences of third-country nationals (TCNs) in intercultural boundary spanning in multinational corporations (MNCs): Why are TCNs particularly important for reducing complexity at the overlapping functional, geographic and external boundaries of MNCs with their related interferences and which role do they play as boundary spanners in cross-boundary collaboration?Design/methodology/approachAfter introducing the theoretical background on boundary spanning and TCNs, the methodology applied in this paper is a theory-driven, qualitative approach based on 13 in-depth semi-structured interviews with TNCs conducted in 10 MNCs.FindingsThe authors aggregate TCNs’ activities into four roles: disembedded cosmopolitan, intermediary, third party and team-related boundary spanner. They show that TCNs tend to understand the complex intercultural context between headquarters and subsidiaries, balance power asymmetries, use their in-between neutrality to create trust, and act in an interculturally highly competent way by using a great variety of intercultural and linguistic skills. The TCNs’ meta-competence permits a higher level, intellectual and abstract perspective, enabling TCNs to consider structures, objects and interactions from an affective distance.Research limitations/implicationsThe differences between TCNs and “regular” expatriates or other interface managers are examined and methodological limitations as well as research implications are critically discussed. MNCs can intentionally assign TCNs with their related competence profiles when expecting boundary-spanning tasks.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the few published that undergirds the TCN concept with empirical data and illustrates the suitability of specific role-takers such as TCNs for some complex challenges in international and intercultural management settings.