Which of the following activities involves giving the expatriate recognition?

We analyze differences in the innovativeness of expatriates to see why some are more innovative than others. While we know that having cross-cultural competences may foster innovativeness (Un, 2016), we suggest there is a need to theoretically expand how and why this happens during an expatriate assignment. A better understanding of the international innovation process is important because as multinational enterprises expand into new international markets, their expatriates are exposed to greater cultural diversity than ever before (Lücke, Kostova, & Roth, 2014). While it has been demonstrated that domestic employees that can manage and leverage cultural diversity outperform those that cannot (Chen, Liu, & Portnoy, 2012), relatively less is known about how international employees, specifically expatriates, are able to be innovative in a culturally diverse context. Two papers have recently partially addressed this gap. First, Muzychenko and Liesch (2015) proposed why entrepreneurs perceive international opportunity recognition (IOR) to be a feasible and desirable activity. Second, Dheer and Lenartowicz (2016) demonstrated how the cross-cultural competences of metacognitive and cognitive cultural intelligence increased students’ entrepreneurial intentions; albeit not in an international context. We adopt the experiential learning theory (Kolb, 1984) and a model of opportunity recognition (Corbett, 2005) to build on these articles by describing how and why expatriates high in metacognitive and cognitive cultural intelligence are better able to recognize opportunities in order to be innovative in a foreign environment.

A broad example of cross-cultural competences is cultural intelligence (CQ), which is defined as “an individual’s capability to function and manage effectively in culturally diverse settings” (Ang et al., 2007, p. 336). CQ is multifaceted and composed of distinct cognitive (metacognitive and cognitive CQ) and action-oriented components (motivational and behavioral CQ) (Bücker, Furrer, & Peeters Weem, 2016). CQ has been proposed as a key element of successful interactions in international markets (Alon & Higgins, 2005) emphasizing the role of the expatriate (Ott & Michailova, 2016a). For example, CQ is positively related to individual-level outcomes such as expatriates’ adjustment (Malek & Budhwar, 2013) and performance (Lee & Sukoco, 2010). Given the importance of possessing cross-cultural competences, we ask how an expatriate’s level of two specific CQ competences (i.e., metacognitive and cognitive) may drive outcomes such as IOR and innovativeness?

Currently, there is limited research focused on specific cross-cultural competences as drivers of innovativeness (Un, 2016). Additionally, while the international business literature has provided substantial insight into the role of expatriates in value creation and performance (Chang, Gong, & Peng, 2012), there has been a dearth of attention on their role in the discovery of opportunities resulting in innovativeness (Dabic, González-Loureiro, & Harvey, 2015; Muzychenko & Liesch, 2015). This is interesting, given the centrality of expatriates in the knowledge brokerage process due to their access to novel, idiosyncratic, and local information as well as heterogeneous networks (Minbaeva & Michailova, 2004). We know that access to diverse networks and knowledge along with cross-cultural experience and global mobility may stimulate entrepreneurial activity (Baer, 2010; Singh, Hills, Lumpkin, & Hybels, 1999; Vandor & Franke, 2016). However, getting access to local knowledge is difficult. Further, recognizing opportunities is particularly challenging in an international setting because they are recognized differently than in a domestic environment (Zahra, 2005). Applying the experiential learning theoretical framework, we posit that expatriates learn to recognize opportunities and exploit them if they possess the cross-cultural competences to access, process, and capitalize on novel and heterogeneous local knowledge abroad.

Our study contributes to the international entrepreneurship and innovation literature in three ways: First, we go beyond the conceptualization of expatriates as knowledge brokers by identifying their potential to recognize opportunities if they possess certain cross-cultural competences. Thereby, we answer recent calls for a better understanding of IOR and innovativeness (Knight, Liesch, Zhou, & Reuber, 2015). Our focus on cross-cultural competences as antecedents to IOR also contributes to research of their predictive power in an international setting (Ott & Michailova, 2016a). Second, we examine how IOR mediates the relationship between two specific cross-cultural competences (i.e., metacognitive and cognitive CQ) and innovativeness in an international environment. Expatriates without these two cross-cultural competences might not discover opportunities abroad for innovative products, services, and processes. Thus, we suggest that IOR is not an end in itself, but may lead to innovativeness if appropriately exploited. By theoretically linking cross-cultural competences to innovativeness through IOR, we advance research on individual-level innovation-inducing factors. Finally, because opportunity recognition is cognitive in nature (Corbett, 2005), applying an experiential learning theory can be particularly fruitful for explaining why expatriates high in metacognitive and cognitive CQ can better identify and exploit opportunities. Our findings provide potentially important guidance for expatriates as they strive to innovate, as well as offer practical implications for MNEs attempting to recruit and develop them.

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  Which term refers to giving an expatriate recognition for their international service when they return home?

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  international organization, institution drawing membership from at least three states, having activities in several states, and whose members are held together by a formal agreement.

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