Expatriate cross‐cultural training for China: views and experience of “China Hands”

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the views and experience of cross‐cultural training (CCT) of experienced Western business expatriates (“China Hands”) assigned to China. Design/methodology/approach - Data for this study were extracted from a mail questionnaire that targeted business expatriates assigned by Western firms to China. A net‐targeted sample of 651 respondents produced 165 usable questionnaires, following the extraction of questionnaires from respondents who were no longer in China or who were not engaged in business. Findings - Findings of this study further highlight the need for more CCT for business expatriates destined for China. A clear majority of respondents preferred pre‐departure training a few weeks before departing for China and only a few of them claimed that CCT would not have been useful at any time. Most of the China Hands thought that CCT improved core managerial activities and therefore could have helped them to become better managers in China. Practical implications - The views of experienced China Hands will be of use to a wide variety of management practitioners, given the competitive nature of the Chinese business environment. Original/value - The paper offers the view of experienced management practitioners concerning the Chinese business environment. The findings will be of value to both Western business people in China as well as business people considering an expatriate positing to China.