How Effective Are Expatriate Management and Guanxi Networks - Evidence from Chinese Industries

This rapidly increasing international commercial operations place demands on all facets of a business enterprise. One area especially challenged by these rising pressures is human resources, particularly in the area of staffing host country operations. This article reports not only on the management of international assignments but also on expatriates' guanxi (personal connections) utilization of Taiwanese enterprises investing in China. No significant relationship was found between the best practices of expatriate management and the effectiveness and performance of Taiwanese firms. Only guanxi networks utilization of expatriates show the significant relationship on expatriate effectiveness and firm performance. The questionnaire results generally suggest that the responding Taiwanese enterprises differ relatively little on the types of corporate expatriate management policies and practices they use