A Study of Intercultural Communication among Japanese, Chinese and Americans working for Japanese subsidiaries in China and in the U.S.

2001 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 11691092
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 海外学術
• Research Field: 教育・社会系心理学
• Research Institution: THE UNIVERSITY OF SHIZUOKA
• Principal Investigator: NISHIDA Hiroko University of Shizuoka, School of International Relations, Professor, 国際関係学部, 教授 (00218166)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): YAMAMOTO Kenji Nihon University, School of International Relations, Professor, 国際関係学部, 教授 (60139087) ; NISHIDA Tsukasa University of Shizuoka, School of International Relations, Professor, 国際関係学部, 教授 (80139089) ; MUROTANI Satoru University of Shizuoka, School of International Relations, Professor, 国際関係学部, 教授 (70157808)
• Project Period (FY): 1999 – 2000
• Keywords: friction in intercultural communication / cognitive differences / behavioral rules of Japanese, Chinese and Americans / cultural schemas / cultural schema analysis / interpersonal communication schemas, / work ethics / leadership styles

Research Abstract

This study was conducted to ascertain the following :
(1) Cognitive differences arising from the different behavioral rules of Japanese, Chinese and American staff working for Japanese subsidiaries in China and the U.S.,
(2) cognitive differences between Japanese and local staff (i.e., Chinese and Americans) regarding their working environment,
(3) leadership style differences between Japanese and local staff,
(4) cross-cultural training using schema theory,
(5) management system differences among participant companies in China and the U.S.,
(6) communication behavior differences among Japanese, Chinese and Americans,
(7) the media coverage on Japanese companies in China,
(8) work ethics in the U.S., and
(9) the historical study of Japanese subsidiaries in China.
Among these studies, the cognitive difference study among Japanese, Chinese and Americans was examined through cultural schema analysis. Cultural schema analysis aims at analyzing relationships between human behavior and cognitive systems by employing schema theory as an explanatory principle of human cognitive systems. For this study, a total of 1459 subjects participated. Of these 263 were Japanese expatriates and 826 were expatriates and 826 were Chinese employees working for Japanese subsidiaries in China. Besides them, 125 were Japanese and 245 were Americans working for Japanese subsidiaries in the U.S. For the management-system study, 25 Japanese companies in China and 22 in the U.S. participated. Moreover, in the study of communication behavior differences, 220 Japanese, 200 Chinese and 227 Americans participated.