An Empirical Investigation of Bridge Individuals and Bridging Roles in Multinational Companies

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K23227
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0107:Economics, business administration, and related fields
• Research Institution: Kyoto University (2020); Hiroshima City University (2019)
• Principal Investigator: Liu Ting 京都大学, 経営管理研究部, 講師 (00843450)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-08-30 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: bridge individuals / bridging roles / headquarter & subsidiary / language skills / cultural skills / expatriates / virtual work

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research project investigated bridge individuals and their bridging roles in multinational companies (MNCs). This project focused on developing the framework, test the affecting factors, and gather the potential consequences of bridging roles. By integrating interdisciplinary areas, this study uncovered if and how language skills and/or cultural skills can be utilized as resources that influence bridging roles. Due to the influence of COVID-19, this project also explored how expatriates with different host country language proficiencies have used different mechanisms to improve their virtual work adaptivity during COVID-19. Main findings from this research project have been presented at several international and domestic academic conferences and submitted to English academic journals and a Japanese book.

Free Research Field

国際人的資源管理論・組織行動論

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、多国籍企業の国際人的資源管理戦略において、複数の文化や言語に精通した人材のマネジメントに焦点を当て、学術的に新たな理論構築と発見を提示した。学問分野の発展のためにも、そして今後さらに国際化を推進する日本企業の言語戦略と人材活用のあり方を考える上でも非常に重要である。新型コロナウイルス危機下において、国際比較研究を通じ、ブリッジ人材と呼ばれる人材は新型コロナウイルスの危機下における行動的な変化を分かる上で、新型コロナウイルスの危機が終息してから会社がどの様なサポートを提供すべきかを明らかにする意義もある。