FELOresearch.com - research on Foreign Executives in Local Organizations (FELOs)
The FELOresearch website is provided by researchers investigating an international cross-cultural management phenomenon.
Foreign Executives in Local Organisations (FELOs) are a rare phenomenon that differs significantly from expatriate assignments in the subsidiaries of multinational organisations (MNOs).
The phenomenon surfaces in isolated media reports and practitioner publications. The Economist (2010), for example, describes Japanese organisations as an “insular lot”, but reports that several are hiring foreign executives, and theorises that Japan is “opening up”. A newspaper in Pakistan scrutinises foreign executives in a local dairy industry organisation (The International News Islamabad, 2008), and several Americans have been appointed to executive positions in local organisations in India (Bloomberg, 2010). An international executive search firm (Korn/Ferry Institute, 2009) discusses “highly visible” foreign executives in Korean and Chinese organisations whose appointments “can be controversial”, but notes that “the demand for these executives will likely continue”.
FELOresearch explains why FELOs are appointed, what FELOs contribute to the local organisations for which they work, and how cultural distance is bridged in those workplaces. The findings from methodical fieldwork (46 FELO cases investigated in one country; surplus data on additional cases collected non-methodically throughout Asia) include typologies of FELOs and local organisations. These typologies assist in identifying which FELO combinations produce successful outcomes (and those which are likely to fail).
The FELOresearch website provides a platform for communication about FELOs, research findings, and future research. Visitors to the website who are FELOs, colleagues of FELOs, or represent organisations that have appointed FELOs are invited to establish contact.
All information is treated in accordance with the principles outlined in the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, and the Privacy Act 1988. Personal information will not be disclosed to third parties. Data collected for FELOresearch will only be reported in aggregate form, meaning that individuals will not be identifiable.
