University of Twente Student Theses
A cross-cultural study on purchasing skills : comparing purchasing and supply management online job advertisements between Europe and Confucian Chinese Society
Zhang, Haoqing (2018) A cross-cultural study on purchasing skills : comparing purchasing and supply management online job advertisements between Europe and Confucian Chinese Society.
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| Abstract: | This research aims to understand whether the purchasing skills required by European and Confucian Chinese employers are culturally determined. “Purchasing skills” refers to the competencies and capabilities of the purchasing and supply management workforce necessary to work effectively in a dynamic multicultural business environment. During the span of this study 61 key competencies from the Confucian Chinese job advertisements were identified and studied. Further analysis resulted in a top ten of the most sought-after key competencies of purchasing and supply management expertise. Which includes, in order of popularity, communication skills, analytical skills, negotiation skills and leadership skills. Moreover, the European sample was already drawn in earlier research from online job sites in three European countries with a similar GDP per capita, but with distinctive different cultural profiles: Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands. To distinct, the cross-cultural difference in in-demand purchasing skills in the labour market, the five cultural dimensions of Hofstede is applied. Based on the frameworks of Hofstede, The results show that cultural values affect each role in developing its own set of competencies. For example, current research shows that it is essential to understand that in the Confucian Chinese societies communication between superior and subordinate is exchanged differently. In contrast, subordinate from the western cultural group expects equal power distributes in the organisation. The study shows that cultural value is a critical factor which contributes to and influences the development of personal competency in an intercultural context. Employees can learn different aspects of culture to enhance an ability to work across cultures in purchasing and supply management. This research will eventually direct to managerial implication. The managerial implication mainly focuses on the role of cross-cultural training which defines the knowledge and skill that purchasing and supply management workforce can act appropriately in different cultural contexts. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Clients: | Unknown organization, Enschede, Netherlands |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 85 business administration, organizational science |
| Programme: | Business Administration MSc (60644) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/76811 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
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