1.8 International Organizational Behavior

As organizations become more international and embrace both different nationalities and different cultures, the study of organizational behavior is expanding to involve the global environment. As we study international organizational behavior, all of the principles mentioned in previous sections become even more important as organizations become more multicultural and multinational. The study of international organizational behavior requires an understanding of various regional contexts (Asia, Middle East, North Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, Australia, and Oceania) and their numerous local contexts with the indigenous cultures. Furthermore, researchers need to understand the cross-cultural and virtual interactions present, especially in multinational corporations (MNCs). Although all members in organizations are human beings, individuals working with different cultures and nationalities experience diverse experiences that cannot be assumed to be similar to those individuals working in a homogenous setting.

As organizations become more team oriented to cope with the need to be flexible and responsive to today’s volatile business environment, team research (especially cross-cultural and virtual) is becoming more critical in international organizational behavior. Finally, the perception of organizational change and the rates of change in different regions and nations are now included under the umbrella of international organizational behavior. In this course, we offer some concrete examples that highlight the international flavor of organizational behavior across individual, team, and organizational levels.