ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
Purpose: The main aim of this study is to examine the determinants influencing cross-cultural communication barriers among expatriates working in Malaysia. Antecedents such as cultural differences (CD), organizational structure (OS), and communication style (CS) have been selected as the independent variables for this study.
Design/methodology: This quantitative study will focus on the expatriates working in Malaysia, particularly in the Selangor area. Questionnaires were distributed to the respondents using a seven-Likert scale and 70 questionnaires were consciously selected for the data analysis. The analysis of the study is using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Software.
Findings: This study concluded that all of the independent variables selected for this study have meaningful relationships with the communication barrier. Findings indicate that cultural differences (CD) has the most significant and positive effect on communication barrier.
Practical Implications: This study will add insightful empirical findings to the existing literature particularly in the context of emerging country. The results can help the managers and expatriates to overcome communication challenges and therefore can enhance the organizational performance.
Bucata, G., and Rizescu, A.M. (2017). “The Role of Communication in Enhancing Work
Effectiveness of an Organization”. Land Forces Academy Review, 22, 49-57
Deari, H., Kimmel, V., and Lopez, P. (2008). “Effects of Cultural Differences in International Business and Proce Negotiations – A Case Study of a Swedish Company with Operations in South America”. International Marketing Strategy.
Franksiska, R. (2006). “Communication Style”. Bina Ekonomi, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp 75-85.
Ghasem, A. R., and Bakhtiar, G. (2017). “The Impact of Organziational Structure on the Effectiveness of Communication from the Perspective of Employees in the Department of Education”. International Journal of Management, Accounting and Economics, Vol.4, No.10.
Keyton, J. (2017). “Communication in Organization”. The Annual Review of
Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behaviour, 21-26.
Kilic, T., and Saygili, I. (2019). “The Effects of Organizational Communication on
Organizational Silence: An Investigation in Aviation Maintenance Centres”. Journal of Cukurova University Institute of Social Sciences, (1), 111-125.
Abdulai, M., Ibrahim, H., & Mohammed, M. (2017). Communicating across cultures in multinational Ibis West Africa. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 58, 42-53.
Adler, N. (2003). International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior (Vol. 28).
Kittler, M., & Faeth, P. C. (2017). How do you fear? Examining expatriates' perception of danger and its consequences. Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research, 5, 21-32.
Louhiala-Salminen, L., Charles, M., & Kankaanranta, A. (2005). English as a lingua franca in Nordic corporate mergers: Two case companies. English for Specific Purposes, 24(4), 401-421.
Macnamara, J. R. (2004). The crucial role of research in multicultural and cross?cultural communication. Journal of Communication Management, 8(3), 322-334.
Mansor, Z., & Adnan, N. (2014). Factors contributing for Malaysian employees' willingness to accept international assignment. International Journal of Economics and Management, 8, 67-80.
Milliman, J., Taylor, S., & Czaplewski, A. J. (2002, 2002/09//). Cross-cultural performance feedback in multinational enterprises: opportunity for organizational learning. Human Resource Planning, 25, 29-33.
Shockley-Zalabak, P., & Hulbert-Johnson, R. (1994). Organizational communication. Assessing communication education: A handbook for media, speech & theatre educators, 291-310.
Suutari, V., & Brewster, C. (2001). Expatriate management practices and perceived relevance. Personnel Review, 30(5), 554-577.
Tenzer, H., & Schuster, T. (2017). Language Barriers in Different Forms of International Assignments (pp. 63-100).
Tian, R., & Lillis, M. (2010). Cultural Issues in the Business World: An Anthropological Perspective. Journal of Social Sciences, 6.
Zbirenko, A., & Andersson, J. (2014). Effect of organizational structure, leadership and communication on efficiency and productivity : A qualitative study of a public health-care organization.
Zorlu, K., & Korkmaz, F. (2021). Organizational Communication as an Effective Communication Strategy in Organizations and the Role of the Leader (pp. 305-320).
Book
Huzynski, A., and Buchanan, D. (2010). Organizational Behaviour”. 7th Edition. Pearson
Education Limited. Essex.
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2005). Qualitative interviewing (2nd ed.): The art of hearing data (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
In-Text Citation: (Ariffin et al., 2022)
To Cite this Article: Ariffin, N. A., Saddam, S. Z., Husain, N., & Abas, N. M. (2022). The Antecedents Influencing Cross-cultural Communication Barrier among Expatriates in Malaysia . International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 12(6), 2118 – 2125.
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non0-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode