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Paradigms are basic assumptions about how social reality is perceived, understood and explained. Whereas most research is based on a single paradigm, few empirical papers show the advantages of using multiple paradigms within a study. This article pleads for multi-paradigm studies in cross-cultural management research in order to reach a more multifaceted representation of cultural phenomena. This is particularly consistent with the field of cross-cultural management, because it would be ethnocentric to consider intercultural situations only from one perspective, usually that of one’s own culture. The argument corresponds to the ambition of cross-cultural management to respect and adopt multiple (cultural) perspectives and, analogously, to achieve a ‘paradigmatic ethnorelativism’. Based on an intercultural situation, and therefore going beyond meta-theoretical reasoning, this article demonstrates multi-paradigmatic sensitivity in terms of the functionalist, interpretive and critical paradigms. The use of these theoretical concepts leads to multiple angles and a less ‘ethnocentric’ position, and hence to more nuanced knowledge creation with regard to the intercultural situation. The ‘blind spots’ of each paradigm, but also their complementarities, are discussed. Consequently, this article raises theoretical and practical implications for cross-cultural management by offering a way to a richer understanding of intercultural situations through openness to different paradigms.

This paper explores the potential of conducting multiparadigm research within and beyond cross-cultural management, using narratives to examine how organizations shape migrant integration experiences and trajectories. It highlights the strengths of paradigmatic multiplicity in research with examples of three illustrative studies respectively using functionalist, interpretive and critical perspectives, while also considering the boundaries of these individual approaches. The paper proceeds to explore the potential of adopting a multiparadigm approach within a research strategy that places narratives at the centre of enquiry. It identifies the scope and focus of future research for a socially and politically important area of enquiry; it evaluates the application of diverse paradigm-driven methodological perspectives including the challenges involved in using them alone and in combination; and it develops a transferable framework to guide research in cross-cultural management, organization and migration studies that helps to assure procedural and conceptual rigour, and to generate practicable insights that facilitate successful integration outcomes.

Migrants entering a new country also search for belonging. Through employment, migrants work in organizations and experience socialization in these new contexts. Thereby, organizations offer migrants a wide range of possibilities for identification and are thus places to regain a sense of belonging. We rely on prior research showing what migrants experience during the process of organizational socialization to organizational identification, more specifically through (a) sense-making which (b) provides self-esteem and self-enhancement, and (c) reduces uncertainty. Furthermore, we also investigate the interplay of various in-groups (multiple cultures) and levels (micro, meso, macro) that migrants identify with. Consequently, we follow a cross-level approach to identity in and beyond organizations and combine migration, organizational, and intercultural research. Based on a qualitative interview study in Germany, we highlight how positive organizational identification results not only in companies’ workforce retention but also in migrants’ increased societal identification. Moreover, we emphasize the important role German colleagues play in the socialization process across various levels. They serve as socialization agents being individual interaction partners and team members, but also representatives of professional cultures and of the German society. In sum, our research yields important theoretical and practical implications. We provide interesting avenues for future research to uncover the complex interrelationships in more detail, open up the black-box of organizational socialization, and rely on interdisciplinarity in a complementary way. Human Resources Management could consider identification as a multi-layered opportunity, recognize the potentials of migrants’ identification, and thus strive for the sustainable development of their competencies.

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PurposeDrawing on an institutional perspective, the purpose of this paper is to shed light on mobility patterns and assignment situations in 15 German non-profit organizations (NPOs) in the public diplomacy and international aid sectors. Its aim is to explore how differing field logics are related to international staffing practices in the different sectors.Design/methodology/approachA multiple case study approach was employed, based on 51 expert interviews and corresponding document analysis.FindingsThe findings display similarities between NPOs of the same sector but differences between the sectors with regard to numbers of “expensive” expatriates and the assignment situation; this is a result of the intersection of different institutional pressures in the respective fields.Research limitations/implicationsThe article is based on a limited number of cases in the German context and does not allow for generalization. The results may be NPO specific; further research is necessary to compare the institutional embeddedness of staffing decisions in MNCs, other NPO sectors and country contexts.Practical implicationsOrganizations in both fields find different answers to similar external pressures, which may encourage mutual learning.Originality/valueThis article highlights the neglected research topic of expatriation in non-corporate assignment settings and offers an alternative view on staffing decisions than the previously predominant rational one.

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