Leveraging Values in Global Organizations

Organizations of today frequently emphasize their way of doing things in the belief that they can guide employees’ work and link behaviors to positive organizational outcomes.  Such articulation has taken on many guises over the years, many based on values connected to organizational culture, sometimes argued to ‘glue’ geographically dispersed multinational companies (MNCs) together, while managing – or effectively overriding – national cultural differences. Interestingly, the tide now seems to have turned, and a look at organizations’ present-day websites reveals that MNCs are more likely to embrace cultural diversity, view multiculturalism as an asset, and envision multicultural leadership. Culture – both organizational and national – is now viewed as something to be leveraged, and values are seen as instrumental for success.

Since the early works on national cultural values, much has been learned about how to manage differences related to both culture and values. Yet, it is our belief that values should not just be managed, but that organizations should work to glean the positive aspects arising from differences in national cultural, organizational and individual values. This special issue welcomes contributions that veer from traditional emphases on national cultural values.  As new forms of organizing emerge, so, too, should research move from a focus on the traditional to new applications of values.  We especially encourage novel research offering fresh insights at various levels of analysis, interdisciplinary approaches that offer new or critical perspectives and contributions that are forward-looking without forgetting our roots. Empirical, conceptual and theory-building papers are welcome. Possible topics in the context of global organizations include but are not limited to:

•         leveraging  values, core values, value diversity, value conflicts, espoused values, bottom-up value-based cultures, new perspectives on the value-fit (person/organization), values and cultural contexts, values and multiculturalism;
•         value-driven leadership or management, values in work teams, values in global projects, values and talent management, values and careers, values and employee engagement, values of migrant workers, values and work-family conflict or enrichment, generational value differences and implications for organization and management;
•         values and organizational learning, values and financial performance, value differentiation and competitiveness, values and power, values and control, value and impression management,  values and networks, values and sustainability, values and the dark side of globalization, values and positive organizational theory and thinking.

About the Pre-Publication Workshop
A pre-publication workshop will be held in Sigtuna, Sweden, on November 8-10, 2012. The purpose of the workshop is to further develop and improve a set of selected potentially publishable papers. Invitations to the workshop will be based on the submitted full papers. Authors who are invited will be asked to submit a revised paper before the workshop, based on a first round of reviews. The revised papers will be distributed to all workshop participants to be read beforehand in preparation for the feedback and discussion sessions. Workshop attendance is not mandatory to being considered for publication, but we encourage participation as we believe that it is helpful in the paper-writing process. The authors will be asked to revise their papers in another round after the workshop, based on the Editors’ summary comments from the workshop and from the reviewers in the double-blind review process. Selection of papers for publication will be based on the final revised paper submitted after the workshop.

Submission Information
•         All papers will be subjected to double-blind peer review.
•         Authors should follow MIR guidelines, http://www.mir-online.de/Guideline-for-Authors.html.
•         Contributions should be submitted in English language in a Microsoft or compatible format via e-mail attachment to: globalvalues@fek.uu.se
•         Questions can be addressed to any of the co-editors on:
lena.zander@fek.uu.se
Karsten.Jonsen@imd.ch
Elizabeth.Rose@aalto.fi
Audra.Mockaitis@monash.edu
•         Submission deadline: May 1, 2012 (earlier submissions are encouraged).

Important Dates
May 1, 2012                                  Paper submission
August 1, 2012                            Selection of potentially publishable papers to revise and resubmit, and an invitation to the pre-conference workshop
October 1, 2012                          Submission of first revise and resubmit papers
November 8-10, 2012               Pre-publication workshop in Sigtuna, Sweden
February 1, 2013                        Submission of second revise and resubmit papers
March 1, 2013                             Selection of papers for publication