Management School seminars

'Commit professional suicide or take up my pilgrim’s staff again?’: A cultural examination of how female managers resolve shock events in developing regions' seminar

Join our upcoming 'Commit professional suicide or take up my pilgrim’s staff again?’: A cultural examination of how female managers resolve shock events in developing regions' seminar with Professor Linh-Chi Vo.

Speaker: Professor Linh-Chi Vo (ESDES, Lyon Business School)

Hosted by: University of Liverpool Management School's Work, Organisation and Management Group

Open to: Management School PhD students and academic staff, with no sign up needed

Date: Tuesday 28 May 2024

Time: 12-1pm

Place: Management School - Seminar Room 4


Abstract

How do key cultural aspects of individualism/collectivism and gender egalitarianism shape the decision-making of female managers from developing regions when handling major work–family conflicts (WFC)?

We address this question by drawing on a qualitative study of 50 female managers from developing countries in Asia, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa who work in one particular male-dominated industry.

We examine the major WFC incidents experienced by our study participants through the theoretical lens of work–life shock events outlined by Crawford et al. (2019).

We contribute to the episodic approach to WFC research by shedding light on important aspects of the sociocultural role of extended families and the collectivistic values prevalent in developing regions, as well as on pervasive (low) gender egalitarian norms.

The accounts of our female managers reveal how major events are perceived and how women use multi-faceted methods to handle them, allowing us to propose a decision-making framework and associated cues with three broad types of decision-making: (1) self-directed—choosing work, (2) consultative—choosing work, and (3) consultative—choosing family.

Alongside this, we offer revealing insights into how the abovementioned cultural aspects help to shape the logic of consequences (through which people assess the impact of alternative actions) and the logic of appropriateness (through which people act according to their identity), thereby influencing WFC decision-making during major episodes of conflict.

 

Speaker

Linh-Chi Vo is the Associate Dean for Research at ESDES, Lyon Business School, France. She is also Professor of Strategic Management.

She obtained her PhD at Ecole Centrale Paris, her MBA from Washington State University, and her BA from Queensland University of Technology.

Her research interest are pragmatist philosophies, microfoundations of CSR and ethics, and issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Her research has been published in journals such as Organization Studies, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Human Relations, among others.

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