National Ingroup Bias in Multicultural Organizations: A Study of Latin-American Expatriates

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(1)National Ingroup Bias in Multicultural Organizations: A Study of Latin-American Expatriates. by Mariana Vallejo Vergara. A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION. Major: International Human Resource Development. Advisor: Wei-Wen Chang, Ph. D.. National Taiwan Normal University Taipei, Taiwan August 2020.

(2) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Everything I lived during the realization of this research and Master’s program, all the ups and downs, the lessons I learned, the difficulties that I overcame; all of this wouldn’t be possible without the support I had around me. I have to acknowledge the people who made all this burden lighter throughout these two years. I would like to thank the following people and institution who were of great support: Firstly, I want to express my appreciation to my advisor Dr. Vera Chang. For her guidance, assistance, patience and understanding throughout this whole process. Since the very beginning she helped me follow a strong curiosity I had in my mind and helped me develop it until it transformed into the completion of my dissertation. Without her knowledge and ideas, I wouldn’t have been able to reach this goal. I also want to thank my committee members Dr. Chu-Chen and Yeh Dr. Mei-Tzu, Huang for their suggestions to improve my research.. Secondly, I want to thank TaiwanICDF Scholarship. Thanks to this scholarship I was able to come to Taiwan and be a part of this life changing program. I have to mention Tracy, Victor and Steven who were always nice and helpful. Even though they were doing their job as program managers, I can’t thank them enough for their assistance and patience. Thirdly, I would like to thank my therapist Melody who was of immense support during these two years, I’m extremely grateful for her support and wouldn’t have been able to write these words if it wasn’t for her. Fourthly, I want to thank my family for their support and unconditional love, not only during these two years but throughout my life. My father Carlos Mario, my mother Adriana, and my siblings: Sofia, Juancho and Almendra. Lastly, I want to thank all my friends who are the family I chose, specially to Carlos and Sophia who, from afar, were always present and encouraging. Dulcie and Cassica who were of strong support and individuals who hopefully will always be in my life..

(3) ABSTRACT The world goes through constant changes nowadays as a result of globalization, these changes can be seen through the increase interdependence of individuals from different societies. There is a need, however, to understand how Latin-America faces different processes in the context of globalization; not focusing solely on countries as a whole, but on individuals that are part of a nation or region. This study addresses the challenges that expatriates from Latin-America face in multicultural environments and their encounters with national ingroup bias in the workplace. The purpose of this study is to examine ingroup bias experiences that Latin-American expatriates in the United States and Dominican Republic might have towards other groups. This study further explored some of the determinants of national ingroup bias in multicultural organizations, and what are the different strategies managers and organizations implement in order to promote inclusion. A qualitative research approach was selected to conduct this study and the data was collected through semistructured interviews. The participants were 18 Latin American expatriates, coworkers and managers located in the United States and Dominican Republic. This study found evidence of ingroup bias in Latin American expatriates and some of the challenges they go through when interacting with individuals of different cultures and their reasons they have for this bias. Additionally, the study found different programs that organizations in the United States and Dominican Republic implement to promote inclusion. Keywords: Latin-American Expatriates, ingroup bias, inclusion, diversity, multinational organizations. I.

(4) TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... I TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................... II LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................ IV LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................. V CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 1 Background of the Study ........................................................................................................ 1 Purpose of the Study and Research Questions ....................................................................... 3 Research Scope and Limitations ............................................................................................ 4 Definitions of Terms .............................................................................................................. 4. CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................ 6 Social Identity Theory ............................................................................................................ 6 Facilitation of Integration ....................................................................................................... 7 Ingroup Bias ......................................................................................................................... 10 Globalization in Latin-American ......................................................................................... 12. CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODS......................................................... 15 Research Approach .............................................................................................................. 15 Participant Selection ............................................................................................................. 16 Research Framework ............................................................................................................ 20 Data Collection..................................................................................................................... 21 Data Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 22 Research Procedure .............................................................................................................. 24 Research Quality .................................................................................................................. 27. CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS........................................... 29 Research Dimensions ........................................................................................................... 29 Expatriates’ Experience of Ingroup Bias ............................................................................. 30 Company Strategies for Cultural Integration ....................................................................... 38 Success Factors of Organizational Level Strategies ............................................................ 44 Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 48 II.

(5) CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS....................................... 53 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................... 53 Implications .......................................................................................................................... 55 Limitations ........................................................................................................................... 56 Suggestions for Future Study ............................................................................................... 57. REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 59 APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (EXPATRIATES) ...................... 67 APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (COWORKERS) ........................ 68 APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (MANAGERS) ........................... 69 APPENDIX D: EXAMPLE OF OPEN CODING BY ATLAS.TI .................... 70. III.

(6) LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1. Organization and participant selection………………………………….……….16 Table 4.1. Dimensions and countries’ sub-themes………………………………………….30. IV.

(7) LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1. Interview participants’types……………………………………………….…....18 Figure 3.2. Research framework…………………………………………………………….21 Figure 3.3. Example of coding process by Atlas.ti………………………………………….24 Figure 3.4. Research procedure………………………………………………………….….26 Figure 4.1. Findings of experiences of participants located in the U.S and D.R……………32 Figure 4.2. Strategies of the U.S. and D.R. organizations…………………………….….…39 Figure 4.3. Determinants of ingroup bias in organizations from the U.S. and D.R………....44 Figure 4.4. Social identity theory for ERGs implementations………………………….……52. V.

(8) CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The aim of this chapter is to introduce the research. It is composed of the background of the study, statement of the problems, purpose of the study, research questions, research scope and limitations, and the definitions.. Background of the Study The acceleration of globalization, the role of new digital technologies and industrial and social processes, has increased both virtually and physically the communication between individuals from different parts of the world. This global market has led to an increase in international businesses and multicultural corporations, where employees from different backgrounds, cultures and countries work together in a particular location or virtually in different areas (Carter-Thuilier & Moreno, 2017). This in return has promoted the exchange of knowledge, skills and abilities from these diverse individuality (Barabas, 2014). The cultural diversification on companies around the world has brought positive aspects to work but also an interesting phenomenon discussed, which is ingroup bias. Groups are a prevalent part of our lives socially. A cultural group is a group of people who share a set of beliefs, behavioral norms, and behavioral expectations that is recognizably different from those of other groups (Efferson, Fehr, & Lalive, 2008). These norms, beliefs and expectations nonetheless, are sometimes hard to detect with simple observation. A great challenge that corporations, organizations, and societies are facing is that occasionally people form a more positive idea about an ingroup member than an out-group member (Rubin & Willis 2002). This favoritism or bias that occurs in direction of an individual’s ingroup may encourage the performance of their ingroup, that in response can lead to long-term benefits (Balliet, De Dreu, & Wu, 2014). This nonetheless can also lead to feelings of animosity within the outgroups and in return react with bitterness against the discriminating group. So, ingroup bias can be both positive and negative in a society, it can create secure ingroups yet it can also encourage stress, competition, and resentment. Intercultural communication generally involves face-to-face communication between people from different national cultures, although the term also includes all aspects of the study of culture and communication (Gudykunst, 2003). Cross-cultural communication is very similar to the later which looks at how people from different cultures interact with each other 1.

(9) and with other cultures. Social identity theory (SIT) postulates that each person belongs to a specific group (eg., social class, gender, nationality), this leads to a sense of belonging or sense of pride which increases each individual’s self-esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). As stated by SIT, just by the classification of the social world as an ingroup or out-group can lead to a discriminatory result towards individuals of the out-group (Ciftci, Mertan & Rustemli, 2000). An investigation taking place in the workplace encountered the existence of ingroup bias for people in the ingroup towards people in the outgroup (Ben-Ner, McCall, Stephane & Wang, 2009). Discussing that some behavior that takes place in the workplace or in economic interactions, is not completely independent of identity. Showing the contrast between outgroups and ingroups can affect the interactions inside a company and the economic and social behavior. This study, however, focused on different categories of identity like political views, religion, body type and nationality. In this paper the identity category that is focused on is solely on nationality or region (Latin America).. Statement of Problems In the present days, the world is more connected than it has ever been. Thanks to globalization, there are more possibilities for people to move around the world in search of better working opportunities in different countries (Carter-Thuilier & Moreno, 2017). People are more open to discover and travel in order to meet and understand societies different from their own. This phenomenon of moving around and coexisting with people of different cultures in the same place is called multiculturalism. While it can be rewarding, it could also lead to difficulties understanding people with different views and different ideas; when a company deals with ingroup bias, it can lead to marginalization of employees or unequal outcomes. (Heyman, 2017). There are some problems on managing diversification and the increase of people from different nationalities in a company. Not being able to understand the dynamics that a multicultural workforce can provide and free its potential, and to not act from personal prejudices. Examining the motives and causes of national ingroup bias is required because there is an ongoing geographical movement of people around the world. Due to this, people from a specific nationality in a multicultural organization could experience or observe national ingroup bias within the organization. For people from Latin America, living outside of their own country can be difficult due to their culture which values strong family roots and national. 2.

(10) values. Therefore, when living in a different country, they may search for people from their own country in the hope to feel that sense of belonging (Polanco, 2013). A study showed that when managers or co-workers are biased towards other employees in a company, the job performance of the latter would decrease (Pallais, 2017). “When you are biased toward someone, you speak less to them, you are more hesitant to speak to them and you're less friendly toward them because you are uncomfortable with them.” (Pallais, 2017, p. 29). The findings of a study about the impacts of biases in the workplace found the following (Hewlett, Rashid & Sherbin, 2015): a. Employees at large companies who perceive bias are nearly three times more likely to be disengaged at work. b. Bias impacts retention. Those who perceive bias are more than three times as likely to say that they are planning to leave their current jobs within the year. c. Bias impedes innovation. Those who perceive bias are 2.6 times more likely to say that they have withheld ideas and market solutions over the previous six months. The management of today’s increasingly diverse workforce, is one of the most important challenges human resources managers and corporate leaders have to deal with (Ahraemi, Cho, & Mor-Barak, 2017). The impact of ingroup bias in multicultural organizations, could lead to dissatisfaction and decrease job performance. And as stated before, organizations should be aware of the impacts and have the knowledge and abilities to handle them. Since the word “culture” can portray different group identities, this study focused on national identity (country) or identity to a specific region (Latin America).. Purpose of the Study and Research Questions The purpose of this study is to analyze the experiences Latin American expatriates have related to ingroup bias, as well as the strategies that companies implement in their organizations to promote inclusion. This study could be used in the future in companies around the world to have a better understanding on how to deal with problems that might occur within the organizations in response to ingroup bias. The increase of diverse cultural individuals in LatinAmerica and around the world makes it imperative to have intercultural and cross-cultural interactions. This study can help provide a solution for intercultural relations in multicultural organizations. The analysis for this study was on individual, group and organizational level. Firstly, individual-level focuses on the individual behavior of people in the organization (Judge. 3.

(11) & Robbins, 2019). Group-level refers to two or more employees interacting in order to reach a specific goal. This level could be formal groups, which are created by the organization for established tasks, or informal groups which are not formally structured and are the groups that meet the need for social contact (Judge & Robbins, 2019). The last level is organizational level, which refers to “a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations” (p.541). This specific focus led to the following research questions: 1. What are the experiences of ingroup bias in a multicultural organization of expatriates from Latin America? 2. What are some strategies implemented by managers to facilitate integration in a multicultural organization? 3. What are the determinants of national ingroup bias in a multicultural organization?. Research Scope and Limitations The study involved Latin-American expatriate participants working fulltime in a company in The United States and Dominican Republic. The scope of the research was limited given that the participants are in different geographical areas of the world, leading to a lack of substantial engagement in an organization and lack of persistent observation. The duration of the study was of 5 months and was conducted among 18 participants; whom would have to be working in organizations that have other workers of the same nationality or the same region (Latin America). Another limitation of the study is evaluating whether or not an individual has national ingroup bias. However, as Latin-America is a racially diverse region, the ingroup phenomena could be at racial level instead of national level.. Definitions of Terms Expatriates The most straightforward definition of expatriate is a person living outside of their native country (Oxford Dictionary of English, 2015) or that has been sent or exiled abroad (Collins Dictionaries, 2011). It is a person who is physically mobile across international borders, whether for professional or personal reasons, whether for short or long periods of time, whether organizationally sponsored or not, and regardless as to whether one is crossing an ocean or moving across land (Aycan & Kanungo, 1997; Green, 2009) 4.

(12) Ingroup Bias According to the American Psychological Association (APA) dictionary of psychology, ingroup bias is the “tendency to favor one’s own group, its members, its characteristics, and its products, particularly in reference to other groups”. An inclination towards. the. ingroup. is. generally. more. than. nonacceptance. of. the. outgroup. (http://www.dictionary.apa.org).. Multicultural Organization Organizations are becoming increasingly diverse in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, etc (Cox, 1991). Multiculturalism is the recognition of the coexistence of different cultural groups, inside one national state (Barabas, 2014). In a multicultural organization, there are different social groups as well as cultural groups that interact with each other and are full participants of the organization environment. They all have collective or individual responsibilities and duties (Jackson, 2014).. Social Identity Theory There is a basic need for positive self-esteem in order to induce perceivers to favor their ingroups in most comparisons with out-group. Social identity theory states that individuals are motivated to achieve or maintain a high level of self-esteem (Hogg & Reid, 2006). Personal identity relates to the beliefs an individual has about their own abilities, attributes or skills like intelligence or charisma. And social identity is defined as "that aspect of the individual’s self-concept which derives from their knowledge of their membership in a social group together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership" (Tajfel, 1981, p. 255).. 5.

(13) CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter reviews ingroup bias and its determinants; cognitive perspectives, biological perspectives, ingroup bias in the workplace. The theory of social identity bias is also introduced in order to show a reference onto why national ingroup bias may occur. And lastly, how multicultural organization can facilitate integration among workers from different backgrounds.. Social Identity Theory Social identity theory proposes that the mere necessity for a self-esteem that is positive would prompt individuals to choose people from their ingroup than people from the outgroup (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). According to several perspectives that are related to self-concept, individuals tend to have a higher motivation to attain or maintain a level of self-esteem that is high (Wills, 1981). Other ideas on self-esteem are focused more on the personal level, whereas social identity theory focuses on the motivation to preserve a positive social identity. The theory suggests that when an individual is faced by a threat to their social identity, they preserve it positively by recognizing favorable contrasts between people from the outgroup and people from the ingroup. And this would lead to individuals discriminating against people from the outgroup in comparison to the ingroup. These contrast and comparisons would have a result of a positive social identity, or a high self-esteem that is collective. Social identity theory suggests that there are two distinct aspects that are personal identity and social identity. Personal identity relates to the beliefs an individual has about their own abilities, attributes or skills like intelligence or charisma. And social identity is defined as "that aspect of the individual’s self-concept which derives from their knowledge of their membership in a social group together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership" (Tajfel, 1981, p. 255). Although personal identity is related to the characteristics of the individual, social identity is focused on the characteristics of the group of an individual; this could also characterize oneself as an individual (Crocker & Luhtanen, 1990). In organizations people generally do their work through groups. Organizations by definition are entities created from groups that interact with each other (Hodgkinson, 2003; Hogg & Terry, 2000). And within these groups in the organization, individuals form or strongly realize multiple socially derived identities. Since we already know that social groups have 6.

(14) different levels like sex, gender, religion and so on, it is important to have as subject to study behavior in the workplace as well as social behavior (Hogg & Terry, 2000).. Facilitation of Integration For managers in the human resource department, one of the biggest challenges is being able to manage the increasingly diverse workforce (Mor-Barak, 2017). This becomes a problem because people’s incapacity to understand how the dynamics of a diverse workforce, to abstain from personal prejudice, and to not being able to free the potential this kind of environment could positively lead to (Adler, 1983). There are companies that bring training programs at different levels of the organization. Adler states that in order for a change in the organization or company, there is a need to examine and change policies. Additionally, know how these policies are carried away in the organization. And this would make certain that people from different cultures and nationalities are treated inclusively and fair. Mentorship programs could help with the organization in order to create an environment of not just being tolerant to one another, but also truthfully inclusive (Deardoff, 2009). Although Deardoff argues that there is a need to do more studies on diversity and inclusion in order to grasp the contextual small differences that could lead to positive organizational outcomes. Although, diversity focuses on the demography of groups or individuals in an organization, meaning different cultures interacting in one place, inclusion or cultural integration deals with the encouragement of participation between these groups and individuals (Nair & Vohra, 2015). Based on previous research for the facilitation of cultural integration in a multicultural environment, the following elements were taken into consideration in order to define what are the competences workers should have (Blanco, Cruz & Romo, 2013; Deardoff, 2009) 1. Knowledge: Know other cultures, norms and expectations, knowledge of world events and world history, know the industry in other parts of the world, as well as marketing and international sourcing strategies. 2. Skills: Speak English or another language, be linguistically and culturally competent to live in another country, and participate and collaborate in projects with people from other cultures and nationalities. 3.. Attitudes: Recognition of other cultures, appreciate them, be open to new experiences and reproduce cultural models.. 7.

(15) 4. Experiences: having made short or long trips, being exposed to the experience from the cultural shock when leaving your country, having regular interaction with other cultures, have a university degree. Another study states that a competent person for the global market is someone who has knowledge of current affairs, empathy with others, maintain a positive attitude, has a level of knowledge of foreign languages and accepts differences in values between people and cultures (Lambert, 1996). There is also an importance of having international education; managers, directors and heads of human resources should know about the global environment where they were developed, and know about the cultural diversity which they could face in their work. (Alvarez et al., 2013). Adaptation implies detachment from family and emotional ties and create new ones, deal with a new language, culture and customs of the destination. Adapt in the shortest possible time becomes a primary objective. On the other hand, the expatriate has the pressure for his performance in the functions for which they were assigned. Dealing with these pressures requires specially qualified personnel and with a series of characteristics that allow the company to meet its objectives (Polanco, 2013). According to Polanco, the great challenge of the human resources department begins from the moment of recruitment through the selection, employee socialization. The current context forces this department to know the appropriate policies to manage and watch carefully in each of the stages of the administration of the most valuable capital in the company, which is the people. For this study, a theoretical framework was used in order to help guide the formulation and design of the interview questions for this study. And as the data is being collected through the interviews and document reviews, this also helped guide the data analysis. Now focusing on training and programs that organizations implement in order to promote inclusion, there are different strategies they may take. Many organizations are implementing affinity groups also known as employee resource groups (ERGs). ERG groups are groups that are led by the employees and are voluntary, and their main focus is to promote an environment in the workplace that is inclusive and diverse (Kaplin, Sabin & Swift, 2009). The organization is the one sponsoring these groups but, as stated before, they are staffed by volunteers. These volunteers are workers of the organization who already have a paying job and assume responsibility to spend time in these groups (Rolf, Schalach & Welborne, 2015).. 8.

(16) The aim for people in ERGs is to assist in the recruitment and retention of other people that are like them, in this case other Latinos. They also focus on better the organization where they work (MacGillivray & Golden, 2007). The ERGs give support to the members of that group; for example, programs for mentorship. They also take responsibility of being a way to advocacy like promoting the learning about their purpose. giving space for sharing of information about each group (Kravitz, 2008; Monetta, Sink, & Van Aken, 1994). A study discussed the possible future research related to ERGs and SIT, knowing that ERGs have a certain identity and possibly attract individuals sharing those identities. The study states that the stronger the member’s social identity is, the more effective are the group outcomes they belong to. And Lastly, since these groups take place inside the organization, individuals would identify both, with the ERG as well as the organization (Rolf, Schalach & Welborne, 2015; 2017). A research focusing on training programs for promoting the inclusion of employees in organizations, stated that socialization and readiness and motivation to learn are the best ways to achieve successful goals from a social identity theory perspective (Korte, 2007). •. Socialization: This type of training program focuses on the development of a group identity for the employee. Instead of newcomers to learn by themselves the culture, roles and tasks in the company, they should be assigned a mentor to guide them. The newcomer is able to give contributions to the group, so the group can learn knew knowledge from individuals.. •. Readiness and Motivation to Learn: This is focuses on how ready the individual Is to learn and their capability to do so. How ready the individual is to possible changes. Although even if the individual has these capabilities and readiness, if the group is not ready to change, it is hard for the individual to get to the expected change. The growing globalization has led to a sudden increase of expatriates around the world.. Companies wanting to hire employees with different competencies and knowledge to increase competition. However, some organizations in Latin America do not implement any sort of programs to deal with the growing employee diversity. Organizations with diversity of employees, should have managers that could deal with difficulties like ingroup bias. Organizations should have training programs for all employees to promote diversity, some of these trainings are the ERGs or programs that focus in the organizational culture. This study relied on SIT to understand the experiences of Latin American expatriates with ingroup bias. 9.

(17) Additionally, have a further comprehension on which training and programs organizations implement and how effective they are.. Ingroup Bias Ingroup bias is a phenomenon that has been continuously studied and reproduced in order to understand certain characteristics of social human behavior (Balliet, De Dreu & Wu, 2014; Dorrough, Fiedler, Glöckner & Hellman, 2018). Different studies have focused on ingroup bias in different contexts and human conduct; people tend to favor the groups in which they belong to as opposed to the groups they feel they do not belong to (outgroups) (Brown, Mullen & Smith, 1992). Individuals feel a higher level of motivation to finish a task during work when it is an ingroup task (De Gilder, Ellemers & Haslam, 2004). And the attributions of external factors for negative ingroup behavior but internal factors for positive ingroup behavior (Ben-Ami, Klar & Schori-Eyal, 2016; Guerin, 1999;). Another study stated that there are times that ingroup bias occurs, not because there is a strong cognitive rejection towards the outgroup, but there is a “love” feeling toward the ingroup, and that if there is a smaller distance socially, there would be even more feelings of cooperation with others (Ahmed, 2007). Ingroup bias can take place in any type of group and also can be encountered in different ways, like perception of color of the skin (Amodio, Devine, Harmon-Jones, Plant & Vance, 2002; Han et al., 2015), political affiliation (Aglioti, Bufalari, Panasiti, Porciello & Schepisi, 2019), religion (Finkle, Johnson, LaBouff & Rowatt, 2012; Johnson, LaBouff & Rowatt, 2012), gender (Cook, Field, Martin, Nielson & Xiao, 2018) or socio-economic status (Bettencourt, Charlton, Dorr & Hume, 2001). Distinct researchers have suggested that the origins of ingroup bias is from the process of social categorization when individuals allocate others to be members of the group they feel part of or as members of other groups (Dovidio, Gurtman, Tyler & Perdue, 1990). Believing that people of the ingroup have more similarities to them. People with ingroup bias, tend to view the outgroups as less complex, less individuated than are ingroups (Huddy, Sears & Levy, 2013).. Determinants of Ingroup Bias It is important to understand the different determinants of group identity and the drives that lead to biases (Christakis et al., 2012). Ingroup bias is an important aspect of human behavior. As we know people tend to help others that they believe are in their own group rather than those they believe are in the outgroup. The different determinants are discussed next. 10.

(18) Cognitive perspectives. There have been arguments stating that biases or attitudes towards people different than oneself have to do a lot to the social processes a person had to go through at specific ages of their lives (Piaget & Weil, 1951; Kohlberg, 1969). Here are four ways argued to be an explanation to ingroup bias from a young age (McKown & Quintana, 2009, p. 55-61): 1) Age Changes: When being around four to five years of age, ingroup bias behavior is strong by looking at someone that is different. But at 7 years of age, this changes to a lesser extent of ingroup bias and allow the individual to think of others through different dimensions. 2) Parents and Peers: The parents and people around the individual can have a great impact on how ingroup bias is learnt. Not necessarily by telling them about it, but by actions they see. 3) Self-Group-Individual Focus: First, the individual focuses and analyzes the self-creating judgements. Then he/she looks at the groups from his/her own perspective, thus not completely accurate. The next stage means that the person is then capable of focusing on the individual by their unique differences rather than focusing solely on the group. 4) Affective-Perceptual-Cognitive Processes: 1. Affective is the fear of what is not known, emotional attachment. 2. Perceptual processes are those that can be observed and identify the differences between oneself and others. 3. Cognitive processes refer to how the individual has the ability to interpret the stimuli and the internal aspects of the people around them. The central nervous system learns to react to external stimuli; light, heat, smell, and taste. This fills the individuals’ minds with information around them and the world that they live in. The neurons create an image from all the stimuli and thus gives meaning to it. Once the information is created, it conditions the way people see new stimuli or classify new experiences or people by the same concepts already established. This has a function of saving energy towards new learning but also leading to shortened perspectives to appreciate different perspectives and possibly lead to bias or prejudice (Christakis et al., 2012). Biological perspectives. Differences that are related with ingroup bias within the individual could be related to the biology in each person (De Dreu et al., 2010). Many attitudes 11.

(19) related to ingroup bias could be related or associated with heritage in the genes of a person. Findings from different studies, suggest that ingroup bias can be a component that is already genetically regulated; although it could also be attributed to nongenetic environmental influences (Bates & Lewis, 2010). States that are psychologically related to threat like fear, anxiety, uncertainty and risk are also thought to be antecedents to ingroup bias. And one example according to some studies, is that there are experiences an individual can have that can increase the perception of outgroups as threats (Gaertner et al., 2006; Stephan & Stephan, 2000). Each individual’s own subjective social cues of anxiety or fear has been observed and shows a significant correlation between a person’s perceived threat toward the outgroups and ingroup bias. The genetic structure that regulate people’s way of processing threats could lead to biological inheritance of ingroup bias and the correlation that the perceived outgroup threat and ingroup bias have. According to previous research, there is also a transmission of ingroup bias culturally through environments that are shared and experiences the group can have that increase the feeling of threat towards an outgroup (Cheon, Livingston, Hong & Chiao 2014). Living as a group serves the most important survival strategy that defines the human species. In the history of our evolution, humans discarded the majority of the physical aspects as well as instincts that involved survival as remote individuals. But there was a benefit to being a part of a group and cooperative interdependence could lead to, meaning that we have evolved to depend on others, and collaboration between one another instead of relying on physical strength (Brewer, 1999). A study interested in understanding whether or not there is a genetic evidence of ingroup bias, provided evidence that ethnic, religious and race bias occur (Bates & Lewis, 2000). The findings of this study showed that ingroup bias has a genetic impact, that biases can occur for different reasons rather than solely empiricist knowledge.. Globalization in Latin-American Globalization The origin of globalization can be found in the process of internationalization of the economy, which has been taking place since the Second World War, meaning internationalization of the world economy a growth in trade and international investment faster than that of world production (Pincheira, 2017). Economic globalization is expressed as a continuous tendency to extend the markets, overcoming national barriers of origin to become. 12.

(20) a phenomenon world (Carter-Thullier & Moreno, 2017). Omoregie (2007) sees globalization as “An important dynamic process of interdependence among nations, which implies issues that are more global than nationals and who need attention” (p.3). Globalization is undoubtedly the central phenomenon, social, cultural, political and economic of our times, is to work in public sectors or private with a global technological interdependence and based on collaboration Multicultural and multilingual (Godbey & Turlington, 2002). Other studies have shown the need for global competencies (Bremer, 2009). Globalization has affected most of the modern workforce of the world, since the competences considered essential for productive professionals within a regional or national economy they are no longer enough in the market when the borders of the countries seem to be easier to cross. A study reported that there are few managers, who have the skills necessary to manage companies globally (Black & Morrison, 1999). And that even though today's people are better informed and connected with other people around the world than at any other time in history, they are still not educated to work with people who are different from them (Bowen, Javidan & Teagarden, 2011).. Latin-America National identity is defined as a modern form of collective identity. Each national unit produced being hold together by its population, symbols, cult of heroes and national holidays (Habermas, 1994). In Latin America, the newly constituted republics advanced during the second half of the nineteenth century the task of self-identification to guarantee its own identity differentiation from other nations. The efforts modernizers carried out in some countries in the first decades of present century, by way of certain industrial development and the consolidation of a centralized state, promoted the construction national identity (Blanco, Cruz & Romo, 2013). As the results showed, the American and Mexican directors have low levels of global competition to support companies globally. Directors must have more knowledge of the world around them, especially because now there is a need to work not only at the local level but compete globally. This is an important reason why universities must prepare students to become interculturally competent in a global market. The world economy is moving towards removing barriers but cultural barriers still persist, so these barriers must be removed. The importance of speaking other languages, get to know other cultures and the understanding of cultural differences in other parts of the world,. 13.

(21) are aspects that are recognized by large international companies, as well as successful small businesses (Blanco, Cruz & Romo, 2013).. 14.

(22) CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODS This chapter introduces the research methods of the study. The content includes how this study is conducted and the process is elaborated in detail. It comprises the research approach, participant selection, research framework, data collection, data analysis, research procedure, and research quality.. Research Approach For this study, a qualitative research approach was utilized. This type of method is used to give a rigorous and in-depth explanation of a specific topic or environment (Mertens, 2005). Researchers in this field want to understand the way people interpret what happens to them in specific settings, what is the meaning they give to those experiences and how they control their behavior (Merriam, 2009). According to Merriam, some of the characteristics that define qualitative research approach are as follow (p. 13-16): -. Focus on meaning and understanding: focusing on the participants' own perspective, not being interfered with by the researcher of this study, the idea is to understand how the person interprets and how he or she understands the experiences they go through on specific environments or settings.. -. Researcher as primary instrument: The researcher is the person who collected information through conversation, as well as non-verbal cues. The researcher is in charge of interpreting the information gathered, although since the researcher could have biases that could have an impact in the study, it is important to be able to recognize them.. -. An inductive process: Researchers decide to utilize qualitative research approach due to the lack of information or studies previously made for a specific phenomenon. This does not mean the researcher starts the study with no information.. -. Rich description: Instead of using numbers in order to explain what has been learnt for a specific phenomenon, the researcher uses words and pictures. Based on the interest of the research and questions, it is intended to understand more. deeply how expatriates from Latin-America working in a multicultural company deal with any national ingroup bias. Due to the scarcity of information and studies done about the national ingroup bias phenomenon and after considering the objectives of the study (Eshghi, 1985), for 15.

(23) this study, a qualitative analysis was conducted. Although a vast quantity of research has already been conducted regarding ingroup bias (Aglioti et al., 2019; Amodio et al., 2002; Balliet et al., 2014; Bettencourt et al., 2001; Brownet et al., 1992; Cook et al., 2018; Dorrough et al., 2018; Finkle et al., 2012; Johnson et al., 2012), there is not enough information about ingroup bias regarding the nationality level.. Participant Selection The technique for sampling is a purposeful sampling. The participants were purposefully selected in order to have the most accurate information for the study of national ingroup bias. This technique was selected because the people and the organizations selected offer useful information of the phenomenon of interest (Patton, 2015). For this study, the aim was to discover and better understand the topic of national ingroup bias in multicultural organizations, therefore, a sample that fits that criteria was selected (Merriam, 2009). There was a total of 18 participants for this study. The type of purposeful sampling selected was snowball sampling. For this type of sampling, for this study some participants were found that fit the criteria for the study. The initial participants that were selected were individuals that the researcher already knew. Individuals who would fit with the criteria of the participant selection. After doing so and having interviewed them, the researcher asked them to refer to more participants (Merriam, 2009). In table 3.1., the general information of the participants and organizations they belong to are presented, as well as the location of their workplace at the time of the interviews. Table 3.1. Organization and Participant Selection Current Location Dominican Republic. Company A Warehouse Club Store. Pseudonym. Age. Nationality. Role. Franco. 40. Dominican Republic. Observer/ Manager. Rhadames. 40. Observer. Michelle. 38. Dominican Republic Dominican Republic. Observer. (Continued) 16.

(24) Table 3.1. (Continued) Current Location. United States. Company. Pseudonym. Age. Nationality. Role. Carla. 35. Venezuela. Expatriate. B Josh Funeral Home Establishment Diego. 65. Haiti. Expatriate. 62. Colombia. Expatriate/ Manager. Eva. 36. Dominican Republic. Observer/ Manager. Glenda. 37. Dominican Republic. Observer/ Manager. C Architecture Firm. John. 33. United States. Observer. Soph. 29. Colombia. Expatriate. D Online Marketplace. Gerardo. 28. Mexico. Expatriate. Lucia. 37. Colombia. Expatriate. E Sportswear Manufacturer. Ariana. 27. Mexico. Expatriate. Monica. 37. Mexico. Expatriate. Juanita. 55. Mexico. Expatriate. Leonardo. 32. Germany. Observer. Nadia. 34. Bolivia. Expatriate. Juan Pablo. 45. Panama. Expatriate/ Manager. Sampling Criteria All of the participants for this study need to be working in multicultural environments. There are different criteria of selection for Latin-Americans, managers and coworkers. The selection criteria for coworkers are as follows:. 17.

(25) •. During the time the interview is conducted, they have a minimum of six months working in the company.. •. They have the experience of working in a multicultural organization.. •. Are not Latin American Expatriates.. The selection for Latin-American workers is as follows: •. During the time the interview is conducted, they have a minimum of six months working in the company.. •. They have the experience of working in a multicultural organization.. •. They were born in any country of Latin-America and have lived there until they finished at least high school.. •. Regularly have any form of interaction with people from the same nationality.. •. There is more than one person from the same nationality of the interviewee in the company where the participant is working.. *All managers should belong to at least two groups, for example, Latin American expatriates (ingroup) or coworkers (outgroup). Be that as it may, coworkers could not belong to the groups of Latin Americans or vice versa. Figure 3.1. Shows the participants’ types.. Figure 3.1. Interview participants’ types.. Organization Selection The organizations selected for the research had to follow criteria related to the diversity of their employees. They had to be multinational organizations, meaning that the workforce had employees from different countries interacting in a regular basis. Since this research focuses on Latin Americans, the company had to have employees from countries of Latin America.. 18.

(26) The first company is a warehouse club store (Company A). Founded in 1993, this company is a warehouse club store located in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The organization is a retail model that focuses on the sale of global merchandise as well as local. Being the largest of its kind in Central America, Colombia and the Caribbean, it has more than 3 million client members. The organization counts with five stores in Dominican Republic. The company’s goal is to expand in the continuous growing markets and wants to differentiate itself from its competitors by focusing on the shopping experience of its clients. Being an international company with stores in different countries, this company focuses on creating a strong organizational culture. This culture is implemented in all the employees of all the organization and stores around Latin America. According to the organization, when the employees have already acquired the company’s culture, it would be easier for them to move around to other locations and familiarize rapidly. The store selected for the research has a large quantity of Venezuelan and Haitian employees. The second company is a funeral Home Establishment (Company B). This organization is located in the capital of Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo and was founded in 2003. It is a business that provides wake and burial services. Cremation services for the deceased, and funeral and wake services for their families or close friends. These services may include preparing the wake and funeral, and providing a burning chapel for the funeral. It is the only funeral home in Dominican Republic that provides a complete service. Meaning that they offer wake, a social gathering that is usually held before a funeral. Cremation, meaning the disposition of the diseased body in to ashes. And cemetery garden services, which is the maintenance of the area where the deceased is located. For this organization, the salespeople have to be very well trained. There is a great exposure to families who are dealing with a loss. So, the main focus is to sensitize employees with thanatologists or programs to increase sympathy to know how to respond to individuals going through grieve. Going through the company’s website, there are not any sort of employee inclusion programs or trainings to promote cultural integration. Besides Dominican Republic employees, the company has employees from Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Haiti. The third company is an architecture firm (Company C). The location of the selected organization for this research is the United States in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1983 and it has other locations in different states, all in the United States. The staff members of the organization are mainly architects with the support of other staff that help them do their job. Focuses on the design and the construction process, as well as the contracting and interior 19.

(27) decorating. The company has more than 360 employees, from countries all over the world. Latin American employees are from Colombia, Argentina, Mexico and Chile. The main focus of this organization is to provide an atmosphere that is relaxed and promotes communication. Online Marketplace (Company D) Located in the hospitality business, this organization provides a facility for people around the world to rent out residences as tourist accommodations. Since its foundation in 2008, it has made home sharing easier and more accessible to everyone in more than 150 countries. It has around 6,300 employees with 400 in Portland, the location selected for the research. With a total population of around 524,052, Portland has 24,277 immigrants (American Community Service, 2016). The organization has employees from countries like Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Guatemala and Argentina. This organization has a strong focus on the prevention and action against discrimination and racism, so it is constantly trying to implement and promote an environment of belonging and inclusion. Sportswear Manufacturer (Company E) Founded in 1949, this company is a multinational corporation that manufactures sportswear; from shoes, to clothing and accessories. This organization was founded in Europe, with its North American headquarters being in Portland, the location of the research. The organization has a total of 2,000 employees in Portland, with a very diverse workforce. This especially due to workers from the same company, coming from different countries. The organization is aware of its diversity and believes that in order for it to succeed, it’s important to benefit from that diversity and understand and listen to the different ideas, interest and strengths of the workforce. With that said, they actively try to implement different programs and trainings related to diversity and inclusion.. Research Framework The purpose of this study is to explore national ingroup bias that could be presented in Latin-American expatriates as well as the strategies an organization may apply when facing this phenomenon. In figure 3.2., the research framework for the study is presented. It was created based on the purpose and research questions previously mentioned in chapter one. Firstly, it is important to explore the experiences each participant has had in regards to national ingroup bias in the organization. Secondly, it examined the determinants of ingroup bias through interviews as well as from the theory of social identity. This theory states that 20.

(28) people tend to be motivated when they have a high level of self-esteem, and belonging to a group helps increase such identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). Thirdly, from an organizational level, this study explores the strategies used when facing the phenomenon of national ingroup bias.. Figure 3.2. Research framework. Data Collection Studies utilizing qualitative research method, tend to collect data in various ways; document analysis, observation, in-depth interviews, open-ended questions, focus group and surveys (Patton, 2015). For this study, the data was collected by in-depth interviews and document review.. Interview In this qualitative study, an interview approach was used to explore participants’ past experiences that are not possible to be repeated (Merriam, 2009). The participants selected for this study are based in countries around the world; this is why for this study Skype was selected as a tool for the interviews. The methods of communication that are internet based, have been increasingly used for researchers’ methods of selection for interviews (Brown, Iacono & Symonds, 2016). The usage of Skype or other video calling applications can actually increase rapport since the participant is able to choose the location, he or she might feel most comfortable; also, the participant can feel more at ease when the researcher is not physically present (Pratt & Yezierski, 2018). The interviews were semi-structured with open-ended questions, so the interviewees can give as much information as they want for each question. Interview questions were developed based on the research framework and from literature review. A total of three sets of interview questions were developed for this research. The first one targeting Latin American expatriates, the second one for the coworkers, and the third one for the managers. When. 21.

(29) interviewing managers, it was possible to also use the expatriates’ interviews or coworkers’ interviews. The reason for this is because managers could also be coworkers or expatriates. All the interviews were developed in Spanish and English, so the participants were able to decide which language they felt comfortable with. When the drafts of the interview questions were done, they were sent to be peer reviewed and then to the academic advisor for any needed modification. After the modifications were made, if needed, the researcher would conduct two interviews to further improve the questions. After this, the interviews were sent to experts in human resources located in Dominican Republic and the United States the to review for any last adjustments. Before the interviews took place, an e-mail was sent to each participant in Spanish or English, depending on the language the interviewee felt more comfortable with. The e-mail contained the questions that would be asked for the interview. After the participants had read and agreed to the interview, a date and time were agreed upon to conduct it. The participants needed to sign a consent form to participate in the study. The form had a brief explanation of what the study would be about, and the responsibilities the researcher and the participant had towards each other in the process of the study. A copy of the signed consent form was kept by both the researcher of this study and the participants. When the interview took place, the conversations were recorded and scripted and the time for the interviews were settled depending on both the availability of the interviewer and interviewees.. Document Review Merriam (2009) states that “Documents of all types can help the researcher uncover meaning, develop understanding, and discover insights relevant to the research problem” (p.163). The data was gathered online; the research accessed the official internet site of each of the organizations targeted for the study in order to collect relevant information for this study.. Data Analysis For data analysis, this is a process were data was transformed into findings (Patton, 2015). Data analysis was conducted at the same time the data was still being collected. Doing so, makes it easier for the researcher to have a more organized study and not be repetitious and overwhelming (Merriam, 2019). The process of the data analysis began with identifying any segment of the research data collected that is relevant to the study. After conducting the interview, the interview data 22.

(30) was transcribed word by word into transcripts. Since in most Latin-American countries, Spanish is the mother tongue, the interviews were written in both Spanish and English and utilized to accommodate the interviewee preference. This study analyzed the transcripts by focusing on the research questions. The steps were: first, use the open coding techniques to summarize the important phrase of the interviewees’ opinion. According to Merriam (2009), jotting down the information from the transcript that is relevant for the study and being open to find anything that could help find the answer to the research questions, is called open coding (p. 178). Allocating codes to pieces of data is how the categories were constructed, this was the second step. A qualitative research software was used called Atlas.ti for the formulation and categorization of codes. Atlas.ti is a program with tools for support of understanding and interpreting qualitative data. After going through the transcript, the researcher went over the codes and categorized the comments and information that seems to go together. In figure 3.3., an example, of the coding process for this study can be seen. For this study, the researcher took notice of certain criteria proposed by Merriam (2009): •. Be responsive to the purpose of the research. That they are answering to the research questions.. •. They should be exhaustive; all the information or data that the researcher thinks are relevant to the study, should be able to fit in a category.. •. Be mutually exclusive; one unit of data has to fit in only one category.. •. They should be sensitizing; a category should be able to be understood by a person who is not the researcher just by reading the name of the category.. 23.

(31) Figure 3.3. Example of coding process by Atlas.ti. Research Procedure In this section, the course of action for this study is discussed and described. The steps selected for the research procedure can be seen in figure 3.4. Each of the steps selected are explained here after.. 24.

(32) 1. Identify Research Direction Firstly, the main focus of this study was to conduct a study related to national ingroup bias. The researcher had lived in different countries and encountered people from a vast variety of nationalities. There was an interest in knowing the adaptation of expatriates in different countries and how they accommodate to people with different cultures to them.. 2. Review of the Literature When there was a guidance and a direction of what the research would be about, the review of the literature started. An extensive literature review was conducted to get more knowledge about national ingroup bias in organizations with people with different nationalities. By reviewing the previous literature, the researcher started noticing a gap in the literature and decided the topic for the study.. 3. Decide Research Topic, Purpose and Questions It was decided to focus on Latin-American expatriates and national ingroup bias. Due to the gap in the literature and through discussions with the researcher’s academic advisor, it was decided to conduct a qualitative study. The research purpose and research questions were developed. Further review of literature was required after the research question was selected.. 4. Develop Research Framework After the literature review was performed, as well as the research questions and purpose, the research framework was developed. It was essential that the research framework and the three research questions established for this study could complement each other.. 5. Develop Interview Questions The next step for the study was to create the interview questions based on the review of the literature and the research questions. It was vital that the research questions could align with the research questions and purpose. The research questions were evaluated by experts in order to ensure they are appropriate to the study and follow the theoretical framework.. 6. Collect Data an Analysis Both data collection and analysis were performed simultaneously in the study; as interviews took place and documentation was being reviewed, the data was analyzed in the 25.

(33) event any questions arose to modify the data collection. According to Merriam (2009) “There is almost always another person who could be interviewed, another document to be reviewed” (p. 172-173). The data was collected through semi-structured interviews and document review. For the data analysis, the researcher used open coding and categorization.. 7. Conclude Research Findings The final step for the study were to report the findings once the data was collected and analyzed. In this step the results were reported and what emerged from all the data and suggestions and recommendations for future research were included.. 1. Identify Research Direction. 2. Review of Literature. 3. Research Topic, Purpose and Questions. 4. Develop a Research Framework. 5. Develop Interview Questions. 6. Collect Data and Analysis. 7. Conclude Research Findings Figure 3.4. Research procedure. 26.

(34) Research Quality In any study, the goal was to provide understanding and knowledge in a credible manner (Merriam, 2009). Guba and Lincoln (1989) provide a criterion in which it can analyze the credibility and the quality of a qualitative study. This is equivalent to the criteria in which quantitative study researchers measure the validity and reliability. Following what Guba and Lincoln suggested, in this study internal validity parallels with credibility, reliability with consistency, and external validity with transferability. It was taken into consideration the criteria order to increase the quality of the study.. Credibility Credibility or internal validity has to do with how much the findings can equate to reality (Merriam, 2009). Credibility focuses on whether or not there is a compatibility of the view point of the participants and the way the researcher describes those viewpoints (Mertens, 2005). According to Mertens, there are several approaches on creating credibility that were adopted for this study (p. 254-256): Peer debriefing. It was taken into consideration the discussions about the study with impartial peers. When the data collection, data analysis and research findings are done, the researcher also had a broad discussion with a peer in order to listen to questions they might pose. Triangulation. This term pertains to acquiring information from as many different possible sources as possible. For this study, data was collected from different sources. There were semi structured interviews with different groups; managers and workers. Data was also collected through documentation review through URL of each organization as well as asking through e-mail for specific information relevant for the study. Member Checks. In order to prevent misinterpretation, at the time of each interview, short summary was given of what was said and asked whether or not the information collected matched to what the participant meant throughout the interview. This took place shortly after the interview or when the following interview took place. According to Merriam, “Although you may have used different words, participants should be able to recognize their experience in your interpretation or suggest some fine-tuning to better capture their perspectives” (p. 217).. 27.

(35) Consistency Reliability is how replicable is what was found in a research study. According to Merriam (2009), for qualitative studies, instead of getting the same results outside, it is more important that outsiders see the results of the data collected make sense. The important question to be asked is whether the results are consistent with the data collected (p. 221). The procedures made clear of how the findings were encountered. It was made sure that the participants had as much time as possible to discuss their experiences when the interviews were taking place. The data was analyzed both manually, as well as with qualitative software.. Transferability Transferability or external validity means to what extent the findings can be put into practical use in different situations (Merriam, 2009; Mertens, 2005). According to Mertens (2005), “The researcher's responsibility is to provide sufficient detail to enable the reader to make such a judgment. Extensive and careful description of the time, place, context, and culture is known as "thick description” (p.257). This is helpful for the reader so they can analyze themselves if it can be applicable for their situation. As much information about the context of the study and the findings were given.. 28.

(36) CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS Research Dimensions In order to answer the research questions, there was a focus of three dimensions which are: past experiences related to ingroup bias, company strategies, and what are the determinants of ingroup bias in organizations. 1. What are the experiences of ingroup bias in a multicultural organization of expatriates from Latin America? (Dimension 1: Experiences of Ingroup Bias) 2. What are some strategies implemented by managers to facilitate integration in a multicultural organization? (Dimension 2: Strategies by the organizations) 3. What are the determinants of national ingroup bias in a multicultural organization? (Dimension 3: Success factor of organizational level strategies) First the experience of Latin American participants is explained focusing in two different countries. The findings from the participants located in the United States and then the participants located in Dominican Republic. This is because the responses vary to a great extent when the participants’ location differed. The strategies that managers implement or organizations implement in the United States and Dominican Republic are different as well. Table 4.1. shows the dimensions, locations and sub- themes found on each country.. 29.

(37) Table 4.1. Dimensions and countries’ sub-themes Dimensions. Location. Sub- themes. United States. Language Barrier. 2. Ingroup Bias Experiences. Social and Cultural Background Expressions and Gender Dominican Republic. Differences Expectations of Discrimination. 1. Company Strategies. United States. Employee Resource Group Expressions and Gender. Dominican Republic. differences Expectations of Discrimination. 3. Success factors of organizational level strategies. United States. ERGs Implementation. Dominican Republic. Lack of Strategies. Expatriates’ Experience of Ingroup Bias The experiences focused on, are in relation to expatriates, when they have had favoritism towards a member of their ingroup (national or Latin American). And from the point of view of the coworkers, is how they have viewed a favoritism within Latin American expatriates. It was found that some participants have experiences regarding ingroup bias both in the United States and the Dominican Republic. In the United States the expatriates of Latin America (ingroup) would prefer to be around each other and tend to favor their own group (Latin Americans) in reference to other groups (outgroup) which in this case are Americans. And for participants in the Dominican Republic it was less stated but the factor of gender was mentioned and viewed more from the observer perspective. From Haitian perspective it was strong since they had a strong favoritism to their ingroup (Haitians) towards their outgroup 30.

(38) (Dominicans). For the dimension of experiences, participants locating in both countries had similar focus of communication. Although in Dominican Republic the communication level is related to expressions, since both expatriates and nationals speak Spanish, there is no misunderstanding on words specifically, but more in how they express themselves. And the second on in Dominican Republic is about expectation of discrimination from Haitian participant. Stating that they would prefer not to be around Dominicans since they would be oppressed. In the case of the United States, also focusing on communication, the levels are about language barrier, since English would be used as a second language, it was hard to understand and share ideas. And also, the level of different social and cultural background; although words were understood, the context of why they were being said, was hard to understand. Table 4.1. gives an explanation on the sub-themes of each country.. 31.

(39) Figure 4.1. Findings of experiences of participants located in U.S. and D.R.. 32.

(40) Location: United States In the case of expatriates from Latin America, it was decided to discuss the findings as one whole ingroup. Meaning that the participants felt more as a Latin American group as opposed to a person from a specific country of Latin America. This is due to participants expressing in the interviews that they view themselves as a Latin American instead as a person from a specific country of Latin America. Difficulties in communication. One of the reasons expatriate participants were more prone to search and be around people of Latin America, was because they felt more comfortable communicating and be sure they were understood. They focused on two ways regarding verbal communication, English language capabilities; it is hard to say ideas out loud in another language. The language of the expatriates is Spanish and in the United States is English. And second just understanding the general cultural context of what the national (United States) was trying to express to the expatriate. As well as a feeling that other nationals would not understand what the expatriate would say and thus, moderating a behavior or preferring not to speak up as much as they would with someone from Latin America. Language barrier. The following expatriate talks feeling relaxed and herself when she is talking to a Latin American. Saying that it is hard to talk in a different language to express herself and thus, not feeling as comfortable with an American as with a Latino. Comparing the two interactions, I feel more comfortable, I feel like at home when I talk with a Latino. Even though they are not family. It is just that in English you cannot express yourself that well. So when I am speaking with a Latino, person I am more open and relaxed and myself. I am myself sometimes with Americans, it is just that it is not easy with my language. Ariana, Mexico (Expatriate) An expatriate stated that the English language is “dry”, saying that when talking to Americans she feels that there is no fluidity in the conversation and not a clear mutual understanding of what is being said. The most difficult part for me is the communication. Even though we are talking about the same thing, there is no fluidity in the conversation and we do not understand each other. That has been very hard. I think the English language is very dry, it is not like in our culture in Latin America, we are more open. I work every day with this lady who is also from Latin America, so I know we will understand each other perfectly and I would 33.

(41) always choose her or anyone that speaks my native language. With the people that I normally interact inside the company and outside the company is with people from Latin America or from my country Dominican Republic. Lucia, Colombia (Expatriate) Social/cultural background. Aside from the experience of the expatriates saying they did not feel they could understand nationals, there was also an expectation of being understood by nationals or other cultures. Expatriates experiences. As the following participant states, some Latin Americans do not feel comfortable with the idea of explaining or sharing some of their own culture to others to be more understood. She states having experiences of Latin Americans “rolling their eyes”, being annoyed of Americans having an interest on Latin American culture. I will say we put that barrier there, Americans are like “Oh, so you, so you are Latino, that is cute. That is nice” and you can tell they want to know more about us. But then I can see people getting annoyed and rolling people's eyes instead of like interacting and actually teach. Nadia, Bolivia (Expatriate) An expatriate participant also stated that even though she would understand the language and words, she could not understand the meaning of what was being said by Americans. And also saying that she felt Americans did not have a “thick skin” like Latin Americans, because they would get offended easily or not understand what Latin Americans mean and a different sense of humor. Also saying that she needed to act “normal” when around Americans in order to prevent any misunderstanding or discussion. I understand what they are saying, I understand the language, the words but culturally I do not understand. It was like this weird feeling I do not even know what they are talking about. I cannot pick on them or tease them like to a Latino. Because with the Latinos I can joke around with no fear they will get offended. I can say indecent comments with the Latinos and they will laugh but Americans would get offended. They do not have a thick skin like us. With Americans, I feel like they are coworkers and I feel like I need to behave and be “normal”. Like not show that much of my Latino side. Soph, Colombia (Expatriate) Coworkers experiences. Coworkers had an interesting view about Latin Americans when they talked about their experiences or their observations of expatriates with each other as well as with nationals. For example, the next quotations from an observer that said it was 34.