A Comparative Study On Motivational Factors Of Chinese And American Knowledge Employees: From A Cross-Cultural Perspective

With the development of knowledge economy, the knowledge-based work has become themain working form of the new economy, and the ability of knowledge management hasbecome more and more crucial within the corporate core competitiveness. In the era ofknowledge economy, competitions among corporations, the creation, using, increment ofknowledge as well as any rational allocation of resources are realized by the carriers ofknowledge---the knowledge employees. Compared with other kinds of employees, knowledgeemployees are more inclined to pursue independence, individuality, diversification andinnovativeness, therefore, the traditional motivation models may not be suitable to them. Onthe other hand, with the advent of economic globalization, more and more companies aregoing global with increasing amount of transnational transactions. The unique economic andcultural backgrounds of different countries and regions may all bring great impacts andchallenges to the motivation of knowledge employees.This thesis attempts to identify the main differences in motivational factors of Chinese andAmerican knowledge employees. In order to get a more precise picture of those differences,the author surveys Chinese knowledge employees in Chinese state-owned companies andAmerican knowledge employees working in America. After reviewing the relevant studies onthe differences in American and Chinese cultures, cross-cultural communication andmotivation, the author analyzes the differences in motivational factors of Chinese andAmerican knowledge employees based on four dimensions of individualism versecollectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance and masculinity verse femininity and putsforward four hypotheses. According to the data collected from the questionnaires distributedto the employees, the author tests the four hypotheses and analyzes the influences of culturalinfluences on motivational factors of Chinese and American knowledge employees. Finally,the author puts forward the limitations of the study and proposes some recommendations forthe future relevant researches.