引用
跨國企業對跨族群資源之運用:矽谷台商之研究
Utilizing Multiethnic Resources in Multinational Corporations: Taiwan-Based Firms in Silicon Valley
作者:曾瑞鈴(Ruey-Ling Tzeng) | 首次發表於 2020-07-01 | 第 32 期 June 2004
DOI:https://dx.doi.org/10.6786/TJS.200406.0103
研究紀要(Research Notes)
論文資訊 | Article information
摘要 Abstract
過去的認為華人的跨國事業只是侷限於華人圈的族裔經濟活動。然而此研究應用Adler與Kwon所提的社會資本概念,分析38家矽谷受訪台商,發現他們擅於運用跨族裔網絡的資源,打入美國經濟的主流市場。這些受訪廠商僱用華裔美人從事「後台」工作如工程師,僱用白人從事「前台」工作,如負責人與行銷經理。同樣的,這些廠商通常將類似「後台」工作外包華人所經營的公司,而將類似「前台工作外包白人所經營的公司。這些發現顯示,矽谷台商擅於運用華人員工或華人公司所具有的內聚功能的(bonding form)社會資本,從事運籌帷幄的後勤營運工作;以及運用白人員工或白人公司所具有的聯外功能的(bridging form)社會資本,從事拓疆拉生意的工作以便打入美國市場。
此外,此研究有三點發現:(1)由於具有雙語及瞭解雙文化的技能,華裔美人對矽谷台商也能發揮聯外功能的社會資本。(2)矽谷台商通常透個人網絡來僱用美國白人,或者傾向於僱用年長穩重、有與亞洲人共事經驗的白人,因為這些白人可能具有符合台商文化的內聚功能的社會資本,較能適應台商文化。(3)矽谷台商內部員工的族裔組合比例,以及最高負責人的族裔屬性不但是鑲嵌於公司的社會網絡中,也受公司對於多元文化管理的態度與能力所影響。

關鍵字:社會資本、鑲嵌、關係、人際網絡、跨國企業 
Using Adler and Kwon's concept of social capital, the author explains how Taiwan-based firms operating in California's Silicon Valley are making full use of multiethnic resources to break into mainstream American markets. According to information gathered through interviews with representatives from 38 Taiwan-based firms , these companies employ Chinese Americans or contract Chinese-led service firms for “back room” operations (eg, business logistics) while hiring Caucasian Americans or contracting Caucasian-led firms or “front room” positions (eg, management, marketing, and sales ). In Adler and Kwon's terminology, these companies are using bonding social capital for daily operations and bridging social capital to enter the mainstream American economy. The research also asserts that a) Chinese-American employees are increasingly capable of providing bridging social capital due to their bilingual ad bicultural skills; b) Taiwan-based firms in Silicon Valley tend to use personal netwo rks to identify potential Caucasian employees , favoring candidates with previous experience working with Asians or those who are older and more mature in order to ensure a certain degree of bonding social capital; and c) the ethnic compositions of employee bases and the ethnic backgrounds of executives in individual Taiwan-based firms in Silicon Valley are evolving. This reflects changing patterns in social networks and the willingness and ability of companies to accept multiethnic management as a potential asset leading to greater profitability.

Keywords: Social capital, embeddendness, guanxi, interpersonal networks, multinational corporations