The Role of Empathy and Compassion in the Management of Responsive International Business Organizations

This chapter introduces the concepts of empathy and compassion and explores their relevance in international management (IM) studies, assessed in the context of related previously applied concepts. Multinational business activities continue to deepen and form complex, multifaceted cross-border work environments characterized by cultural heterogeneity and pluralism. In these cross-cultural contexts, the notions of empathy and compassion can be regarded as key skills among leaders and employees in firms that operate internationally to cope with potential conflicts. The chapter analyses the concept of empathy, drawing on literature in organizational and global management studies, connected to prior research streams, identifying the role of empathy in a global business context. It discusses the more recent concept of compassion in some detail as applied to an international cross-cultural context and analyzes how the two concepts can be used appropriately to enhance the responsiveness of multinational organizations. Advancing from extant research on empathy and compassion in neighboring social science disciplines, new research streams are proposed to guide future research efforts in global organizational management. It is argued that conventional approaches aimed at learning about other cultures, their norms, and value systems must be changed toward a focus on empathy and compassion as “soft” interactive skills needed for individuals to collaborate effectively and create more adaptive multinational organizations.