Dr Linn Eleanor Zhang
Lecturer in International Management
Dr Linn Eleanor Zhang is a lecturer within the Institute for International Management at Loughborough University London.
Her teaching and research interests cover a wide range of topics in cross-cultural management, such as multiculturalism, language in international business, global leadership, workplace diversity and qualitative research method.
Academic background
Linn graduated from the Department of Management and Organisation at Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki, Finland. Her PhD examined the diversity and dynamics of expatriation in the context of cross-cultural adjustment and acculturation. She is a member of the Higher Education Academy in the UK. Before joining Loughborough University London, Linn has taught a wide range of Management subjects such as Strategic Management, Economic and Social Foundations for Sustainable Organisations, International HRM at Royal Holloway, University of London and King’s College London.
Linn also teaches qualitative research methods in Innovation and Sustainable Business Management Doctoral Programme for DOBA Business School.
Current research and collaborations
Linn's research contributes to a deeper understanding of people management in multinational organisations. Specifically, she researches expatriates, migrant and transnational workers, as well as local employees from a language, identity and gender perspective. She employs in-depth interview, ethnographic observation, as well as surveys to better understand how these employees adjust cross-culturally, develop language competences and cope with challenges related to cultural identity, work-life balance and career development.
A central thread of her research is interaction across boundaries, which is manifested in various research settings, such as the boundary spanning of multicultural employees, the translation of human resource management policies to practices among foreign employees at multinational corporation subsidiaries abroad, and the social categorisation and conflict management between expatriates and host country employees.
In terms of geographical area, she focuses on employees and organisations in the UK, China and Nordic countries.
Linn’s current research projects are:
- Globalizing actors in MNCs from China’s emerging cities, funded by the Foundation for Economic Education Finland and Loughborough University London’s JOINT Fund.
- Gender and identity in a turbulent space and time: A study of diplomats and diplomatic spouses, funded by the British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants. More about a related commercial book can be found here: Spouses of the World: Bullet Dodging Behind Diplomatic Glamour.
- Social Innovation Processes in and around Multinational Companies: The Role of Social Activists and their Transnational Networks, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
Current PhD / research supervisions
Apart from her core research areas, Linn also specializes in supervising interdisciplinary dissertations. She is not accepting new PhD students at the moment.
Chinese Multinationals and Trade Unionism in sub-Saharan Africa.
Do I belong: How language affects integration and social inclusion.
The institutional maze in home country determinants of Brazilian MNCs’ CSR engagement.
Goal-setting in family firms: Longevity and transgenerational continuity through adaption.
Mr Fabricio Lima Mendes
Legacies of mega events: Multiple case studies on Olympic games.
Entrepreneurship and city life: new urban dynamics in transitioning Cuba.
Interests and activities
Linn has co-established the CYGNA Women in Academia research network in June 2014. The main objective of the group is to promote interaction among female academics based in the London area and to provide a forum for learning, support, and networking.
Linn is a member of the following Professional Associations:
- Academy of Management
- Academy of International Business
- European Academy of Management
- European Group of Organization Studies