Open Access Article Communication Cultural Studies

you have to face the fact that you're a foreigner: Immigrants’ Lived Experience of Communication and Negotiation Position Toward their Employer in Iceland

Erla S. Kristjansdottir (1) , Thora Christiansen (2)
1. School of Business University of Iceland
2. School of Business University of Iceland
https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc.v17i2.739

Article Sidebar

Issue
Vol. 17 No. 2 (2017)
Submitted
2015 April 20
Published
2017 July 10
Keywords:
    Immigrants, communication, highly skilled, negotiation position, Icelandic, devaluation, social capital, network
Ask AI (Dimensions)
Download PDF

Abstract

There is a growing need for highly skilled employees in the Icelandic labor market which will increasingly need to be filled by highly skilled immigrants. Despite offering knowledge and skills that are in demand, there are indications that these immigrants are facing barriers when it comes to compensation, opportunities and promotions. The study seeks to explore how highly skilled immigrants in Iceland experience their negotiation opportunities, their negotiation position and communication with their employers. Twelve in-depth interviews were conducted with immigrants from other European countries. The interviews were analyzed and interpreted according to phenomenological methodology. Four themes emerged in respondents’ perception; Icelandic, “accent free,” “you have to face the fact that you´re a foreigner…” “everybody has this little kind of kingdom…” and feeling of never being good enough.

Full text article

Generated from XML file

References

Arnardottir E. & Haraldsson R. H. (2014). Origin and multiple discrimination. Ísafjörður: Fjölmenningarsetur. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Barak, M. E. M., & Levin, A. (2002). Outside of the corporate mainstream and excluded from the work community: A study of diversity, job satisfaction and well-being. Community, Work & Family, 5, 133-157. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Bauder, H. (2003). “Brain abuse”, or the devaluation of immigrant labour in Canada. Antipode, 35, 699-717. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Behtoui, A., & Neergaard, A. (2012). Social capital, status and income attainment in the workplace. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 32, 42-55. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Berggren, C. (2013). The influence of gender, social class and national background on education and work career. Nordic Journal of Migration Research, 3, 135-144. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (pp. 241-258). Santa Barbara: Greenwood Press. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Bowles, H. R., Babcock, L., & Lai, L. (2007). Social incentives for gender differences in the propensity to initiate negotiations: Sometimes it does hurt to ask. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 103, 84–103. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Bowles, H. R., Babcock, L., & McGinn, K. L. (2005). Constraints and triggers: situational mechanics of gender in negotiation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 951. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Brett, J. M. (2001). Negotiating globally: How to negotiate deals, resolve disputes, and make decisions across cultural boundaries. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Burt, R. S. (1997). The contingent value of social capital. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42, 339-365. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Chiswick, B. R., & Miller, P. W. (2009). The international transferability of immigrants’ human capital. Economics of Education Review, 28, 162-169. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Chlipala, A & Jonsdottir, S. (2014). Greining á starfsmenntun pólskra atvinnuleitenda. Gátt, ársrit um fullorðinsfræðslu og starfsmenntun, 32-36. Reykjavík: Fræðslumiðstöð atvinnulífsins. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Csedő, K. (2008). Negotiating skills in the global city: Hungarian and Romanian professionals and graduates in London. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 34, 803-823. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Elfenbein, H. A. (2015). Individual differences in negotiation: a nearly abandoned pursuit revived. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24, 131-136. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Fisher, R., & Ury, W. (1981). Getting to yes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Fossland, T. (2013). Negotiating future careers: A relational perspective on skilled migrants' labour market participation. Journal of Management Development, 32, 193-203. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Fragale, A. R., Overbeck, J. R., & Neale, M. A. (2011). Resources versus respect: Social judgments based on targets' power and status positions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 767-775. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Friberg, J. H., Arnholtz, J., Eldring, L., Hansen, N. W., & Thorarins, F. (2014). Nordic labour market institutions and new migrant workers: Polish migrants in Oslo, Copenhagen and Reykjavik. European Journal of Industrial Relations, 20, 37-53. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Gerhart, B., & Rynes, S. (1991). Determinants and consequences of salary negotiations by male and female MBA graduates. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 256-272. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Halldorsdottir, S. (2003). Vancourver-skólinn í fyrirbærafræði. In S. Halldórsdóttir & K. Kristjánsson (Eds.), Handbók í aðferðafræði og rannsóknum í heilbrigðisvísindum (pp. 249-262). Akureyri: Háskólinn á Akureyri. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Hardardottir, K. E., Loftsdottir K. & Skaptadottir, U. D. (2007). Innflytjendur: viðurkenning og virðing í íslensku samhengi. In G. T. Jóhannesson (Ed.) Rannsóknir í félagsvísindum VIII (pp. 449–459). Reykjavík: Félagsvisindastofnun. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Hogue, M., Yoder, J. D., & Singleton, S. B. (2007). The gender wage gap: An explanation of men’s elevated wage entitlement. Sex Roles, 56, 573-579. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Ingimundardottir, A. H. (2015). Á fullu stími – vörumst skerin; efnahagshorfur 2015-2018. Reykjavík: Arion Banki. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Jonsdottir, V., Hardardottir, K. E., & Gardarsdottir, R. B. (2009). Innflytjendur á Íslandi: Viðhorfskönnun. Reykjavík: Félagsvísindastofnun. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Kim, P. H., & Fragale, A. R. (2005). Choosing the path to bargaining power: an empirical comparison of BATNAs and contributions in negotiation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 373. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Kolb, D. M., & Porter, J. L. (2015). Negotiating at work: Turn small wins into big gains. John Wiley & Sons. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Lanigan, R. L. (1988). Phenomenology of communication. Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Lee, R. (2009). Social capital and business and management: Setting a research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 11(3), 247-273. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Magee, J. C., & Galinsky, A. D. (2008). Social Hierarchy: The Self‐Reinforcing Nature of Power and Status. The Academy of Management Annals, 2, 351-398. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Magee, J. C., Galinsky, A. D., & Gruenfeld, D. H. (2007). Power, propensity to negotiate, and moving first in competitive interactions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 200-212. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Marozzi, M. (2015). Construction, robustness assessment and application of an index of perceived level of socio-economic threat from immigrants: A study of 47 European countries and regions. Social Indicators Research, 1-25. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, Th. K. (2010). Intercultural communication in contexts. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Google Scholar | WorldCat

Martinez, J. M. (2000). Phenomenology of Chicana experience and identity: Communication and transformation in praxis. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Mattoo, A., Neagu, I. C., & Özden, Ç. (2008). Brain waste? Educated immigrants in the US labor market. Journal of Development Economics, 87, 255-269. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Miles, E. W., & Clenney, E. F. (2010). Gender differences in negotiation: A status characteristics theory view. Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, 3, 130-144. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Nelson, J. L. (1989). Phenomenology as feminist methodology: Explicating Interviews. In K. Carter & C. Spitzack (Eds.). Doing Research on Women´s Communication: Perspectives on Theory and Method (pp. 221-241). Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Nielsen, C. P. (2011). Immigrant over-education: evidence from Denmark. Journal of Population Economics, 24, 499-520. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Önnudottir, E. H. (2010). Viðhorf Íslendinga til innflytjenda á Íslandi. Bifröst Journal of Social Science, 3, 67-95. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Orbe, M.P. (1998). Constructing co-cultural theory: An explication of culture, power, and communication. Thousand Oaks, CA.: Sage Publications, Inc. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Petursdottir, G. (2013). Birtingarmyndir dulinna fordóma og mismunun í garð innflytjenda á Íslandi. Íslenska þjóðfélagið, 4, 27-38. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Portes, A. (2014). Downsides of social capital. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111, 18407-18408. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Reif, J. A., & Brodbeck, F. C. (2014). Initiation of negotiation and its role in negotiation research Foundations of a theoretical model. Organizational Psychology Review, 4, 363-381. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Salmonsson, L., & Mella, O. (2013). Cultural demands on skilled immigrants, a devaluation of human capital. Nordic Journal of Migration Research, 3, 3-9. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Seidel, M. D. L., Polzer, J. T., & Stewart, K. J. (2000). Friends in high places: The effects of social networks on discrimination in salary negotiations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 45, 1-24. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Skaptadottir U. D. & Olafsdottir, H. (2010). Komið til móts við fjölbreytileika: fullorðinsfræðsla fyrir innflytjendur og samþætting. Ráðstefnurit Netlu – Menntakvika 2010. Reykjavík: Menntavísindasvið. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Smith, P. B., Andersen, J. A., Ekelund, B., Graversen, G., & Ropo, A. (2003). In search of Nordic management styles. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 19, 491-507. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Smith, S. S. (2000). Mobilizing social resources: Race, ethnic, and gender differences in social capital and persisting wage inequalities. The Sociological Quarterly, 41, 509-537. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Statistics Iceland. (2016). Mannfjöldaþróun 2015. Reykjavík: Hagstofa Íslands. Retrieved from: https://hagstofa.is/media/49889/hag_160621b.pdf Google Scholar | WorldCat

Thompson, L. L. (1991). Information exchange in negotiation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 27, 161-179. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Thompson, L. L., & Hastie, R. (1990). Social perception in negotiation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 47, 98-123. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Thorarinsdottir, H., Georgsdóttir, S. H. & Hafsteinsdóttir, B. L. (2009). Staða innflytjenda á erfiðleikatímum – raddir og viðhorf. Reykjavík: MIRRA – Miðstöð InnflytjendaRannsókna ReykjavíkurAkademíunni. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Vaiman, V., Sigurjonsson, T. O., & Davidsson, P. A. (2011). Weak business culture as an antecedent of economic crisis: The case of Iceland. Journal of Business Ethics, 98, 259-272. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Van Ngo, H., & Este, D. (2006). Professional re-entry for foreign-trained immigrants. Journal of International Migration and Integration/Revue de l'integration et de la migration internationale, 7, 27-50. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Volkema, R. J., & Fleck, D. (2012). Understanding propensity to initiate negotiations: An examination of the effects of culture and personality. International Journal of Conflict Management, 23, 266-289. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Volkema, R., Kapoutsis, I., & Nikolopoulos, A. (2013). Initiation behavior in negotiations: The moderating role of motivation on the ability–intentionality relationship. Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, 6, 32-48. Google Scholar | WorldCat

Authors

Erla S. Kristjansdottir
esk@hi.is (Primary Contact)
Thora Christiansen
Author Biographies

Erla S. Kristjansdottir

Erla S. Kristjansdottir (Ph.D. Arizona State University) is an assistant professor in the School of Business at University of Iceland. Her research and teaching interests are in culture, intercultural communication, diversity, intercultural transitions: adaptation and reentry. She has extended her research on cultural adaptation, communication and identity to a variety of contexts (international education, national/cultural disasters and international business): immigrant groups in Iceland, Katrina victims in the U.S., and business personnel in multinational organizations.

Thora Christiansen

Thora Christiansen (MA Emerson College in Boston and a Ph.D. candidate) is an adjunct lecturer in the School of Business at University of Iceland where she teaches courses in intercultural communication and negotiation. Her research has focused on negotiation; motivation and gender differences, cultural differences, and communication.

Kristjansdottir, E. S., & Christiansen, T. (2017). you have to face the fact that you’re a foreigner: Immigrants’ Lived Experience of Communication and Negotiation Position Toward their Employer in Iceland. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 17(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc.v17i2.739
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX

Copyright (c) 2017 Erla S. Kristjansdottir, Thora Christiansen

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This journal provides immediate and free open access to all its content and is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This means readers are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author, as long as proper attribution is given. This policy is consistent with the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) definition of open access. 

 

Article Details

How to Cite

Kristjansdottir, E. S., & Christiansen, T. (2017). you have to face the fact that you’re a foreigner: Immigrants’ Lived Experience of Communication and Negotiation Position Toward their Employer in Iceland. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 17(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc.v17i2.739