Influences on expatriate social networks in China

This study applied social network theory to investigate the factors influencing expatriate social networks and the consequences of expatriate social networks in China. Based on analysis of 171 Taiwanese expatriates in China, this study found that core self-evaluations and extraversion are significant for expatriates in developing expressive and instrumental ties with host country nationals. Moreover, job autonomy assists expatriates in developing instrumental ties with host country nationals. The expressive and instrumental ties of expatriates with host country nationals are significant for overseas adaptation. Finally, instrumental ties with host country nationals are significant for expatriate job performance.     

Acquired demographics and reasons to relocate among self-initiated expatriates

Organizational expatriates, who have been assigned by their parent companies to the foreign location have been thoroughly investigated as compared to self-initiated expatriates, who themselves have decided to expatriate to work abroad. Consequently, much less is known about the latter type of expatriates. To help alleviate this dearth of research findings, data was collected from 428 self-initiated expatriate academics from 60 countries employed in 35 universities in five northern European countries. Four acquired demographic characteristics were investigated: marital status, nationality, previous expatriate experience and seniority, as well as five individual reasons to expatriate: adventure/travel, career, family, financial incentives and life change/escape. The results indicated support for the research propositions, suggesting that self-initiated expatriates' (SIEs) reasons to expatriate differ in terms of acquired personal characteristics. Implications of these findings are discussed in detail.     

A Psychological Contract Perspective of Expatriate Failure

The expatriate literature needs to move beyond maladjustment as a primary reason for expatriate failure. This article draws on the psychological contract as a valuable lens to observe changes in expatriate behavior that may determine expatriate success or failure on international assignments. Prior research on the expatriate psychological contract has focused solely on an expatriate's social exchange relationship with the assigning parent company. This article offers a dual‐foci perspective of the expatriate psychological contract and suggests that expatriates’ perceptions of psychological contract breach arise from two sources—the assigning parent company and the receiving host company. The conceptualization of breach with dual foci forms the basis for the proposed model of expatriate failure. The model proposes that differences in expatriates’ contexts will influence their likelihood of perceiving breach and that breach, once perceived, will affect expatriate behavior through its influence on sense‐making, affect, conation, and attitudes. The propositions developed in this article provide a foundation for future theorizing and empirical work on expatriate cognitions of psychological contract breach. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The impact of expatriate supporting practices and cultural intelligence on cross-cultural adjustment and performance of expatriates in Singapore

We test the relationships between corporate expatriate supporting practices, cross-cultural adjustment, and expatriate performance. Specifically, we propose that the facets of cultural intelligence moderate the expatriate supporting practices–expatriate adjustment relationship. Analyzing 169 expatriates residing in Singapore, we found that expatriate supporting practices were positively related to adjustment as well as performance. Further, we demonstrated that metacognitive and cognitive cultural intelligence negatively moderated the links between expatriate supporting practices and adjustment, while motivational cultural intelligence had a positive moderating effect. These findings have implications for organizations providing support for expatriates and the expatriate selection and training processes.     

Not all expatriates are the same: non-traditional South Korean expatriates in China

Non-traditional expatriates, those expatriates whose assignments tend to be shorter, involve specialist work and often do not involve families relocating, have not been the subject of sustained research. What we do know about this group of expatriates has been mainly derived from research on Western multinational enterprises (MNEs). The current study explores the trend towards, and the management of, these non-traditional expatriates in South Korean MNEs operating in China. Using a qualitative case study approach involving in-depth, semi-structured interviews with expatriates and local managers, this study reveals that the use of non-traditional expatriates has been on rise in the sample MNEs and that they undertake similar roles to the long-term expatriates including control, problem-solving, management development and knowledge transfer. This shift towards non-traditional expatriation has been brought about by the decreased need for long-term assignments and the desire to gain more organizational flexibility. We conclude that such changes represent a strategic response to the longer term issues surrounding traditional expatriates such as family, career and expatriate failure. Such a shift is not without problems as the research found that there was a lack of formal recruitment and selection processes and that training for non-traditional expatriates was limited.     

Capital gains: expatriate adjustment and the psychological contract in international careers

This paper argues that the notion of adjustment to careers involving international assignments needs to be developed further than the current literature reflects. An expatriate assignment is an expatriate's opportunity to build career capital and a company's opportunity to generate social and intellectual capital. The extent of the capital gains will depend considerably on the expatriate's adjustment during and after the assignment, which is influenced by the psychological contract. We argue that our understanding of the career impact of expatriation will be enhanced by a more refined picture of the adjustment that expatriates experience during the assignment and during repatriation. In particular, we examine adjustment as process rather than as event. We propose a broad conception of expatriate adjustment and its link to careers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A risk management model for research on expatriates in hostile work environments

Abstract

Although much has been written about the causes of expatriate adjustment, more research is needed on managing the fear and anxiety experienced when expatriates work in hostile environments. The perceived risks of terrorism, kidnapping, crime, and civil unrest can have negative effects on the performance of expatriates and the organizations that employ them. While research has begun to examine expatriates’ stress in hostile environments, there is comparatively little research on the effectiveness of management practices that can reduce such stress. We integrate the expatriate adjustment, psychological contract, and risk management literature to develop a model that can guide efforts to reduce environmental stress and its negative effect on expatriate adjustment. Specifically, we build on recent work by Bader and colleagues to develop propositions to guide future research with the aim of improving the conditions of expatriates working in hostile environments.     

Multifaceted effects of host country language proficiency in expatriate cross-cultural adjustments: a qualitative study in China

While expatriates often face language barriers in host countries, relatively little research has focused on the influence of host country language proficiency on cross-cultural adjustment. We drew on social identity theory and conducted an interview-based study with 70 expatriates and their host country national (HCN) colleagues to provide a contextual account of host country language proficiency's effects on work and non-work-related adjustment in China. Our findings suggest that expatriate host country language proficiency has multifaceted effects on expatriates' HCN interaction, social support, and network-related work and non-work adjustment.     

Determinants of Expatriate Success: An Empirical Study of Singaporean Expatriates in The Peoples Republic of China

ABSTRACT

Globalization of business operations has assumed an increased significance in contemporary business strategy across the developed and developing world. Assignment of staff overseas is one of the most critical areas of the global business operations. While there have been numerous studies on various aspects of expatriate performance, such as selection, training, and compensation of expatriates, these studies have been mostly “americentric” in their scope and approach. Keeping in view the growing importance of China as a favored recipient of Foreign Direct Investment not only from the United States and Europe, but also from other Asian countries such as Japan and Singapore this study has examined factors that determine the success of Singapore expatriates in China. One of the significant findings of the study is that there is a discrepancy between perception of success factors between the expatriates themselves and the human resource directors (HRDs) of the multinational corporations who have an important role in the assignment of those expatriates. Thus this study argues that in addition to the knowledge of what constitutes success in overseas ventures it is important to achieve a common agreement on the factors determining such success.     

The relationships of organizational justice,social exchange,psychological contract,and expatriate adjustment: an example of Taiwanese business expatriates

In the field of international human resource management, studies have seldom examined organizational justice, social exchange, and psychological contract together as important factors in influencing the expatriate adjustment process. The purpose of this research is to fill the research gap by examining these factors and their relationships with expatriate adjustment. The researcher conducted a survey of Taiwanese business expatriates during the first quarter of 2007, collecting 219 valid samples for analysis. A hierarchical regression model was used to test the research framework hypotheses, which showed that expatriates' perception of organizational justice has a positive influence both on their perceptions of social exchange and on their psychological contract fulfillment. Expatriates' perceived that social exchange has a positive influence on their perceptions of psychological contract fulfillment and foreign adjustment. Finally, research implications are discussed and future study suggestions are recommended.     

Addressing international mobility confusion – developing definitions and differentiations for self-initiated and assigned expatriates as well as migrants

The literature on international human resource management indicates a growing array of different forms of international work experiences such as assigned and self-initiated expatriation. However, the criteria for demarcation of these different forms and the term ‘migrant’ are often unclear which leads to an unfortunate lack of comparability of research and a potential confusion for readers. Based on the sociological, psychological and economics literature, this article reviews and synthesizes the existing definitions of the three terms in the current research. A qualitative content analysis and the Rubicon model [Heckhausen, H., and Gollwitzer, P.M. (1987), ‘Thought Contents and Cognitive Functioning in Motivational Versus Volitional States of Mind’, Motivation and Emotion, 1, 101–120.] are used as a theoretical base to structure the findings. The paper creates a criteria-based definition and differentiation of terms and then develops a typology of four different types of expatriates: assigned expatriates, inter-self-initiated expatriates, intra-self-initiated expatriates and drawn expatriates. Implications for management as well as for future research are outlined.     

The interaction of expatriate pay differential and expatriate inputs on host country nationals' pay unfairness

This study investigates expatriate compensation from the under-researched perspective of host-country nationals (HCN). HCNs are typically compensated at lower levels than expatriates are, even when they hold similar jobs and possess similar qualifications. Such pay differential may provoke HCN perceptions of pay unfairness, which can in turn affect other HCN outcomes such as performance and turnover. The study identifies a number of factors that may offset or attenuate the negative influence of pay differential on HCN's perceived pay unfairness, namely awareness of expatriate contributions and special needs, expatriate interpersonal sensitivity, HCN pay advantage over other locals, and HCN contact with expatriates. Data from HCNs working with similarly qualified expatriates largely supported the hypotheses. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Adjustment,turnover, and performance: the deployment of minority expatriates

While in the domestic work environment, minorities are more likely to have turnover intentions and receive lower performance evaluations; the findings in this study indicate that minorities, when deployed overseas, receive higher performance evaluations than Caucasian expatriates. For Caucasian expatriates, cultural adaptability improved interaction adjustment and reduced turnover intentions, but not to the extent to which minority status improved these outcomes. These findings suggest that studying minority expatriates is a critical but overlooked factor in understanding expatriate success.     

Personality traits and cross-cultural competence of Chinese expatriate managers: a socio-analytic and institutional perspective

Drawing from socio-analytic theory and institutional theory, this study investigates the influence of personality traits on cross-cultural competence (CCC) in Chinese expatriate managers' overseas managerial experiences. Given the growing importance of Chinese outward foreign direct investment to other economies, this study is timely as it expands our knowledge of expatriates from this large emerging ‘superpower’. In order to explore the impact of personality traits on CCC, multi-level in-depth interviews were conducted including interviews with 25 Chinese expatriate managers, 15 foreign colleagues and 10 cross-cultural experts or expatriate supervisors. The findings suggest that although conscientiousness and openness emerge as major traits that may contribute to CCC, their influences are considerably constrained by institutional differences between home and host countries. This study contributes to theory building by proposing a new conceptual model that incorporates institutional factors into socio-analytic theory to explain how personality traits contribute to CCC of expatriates. It also advances the field by examining the experiences of expatriates from an emerging economy and how their experiences differ from those previously researched.     

Expatriate learning: exploring how Japanese managers adapt in the United States

We present an exploratory study of how Japanese expatriates adapt to working in the United States over time. We view expatriate adaptation to a host culture through the lens of Experiential Learning Theory and learning style. Results of two studies, using quantitative and qualitative data, conducted in Japanese multinational corporations doing business in the USA reveal how learning style in Japanese expatriates changes over time and how Japanese managers differ from their US counterparts. Results suggested that Japanese managers become more concrete and more active in their learning styles over time spent in the USA. Results also revealed that the learning style of expatriates changes in response to cultural demands and that the patterns of change do not necessarily reflect that of US managers. We suggest that Japanese managers do not directly assimilate into US culture but develop specialized modes of adaptation to their host culture. Results of the study are generalized into eight propositions to guide future research on expatriate adaptation to a host culture.     

High involvement work system,work–family conflict,and expatriate performance – examining Taiwanese expatriates in China

This study explores the effects of multinational companies (MNC) implementation of a high involvement work system (HIWS) for their expatriates on both expatriate work–family conflict (WFC) and their performance. We surveyed 174 Taiwanese expatriates stationed in China. Data were collected on: (1) perceived human resource management (HRM) practices concerning ‘high involvement work system’; (2) perceived work–family conflict; (3) job satisfaction; and (4) supervisor ratings of expatriate job performance. Structural modeling techniques helped us examine in one model the interdependent relationships among high involvement work system, work–family conflict, and expatriate performance in their host country. Our results show that a high involvement work system is positively related to expatriate satisfaction and performance. However, a high involvement work system is also positively related to expatriate work-family conflict, which in turn is negatively related to expatriate satisfaction and performance. Our findings remind managers that a high involvement work system may produce multiple effects on various dimensions of employee work life, and not all of these effects may be positive.     

The effects of expatriate demographic characteristics on adjustment: A social identity approach

As demand increases for expatriates to manage far‐flung operations in a global economy, scholars and practitioners are focusing their attention on the factors that contribute to expatriate success. One such factor is the support that expatriates receive from host country nationals (HCNs) with whom they work. Researchers interested in understanding expatriate success have not closely examined the phenomenon from an HCN perspective, however. At the same time, although we have gained a significant understanding of the roles of psychological, organizational, and contextual variables in the international assignment, there is still much to be understood about how expatriates' demographic characteristics affect their experiences in international assignments. Current findings regarding the effects of demographic characteristics often are inconsistent, highlighting the need for more complex theorizing. This article reviews recent research on the effects of expatriate demographic characteristics and proposes a social identity approach to understanding how these characteristics affect HCN support for the expatriate. It also seeks to develop a theory that addresses discrepancies in extant empirical findings, provides propositions to guide future research in the study of expatriates, and discusses implications for both researchers and practitioners. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The power of support in high-risk countries: compensation and social support as antecedents of expatriate work attitudes

This study analyzes the antecedents of expatriate work attitudes in terrorism-endangered countries. Applying a social exchange perspective, the study empirically analyzes which measures are qualified to achieve and maintain positive work attitudes among expatriates. Hierarchical regression analysis is applied to investigate this relationship, using data from 143 expatriates in high-risk countries. Data show that social support from co-workers as well as from the organization itself is essential. Moreover, the study investigates the expatriate's sensitivity to terrorism as a moderator and finds that companies should incorporate the sensitivity in their considerations for corporate measures.     

Factors influencing Chinese female expatriates' performance in international assignments

The current literature is mixed regarding what factors determine expatriate performance. In this study, we developed and tested a model to examine the relationship among family problems, expatriate–efficacy, host-country nationals' (HCNs') prejudice against women, perceived organizational support (POS) and Chinese female expatriate performance in international assignments. Our results indicated that HCNs' prejudice against women had a significant negative relationship and expatriate–efficacy had a significant positive relationship with female expatriate performance. POS and family problems moderated the relationship between HCNs' prejudice against women and female expatriate performance. However, family problems were not significantly related to female expatriate performance. Implications for research and practice are discussed.