Impact of a local host on the success of an international assignment

This longitudinal study examined whether contact with a local host in the Netherlands positively impacts on the adjustment and performance of “Western” expatriates with English or French as their first language. Thirty‐one expatriates were put in contact with a Dutch host with whom they would have regular contact over nine months; another 30 similar expatriates would have no contact with a host. After a five‐month period of contact with a host, there was a positive impact on interaction adjustment. The results also indicated that expatriates who valued the contact highly derived more benefit from it. Contact with a host seems to be especially worthwhile for expatriates who have to deal with host nationals on a daily basis. ©2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

International Training and Management Development Policies and Practices of South Korean MNEs in China

International training and management development has to date received little research attention. This study aims to contribute to the international human resource management literature by empirically exploring international training and management development policies and practices for both expatriates and host‐country nationals (HCNs) of South Korean multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in China. The data for this study were collected through in‐depth interviews with both HCN managers and expatriate managers of 10 Korean MNEs. The results show that in our sample, South Korean MNEs provide expatriates with inadequate and low‐rigor predeparture cross‐cultural training and leadership training. However, the sample MNEs provide extensive predeparture and postarrival language training and regular postarrival technical and professional training. On‐the‐job training is provided mainly to HCN production workers in order to improve productivity and work safety. Selected high‐performance HCN middle managers and employees are sent back to headquarters for training. This, however, is not regarded for career development but for rewarding good performance. The sample South Korean MNEs pay little attention to management development for both expatriates and HCNs. Consequently, this has a negative effect on employees’ organizational commitment and retention. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Dimensions of expatriates adjustment in distant subsidiaries: A field study of a sub‐Saharan African institutional distance

The aim of this study is to investigate the determinants of expatriates’ adjustments in distant and complex multinational subsidiaries. Using the institutional theory as a basis for expatriates’ assignments in complex subsidiaries, the work employed a sequential mixed methodology of data collection. An in‐depth face‐to‐face interview with 21 senior expatriate executives and a quantitative survey of 204 expatriates working in various multinational subsidiaries in Ghana served as data for the work. Consequently, a structural equation modeling (SEM) and a content analysis were the basis of the data analysis. Findings showed host country culture plays a significant role in determining expatriate adjustment in distant subsidiaries. Findings also showed expatriates’ competence in cross‐cultural communication significantly determines expatriates’ adjustment in distant subsidiaries. The work recommends an intensive training of expatriates in cross‐cultural communication and host cultural values and behaviors for international assignees.     

How host organizations prepare for and learn from expatriate assignments

This article reveals what goes on inside host organizations prior to and during expatriate assignments. On the basis of analyzing organizational documents and conducting 43 interviews with host country nationals (HCNs) and expatriates in 30 Vietnamese organizations that host external foreign assignments, we provide a detailed account of HCNs' experiences and unearth sophisticated preparation and management activities designed to maximize these organizations' learning. We depict what we call “a host organization lifecycle” and extract five lessons: (a) host organizations prepare carefully in advance to learn as much as possible from expatriates; (b) HCNs experience quite dramatic adjustments and burdens during expatriates' placements; (c) mutual trust between expatriates and HCNs is a prerequisite for HCNs' learning; (d) most of HCNs' learning occurs informally via interactions with expatriates or observing how they work; (e) host organization managers actively manage HCN–expatriate relationships. Our findings outline a “wish list” of practices that expatriate‐using organizations could consider deploying for expatriate assignments that focus on the benefit of the host organization' development.     

A study focusing on American expatriates’ learning in host countries

This study examines the learning process and situations while expatriates are living and working in a foreign country. The survey was conducted on 70 American expatriates via individual e‐mails and the World Wide Web. The study found that expatriates gained the culture of their host country through reflective learning. Cross‐cultural training programs should be examined based on expatriates’ actual needs. Finally, several learning situations that would be helpful in reducing expatriates’ cultural difficulties are: previous cross‐cultural experience, language competency, long‐term relationships with the host people, and information about the host country originating from the home country as well as the host country.     

Mentoring: a model for leadership development?

There appears to be a paucity of research on mentoring senior leaders (Hobson & Sharp, 2005) and yet a growing interest in the development of leadership through experience (Abra et al., 2003; McCauley et al., 1998). This paper therefore presents and evaluates a case study of a pilot mentoring scheme and programme for Directors of Finance (DoFs) in the UK National Health Service. The paper reviews DoFs’ leadership needs within the three broad categories of pragmatism, effectiveness and sustainability, and provides a case study detailing the pilot mentoring scheme and programme. Values and challenges posed by this initiative as a model for leadership development are considered, and lead to the identification of eight cross‐cutting tensions connected to mentoring senior leaders. This analysis provides lessons for the ongoing initiative and indicates key learning about managing mentoring and mentoring senior leaders that it is hoped will be of value beyond the scope of this study.     

Talking Your Way into Entrepreneurial Support: An Analysis of Satisfaction Drivers in Entrepreneur Mutual Aid Groups

The role of organized peer networks in entrepreneurial support systems has been surprisingly neglected in the literature, despite their undisputed effectiveness in numerous areas outside the entrepreneurship realm. This study explores the efficacy of mutual aid groups for entrepreneurial support, as theoretically distinct from other group‐based mechanisms (such as peer group mentoring and many to one group mentoring). Drawing from respondent data of small, local mutual aid groups within the global entrepreneurship support organization (2,869 responses from members of 540 groups worldwide), we investigate the factors determining the entrepreneurs' satisfaction with the entrepreneur mutual aid groups. Understanding the antecedents of members' subjective satisfaction with the group serves an essential first step toward developing the models explaining the objective effectiveness of these organizations (e.g., performance, survival, and growth), in that the former is an essential, necessary condition for continuing participation in the voluntary mutual aid groups. Our analysis reveals that group climate and leadership are important drivers of group satisfaction.     

Social support abroad: How do self-initiated expatriates gain support through their social networks?

On arrival, expatriates need to establish new social ties in order to succeed in the host country. In this study, we are investigating the social networks of self-initiated expatriates, focusing on the process of how they source social support. Building on information seeking theory, we have created a model connecting specific characteristics of network members (host country knowledge, employment status and host country origin) with the frequency of contact and support they provide. The model was tested through multilevel mediation analysis on 165 expatriates and their 575 network members. We contribute to the existing knowledge on expatriate networks by a theoretically driven categorization of network members and a detailed empirical analysis on the level of a relationship/tie. Our results show that expatriates rely on different network members for different types of support. Practical implications include the use of mentors to facilitate expatriate access to higher status individuals who can offer important support.     

A new perspective on the female expatriate experience: The role of host country national categorization

This study was designed to investigate host country national (HCN) categorization of female expatriates, in two samples—U.S. and India. Two hundred and twenty-two HCNs (104 in the U.S. and 118 in India) participated in the study. Consistent with prior research [e.g., Tung, R. L. (1998). American expatriates abroad: From neophytes to cosmopolitans. Journal of World Business, 33: 125–140], we found that female expatriates from the U.S. were not discriminated against. Indeed, we found that female expatriates from the U.S. were preferred by Indian HCNs, as co-workers, significantly more than male expatriates from the U.S. We discuss implications for organizations and offer suggestions for future research.     

Trust and the don't‐want‐to‐complain bias in peer‐to‐peer platform markets

This paper addresses peer‐to‐peer (P2P) digital platform markets, often associated with the “sharing economy” or the “collaborative economy”. Such digital platforms, facilitating new purchasing channels for consumers by matching P2P supply and demand, can be considered new market places challenging the conventional markets. How are P2P platform markets evaluated by the consumers? Based on a comprehensive survey‐data material, five different P2P service markets are considered by peer buyers and the results compared to consumers’ evaluations from similar conventional service markets according to trust, comparability and consumers’ satisfaction with the transactions. Comparability seems to be one advantage for the platform markets, while trust could become a problem. Conditions for trust in P2P platform markets is particularly interesting to study because contrary to conventional markets P2P transactions cannot rely on governmental laws, regulations and security net. This trust problem has been solved by a trust‐generating rate and review system. Our data material, however, distinguishes a mechanism that we have coined as the don't‐want‐to‐complain bias. More precisely, people do not like to complain, hence buyers of P2P services often hesitate to give negative ratings when they are discontent with a service or a supplier. Therefore, positive ratings become overestimated. If consumers recognize this bias, ratings and reviews will lose credibility and no longer be considered trustworthy. Eventually, this may threaten the well‐functioning of P2P markets.     

From dilemmatic struggle to legitimized indifference: Expatriates’ host country language learning and its impact on the expatriate-HCE relationship

We address the lack of knowledge concerning the role of host country languages in multinational corporations based on an inductive qualitative study involving 70 interviews with Nordic expatriates and host country employees (HCE) in China. Building on the strongly discrepant views of expatriates and HCEs, we demonstrate how expatriates’ willingness to learn and use the host country language lead to different types of expatriate-HCE relationships, ranging from harmonious to distant or segregated. In doing so, we emphasize the subtle and fragile connection between expatriates’ attitude towards HCEs’ mother tongue and trust formation in addition to the construction of superiority-inferiority relationships.     

The Impact of Career Capital on Expatriates' Perceived Marketability

We examine how the development of three types of career capital (knowing how, knowing whom, and knowing why) during an international assignment affects the perceived marketability of organizational expatriates. Using the perceived marketability perspective and long‐term follow‐up data, we show that knowing how is seen as the most transferable type of career capital, while the development of other aspects of career capital has little impact on perceived marketability. We also show that career capital development is more recognized in the external market than by current employers. Our findings expand our understanding of long‐term career marketability among people who have completed international assignments. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Language ability and adjustment: Western expatriates in China

Although the standard of English proficiency is rising in China, using English in conversations with Chinese host nationals may be difficult. Therefore, proficiency in the Chinese language may promote the adjustment of foreign business expatriates in China. To test this proposition, a mail survey was directed to Western business expatriates assigned to China. Controlling for the time expatriates had spent in China, results showed that their language ability had a positive association with their sociocultural adjustment. Not surprisingly, this positive relationship was strongest for interaction adjustment and weakest for work adjustment. The straightforward implications of these clear findings are discussed in detail. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Expatriate personality and cultural fit: The moderating role of host country context on job satisfaction

This study draws on the cultural fit hypothesis to examine interactive effects of host country context and four (Multicultural Personality Questionnaire) expatriate personality traits – Cultural Empathy, Social Initiative, Emotional Stability, and Open Mindedness – on job satisfaction. The cultural fit hypothesis maintains that it is not only the expatriate personality traits per se, but the cultural fit between expatriate personality traits and host country cultural values, norms, and prototypical personality traits that predict expatriate adjustment in host countries (Searle & Ward, 1990). Providing partial support for the cultural fit hypothesis, data derived from 191 expatriates in Brazil and Japan shows that the importance of two personality traits varies in these countries. Specifically, expatriates with high Cultural Empathy were more satisfied with their jobs in Japan than in Brazil, whereas Social Initiative was more important for expatriates in Brazil.     

Home and away: Why do consumers shy away from reporting negative experiences in the peer‐to‐peer realms?

This study investigates how customers use their construct of “home” in evaluating their experience in peer‐to‐peer rented accommodation, as opposed to traditional hotels. The literature has paid considerable attention to people's perceptions of destinations, but almost none to their perceptions of “home” and its complexities whilst visiting a destination. We examine the relationships between the concepts of “home” or “here” represented in peer‐to‐peer accommodation and the construct of “away” or “there” represented in traditional hotels. A mixed‐method approach determines the existence of bias in reporting behavior. Our findings indicate that there is a consistent review gap between institutional actors and peer‐to‐peer actors. Also, consumers of peer‐to‐peer accommodation prefer not to engage in negative reporting if a bond with the host is developed. This perception of a home shapes consumers' relationship with the host and leads to reporting bias. This study provides clear theoretical insights to advance our knowledge about the underlying motives behind reporting behavior of negative experiences. Furthermore, it offers practical implications for both institutional and peer‐to‐peer contexts.     

Factors influencing mentors’ learning from mentoring relationships: insights from a serial mediation study in India

The primary objective of the present study is to understand mentoring relationships in Indian organizations from the mentors’ perspective. In particular, the study examines whether the learning goal orientation of a mentor can significantly influence the mentoring process and outcomes for the mentor in a mentoring relationship. Two hundred and thirty‐six participants were selected using purposive sampling. Data were gathered using standardized questionnaires. Mediating effects were investigated using the PROCESS model by Hayes, Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression Based Approach. The results indicate high levels of support for several hypotheses examining the direct effects of learning goal orientation on willingness to engage by the mentor, mentoring functions provided and mentor outcomes (personal learning and self enhancement). The overall findings of the study suggest that mentors are not only ‘providers’ but also ‘receivers of learning’. Limitations and directions for future research are also discussed in the paper.     

Research for Practice: The Management of Expatriates

The objective of this article is to identify expatriate management research questions of interest to international human resource (IHR) managers. We conducted an in‐depth literature review, interviewed a small sample of IHR managers, and reviewed commercially available large sample surveys of IHR managers. Results suggest that IHR managers are concerned about determinants of the decision to accept an offer of expatriation, why expatriates show so little interest in training, perceived equity in rewards, and other areas not well studied to date. The article discusses implications for academics wishing to make their research more relevant to IHR managers and global organizations. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Commodification of Self‐Esteem: Branding and British Teenagers

This study explores the role of consumption in the lives of British adolescents, with a particular focus on its role in forming and maintaining self‐esteem. Through a large qualitative study, over 100 adolescents revealed their attitudes and feelings toward consumption—particularly fashion. It was found that as a result of peer pressure and the importance of conformity among adolescents, consuming the correct possessions at the right time, is essential for social acceptance, gaining and maintaining friendships and thus self‐esteem. This paper argues that self‐esteem has been commodified. The consequences of failing to “keep up” with consumption trends were revealed; these include social exclusion, negative peer evaluation, and reduced self‐esteem. Moreover, these negative consequences were particularly pronounced among adolescents from low‐income families who, in contrast to their financial status, were eager to purchase the more expensive brands. Adolescents appear to have a striking awareness of the role of branding, advertising, and peer pressure in forming their consumption attitudes, yet they are unable to resist them. The findings from this study highlight the need for a rethinking of the more traditional components of adolescent self‐esteem.     

Why buy new when one can share? Exploring collaborative consumption motivations for consumer goods

The notion of collaborative consumption or sharing economy—where consumers share access to ownership of properties such as cars, clothes and accommodations—has gained tremendous popularity in recent years. Development of communication technologies and peer‐to‐peer communities has enabled consumers to coordinate sharing activities through various online platforms. Collaborative consumption involves sharing of both intangible (e.g., music, space and car rides) and tangible assets (e.g., household items, clothes and furniture). Activities such as renting, swapping, trading and purchasing/selling used consumer goods are included in the latter. Despite increasing academic attention on collaborative consumption, little research has been pursued in the context of consumer goods. The nature of consumption for tangible goods can be entirely different from that of intangible goods because people can exercise greater control over tangible goods, which results in greater psychological ownership than that for intangible goods. To address this gap, the objective of this study is to develop a scale that examines consumer motivations for collaborative consumption of consumer goods. Following Churchill's paradigm of scale development, the procedures of scale item generation, purification and validation were conducted via in‐depth interviews, literature review and surveys. The study identified five underlying dimensions of collaborative consumption of consumer goods: concern‐for‐sustainability, social, variety‐seeking, fun and cost‐saving. Study findings and implications are discussed, and future research avenues are suggested.     

PERIODICAL USEFULNESS: THE U.S. LOGISTICS EDUCATOR PERSPECTIVE

Traditional methodologies for evaluating periodicals focus on the quality of research‐oriented, peer refereed journals. This research broadens the evaluation process to include practitioner publications and an assessment of periodical usefulness across three educational activities. More than 100 U.S. logistics educators identified and evaluated periodicals germane to the logistics discipline. The Journal of Business Logistics, Harvard Business Review, and Supply Chain Management Review achieved the highest usefulness scores based on an analysis of the survey responses.