American repatriate employees' retrospective assessments of the effects of cross-cultural training on their adaptation to international assignments

With 10 to 50 per cent of expatriates curtailing their assignments early, and the cost of foreign placement estimated at $500,000, training for expatriates needs to be improved. This study investigates different methods of training, and the results as perceived by repatriates. Repatriates were asked about the amount and type of cross-cultural training they had received and their effectiveness and productivity during the overseas assignment. Repatriates' responses included specific comments about their individual and familial experiences. It was hypothesized that managers who receive rigorous cross-cultural training before and during the assignment will not suffer intense culture shock and will become effective more rapidly than managers who have not had cross-cultural training. The results demonstrated that integrated cross-cultural training does reduce the time necessary to adjust and to achieve cultural proficiency and reduces the time necessary to become effective and productive in the assignment.     

Factors influencing the adjustment of women on global assignments

This study tests a four-factor model proposed by Caligiuri and Cascio (in press) for predicting the cross-cultural adjustment of female expatriates. The four factors tested in this paper were family support, personality characteristics, organizational support and host nationals' attitudes towards female expatriates. Structured phone interviews with thirty-eight American female expatriates from US-based companies were conducted. The responses were content analysed and regression was conducted. The results suggest company and family support are significantly related to cross-cultural adjustment. Thus, suggestions are given for future research on female expatriates using the theoretical model of social support. Practical recommendations for how to maximize the likelihood of success for women on global assignments are also given.     

A model for the influence of social interaction and social support on female expatriates' cross-cultural adjustment

This paper offers a model to describe the way in which female expatriates develop relationships and utilize those relationships to become cross-culturally adjusted. This model includes three predictive components affecting cross-cultural adjustment. The first includes the factors affecting whether a woman is able to form relationships on the expatriate assignment. These antecedents can include the female expatriate's personality, the cultural norms towards women, her language skills and the availability of possible opportunities for interaction. The second component includes the various sources of social interaction and social support (e.g. family members, and host national colleagues). The third component describes the nature of a female expatriate's social interaction and social support (e.g. emotional, informational and instrumental). Practical considerations for multinational organizations sending female expatriates are offered.     

Self-regulation and expatriate adjustment: The role of regulatory fit

In this paper, we draw on the construct of regulatory fit in explaining how expatriates manage interactional and work-related discrepancies in diverse cultural contexts. When expatriates go overseas, they are often faced with a set of expectations that are at variance with their home country norms and these differences in expectations generate discrepancies. The emergence of discrepancies in an alien cultural context exacerbates the uncertainties facing the expatriate, though the response to uncertainty varies between expatriates. We posit that expatriates with a promotion-focused self-regulatory system are focused on maximizing gains leading them to manage uncertainty through experimentation whereas expatriates with a prevention-focused self-regulatory system are oriented to minimizing losses leading them to manage uncertainty by persisting with the status-quo. Utilizing insights from motivational science and by linking the self-regulatory processes to the cultural context, we develop a framework and propositions for expatriate adaptation in loose and tight cultures. We present managerial implications of our model and offer guidance for testing the framework.     

Expatriate adjustment and commitment: the role of host-unit treatment

This article tests the hypotheses that perceived host ethnocentrism will impact negatively on expatriates' work adjustment, host commitment and parent commitment as well as increase the desire to return early from overseas assignments. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed on survey data from 250 international assignees controlling for a wide range of personal, organizational and locational characteristics. As predicted, perceptions of local ethnocentrism had a negative effect on work adjustment and commitment to the host unit, particularly when cultural distance was low. We also found that European expatriates were more likely to react negatively to perceptions of host ethnocentrism than were their American counterparts. In general, there was no support of the hypothesized links between perceived host ethnocentrism and parent-firm commitment or the desire to return early.     

The impact of on-site mentoring on expatriate socialization: a structural equation modelling approach

While the literature on expatriate adjustment has focused on the importance of back-home mentors and their instrumentality for future career advancement, this research explores the importance of on-site mentors for the effective socialization of expatriates into their current overseas assignments. Using a sample of 179 expatriates located in nineteen countries, this paper presents a structural equation model illustrating the relationships among mentoring received, expatriate socialization and socialization outcomes. Amount of mentoring received positively impacts on expatriate socialization, which in turn positively influences job attitudes, intention to finish the expatriate assignment and expatriate understanding of global business issues. Using Hofstede's typology of national cultures, this research also suggests that the international context of the overseas assignment affects how much on-site mentoring expatriates receive. Specifically, expatriates are more likely to receive mentoring in small power distance, weak uncertainty avoidance and individualistic cultures.     

Management turnover expectations: a variable to explain company readiness to engage in continuous management training

What makes companies give their support to Continuous Management Training (CMT) and why, on occasion, do they block its progress? If a company thinks its managers might leave in the near future, would there be reasons for it to provide continuous training of these professionals? Do companies interpret all likely resignations in the same way? We attempt to provide an answer to these questions, by analysing the behaviour of companies' vis-à-vis continuous management training in terms of their expectations of the appropriability of the benefits that stem from such training. Appropriability is in turn assessed with regard to firms' expectations that their managers will leave their organisation without it having had the chance to recover the outlay invested in training. The analysis of business behaviour also demands an understanding of how these turnover expectations are produced and, more specifically, of the variables on which turnover expectations depend or might depend. The empirical study we carried out with over 300 Spanish companies revealed that company projections for voluntary turnover of management employees are positively connected with earlier experiences of turnover, with markets prone to change, and with business risk situations, and negatively associated with developed social management networks, satisfied managers and their degree of specificity in relation to the company. Nevertheless, no significant relationship was observed between expected turnover and the intensity of continuous management training. In general, companies make their management training investment decisions independently of the overall turnover expectations they might have. Different causes might exist for this absence of a relationship, centred in particular on the need for management training and an associated sense of urgency, which takes precedence over the risk of not recovering the investment when the business decision is taken, and on the nature of the management turnover perceived by the company, which is more complex than a strictly economic one.     

Cultural distance and expatriate failure rates: the moderating role of expatriate management practices

Abstract

This study examines moderators of the relationship between cultural distance and the two critical indicators of expatriate failure – maladjustment and premature return rates. Results based on a sample of 126 Taiwanese multinational corporations indicate that expatriate selection and performance management practices moderate the cultural distance–expatriate maladjustment relationship, and expatriate performance management practices moderate the cultural distance–premature return relationship. Additionally, these relationships were stronger when the use of practices was low. We discuss theoretical and practical implications, and offer suggestions for future research.     

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.     

Exploring the role of the spouse in expatriate failure: a grounded theory-based investigation of expatriate' spouse adjustment issues from India

This paper applied the grounded theory method in a study of the expatriates' spouses' relocation adjustment process and the impact of such adjustment problems in expatriate failure. A qualitative enquiry approach using open-ended questions in the form of personal interviews was adopted. Iteratively, the questions were changed to reach theoretical saturation and we allowed the respondents to lead us through the data collection process during our eventual theory development process. An action diagram technique was used to help structure and process the data. The study was conducted with 26 Indian origin spouses who had to encounter relocation issues one time or the other. We found the spouses' perceived gender role ideology to play a critical part in their adjustment process. Other factors that influenced the adjustment process in expatriate assignments were personality factors such as extraversion, organizational and family support, country demographics and pre-departure training.     

The impact of external constraints on labour rights: the case of the Philippines

Today, conventional wisdom suggests that integration into the global economy provides the best opportunity for economic growth and that such growth will, inevitably, benefit all sectors in society. However, if one looks beyond the economic indicators, the project of integrating into the global economy, particularly through export-oriented industrialization, carries high social costs in terms of violations of labour rights. This article argues that external constraints in the global economy prevent national governments from pursuing both integration through export-oriented industrialization and satisfactorily protecting workers. By focusing on the case of the Philippines, this study demonstrates how external constraints lead to specific violations of labour rights. The evidence suggests that practices such as labour-only contracting and 'no union, no strike' policies are best explained in terms of external constraints emanating from the global economy.     

Host country language ability and expatriate adjustment: the moderating effect of language difficulty

Research has shown that expatriates' host country language ability is positively associated with their adjustment. But does the advantage of expatriates' language ability depend on the difficulty of the host language? To examine this issue, data were collected from expatriates in two European countries, one with an easy, relatively simple language and the other with a difficult, highly complex language. Consistent with Goal-Setting Theory, results indicated a relative advantage of expatriates' language ability in terms of their adjustment in the host country with the difficult language as opposed to the host country with an easy language.     

Current account and credit growth: The role of household credit and financial depth

Understanding the impact of financial variables on the current account balance is one of the priorities of academic literature and policymakers. Evidence from a broad panel of advanced and emerging countries shows that an increase in credit growth is associated with a significant deterioration in the current account balance. When we examine the roles of the components of credit, we find that an increase in household credit causes a significant decline in the current account balance, whereas an increase in business loans has no significant effect. Therefore, our findings indicate that the significant negative impact of credit growth on the current account balance is driven by household credit. Furthermore, we show that total and household credit growth rates have a stronger negative effect on the current account balance for lower levels of financial depth. Our results suggest that targeted policy measures that curb household credit growth might be more effective to reduce external imbalances particularly at the early stages of financial deepening.     

The co-ordination of strategic initiatives within global organizations: the role of global teams

Given the growth in the globalization of organizations, the ability to co-ordinate initiatives of the headquarters and subsidiaries is rapidly becoming a major concern of management. The use of global task teams is explored in this paper to address co-ordination in global networks. A theoretical framework is developed to derive a model for the use of global teams as co-ordinating mechanisms of strategic initiatives in a global organization. The use of teams as a means to intervene between headquarters and subsidiaries is explored, illustrating the unique social capital of global teams. In addition, the potential issues in managing task teams in global organizations are discussed.     

'More is not necessarily better': the relationship between the quantity and quality of training efforts

International comparisons indicate that, on average, Belgian companies spend less on training than their French, German and Dutch counterparts. Encouraging companies to commit to training has consequently been an important policy goal over the last few years. One notable aspect of the policy to encourage training efforts by companies is that the effort is always represented in terms of the resources invested (input), not in terms of the learning achieved (output) or the quality of training programmes (throughput). Government policy is aimed at increasing the level of investment in company training. One of the questions we wish to investigate is whether this input-oriented approach to the training issue is actually effective. Whether companies will succeed in raising human capital to ever-increasing levels may depend not only (and maybe not even chiefly) on the extent of financial investment in training. The investment level does not necessarily determine the quality of the training processes developed by companies. Therefore, this paper focuses on the following research questions: (1) to what extent do companies monitor the systematic development of sufficiently effective training processes? In other words, is qualitative under-investment an issue, alongside financial under-investment? (2) Is the level of financial investment in company training correlated to the quality of training processes? The empirical data confirm that a kind of 'qualitative' under-investment can be reported and that the relationship between the level of investment in training and the quality of the training programmes is weak.     

Forecasting employment : The role of forward-looking behaviour

Manufacturing output per head rose at an unprecedented rate in the UK in 1981/2, and conventional econometric relationships failed to forecast the associated falls in employment. In this paper we estimate manufacturing employment equations in which output expectations play a central role. These compare fabourably with alternative models, and are able to predict most of the large falls in employment over this period.     

A model to evaluate the effectiveness of enterprise training programmes

This paper describes a model developed to measure customer satisfaction with enterprise training programmes. Based on developments in customer satisfaction and quality measurement, it is proposed as an alternative to the training evaluation model developed by Kirkpatrick (1959). A single indicator, a Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), quantifies the level of satisfaction with each training programme. The model also measures the individual parameters that contribute to the CSI, as well as their relative importance. It facilitates a benchmarking process regarding these parameters and between training programmes. The development process of the model is described, as is its use in practice.     

Terrorism and expatriate withdrawal cognitions: the differential role of perceived work and non-work constraints

Abstract

Building on stress theory, this study investigates the mechanism by which terrorism influences withdrawal cognitions of expatriates, namely, via perceived threat as well as perceived constraints in the work and non-work domains. Data from 160 expatriates currently working in African and Asian countries show that the level of terrorism relates to expatriates’ perceived threat. Further, we find that the effect of this perceived threat is stronger on perceived constraints in the non-work than in the work domain. While perceived constraints in the work domain have a direct effect on job turnover intentions, perceived constraints in the non-work domain have a direct effect on country leave intentions and an indirect, spillover effect on job turnover intentions. Our study underscores the importance of both work and non-work domains for understanding stress and turnover related to expatriation in terrorism-endangered countries.     

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.     

When the going gets tough: the influence of expatriate resilience and perceived organizational inclusion climate on work adjustment and turnover intentions

Abstract

Despite the strong evidence for the beneficial influence of resilience for employee stress resistance in domestic settings, the construct has not received much attention in the expatriation literature, where stress is considered a major factor for expatriates’ poor cross-cultural adjustment and turnover. Drawing upon conservation of resources theory, the present study examines resilience as an antecedent of expatriate work adjustment and turnover intentions. Furthermore, this study investigates the moderating role of perceived organizational inclusion climate as a resource-protecting organizational factor. Results from a survey of 175 expatriates in South Korea indicate that resilience is positively related to expatriate work adjustment and that these positive effects are more pronounced when expatriates perceive their organizational climate to be highly inclusive. Furthermore, findings suggest that work adjustment mediates the effects of resilience on turnover intentions and that this mediation is moderated by a perceived organizational inclusion climate. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.