An empirical test of a correspondence model of expatriate managers' work adjustment

We develop and empirically test a model of expatriate managers' work adjustment. In this model we relate the fit between work-related abilities and needs of expatriate managers as well as the fit between the job requirements of, and incentives associated with, an international assignment to the level of expatriate managers' work adjustment. We test this model with data gathered by means of an electronic survey among 118 German expatriate managers. The empirical findings largely support our theoretical model. The paper enhances our understanding of expatriate managers' work adjustment and its antecedents and contributes to the theoretical and empirical basis of research into expatriate management.     

Expatriate or local bosses? HCN subordinates' preferences in leadership behaviour

This article explores host-country national subordinates’ preferences in leadership behaviour comparing expatriate bosses and local bosses. From a sample of 240 middle managers in Hong Kong with experience with both local Chinese bosses and expatriate bosses from a broad spectrum of Western and Asian countries, it was found that the subordinate managers assessed the leadership behaviour of their expatriate bosses to be significantly closer to that of their perceived ideal boss. American leadership behaviour was the most preferred and Japanese leader style was the least preferred, with British leadership style comprising a middle group. Implications of these findings for international business firms and future academic research are discussed.     

What Do Expatriate Managers Know About Their HCN Subordinates' Work Values

Abstract

To be able to adjust to a foreign work environment, expatriate managers need to know what to adjust to. This article explored to what extent expatriate executives are familiar with the work values of their host country national subordinates in Asia. A field study investigated Swedish top managers' perceptions of the work values of their middle managers who were employed in Swedish subsidiaries in Hong Kong. The result showed that the Swedish executives significantly underestimated the importance of the work values of their subordinates in one third of the investigated values. Managerial implications of the findings are discussed.     

The construction and initial validation of a measure of expatriate job performance

Based on Campbell's (1990, Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2nd ed., Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 687–732) multi-factorial model of job performance, the Expatriate Performance Scales were developed to measure components of expatriate performance. Item generation for the scales was informed by job performance theory, content analysis of interviews with expatriates and item sorting by subject matter experts. The scales (48 items) were administered to 106 Australian expatriates in the Special Administrative Regions of China. Data were subjected to exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis as well as tests for criterion, convergent and discriminant validity. These procedures resulted in 32 items measuring an amended model of expatriate performance with six components: task performance, communication performance, demonstrating effort, maintaining personal discipline, team and leadership performance and management and administration performance. Results provide initial psychometric evidence of criterion, convergent and discriminant validity.     

Work experiences,work adjustment and psychological well-being of expatriate employees in Hong Kong

This study replicated and extended research on expatriate work adjustment by examining the antecedents of work adjustment and its outcomes in terms of psychological well-being. Data were obtained from a nationally heterogeneous sample (N = 184) of expatriate employees in Hong Kong using a structured questionnaire. Results of regression analysis revealed role conflict to be significantly negatively related to work adjustment, while role discretion, co-worker support and work-method ambiguity (clarity) were significantly positively related to work adjustment. Of the three hypothesized outcomes, work adjustment was significantly positively related only to job satisfaction but not to quality of life and marital adjustment. Though not the focus of this study, interaction adjustment was found to be significantly positively related to quality of life. Limitations of the study and implications of the findings are discussed.     

Modes of cross-cultural leadership adjustment: adapting leadership to meet local conditions and/or changing followers to match personal requirements?

In this article, we present a study that explores modes of cross-cultural leadership adjustment (CLA) and investigates the forces influencing them. Nigel Nicholson’s theory of work role transitions was used as the theoretical foundation to explore work role requirements (consisting of role discretion and novelty of job demands) as potential predictors of modes of CLA. Our data were collected from expatriate senior managers working in Thailand. The results show that the majority of our expatriate executives make adjustments to their leadership approach and try to change Thai employees – thus demonstrating the adoption of an exploration mode of adjustment – and that role requirements, Thai employee characteristics, the local hierarchy system and the expatriate leaders’ perceptions all influence the latter’s modes of adjustment. Based on our findings, we develop a theoretical framework and a number of research propositions. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings.     

Mapping the criterion space for expatriate success: task- and relationship-based performance,effort and adaptation

The paper presents an explicit consideration of the criterion space for expatriate success. Expatriate performance is conceptualized in terms of task completion, relationship building and overall performance. These three dimensions are determined by various features of effort regulation: the amount and pattern of personal resources the expatriate spends on behaviours that constitute his or her position. Drawing upon work motivation and withdrawal literatures, we assess effort in terms of withdrawal cognitions, passive task neglect, active task avoidance, time to proficiency and leader-team exchanges. Effort regulation, in turn, is proposed to be a function of three forms of adjustment (cultural, interaction and work) – which have been the default criterion in past expatriate research. Our model is tested using multi-source data from expatriates, their spouses and their work colleagues. Support for the proposed mapping of successive linkages between adjustment, effort (including the often-studied assignment withdrawal) and performance dimensions provides a more comprehensive perspective of the expatriate criterion space.     

Rating Expatriate Leader Effectiveness in Multisource Feedback Systems: Cultural Distance and Hierarchical Effects

A critical challenge for global firms is to implement assessment tools to develop expatriate leaders who can effectively manage role relationships across different directions (upward, laterally, downward) in cross‐national contexts. Drawing on social categorization and relational demography theories and a data set of 360‐degree ratings of expatriates from 36 countries, we use multilevel modeling to investigate relationships between cultural distance and ratings of leadership effectiveness in task and contextual performance by colleagues with different hierarchical vantage points (subordinates, supervisors, peers). Cultural distance refers to the overall degree of difference in key cultural values identified in the GLOBE study between an expatriate's and coworkers’ countries of origin. Unlike supervisors as a rating group, results show that peer and subordinate raters as a group may be more likely to have their ratings negatively influenced by cultural distance, an effect that may be exacerbated for peer ratings from countries higher in power distance and lower in humane orientation. This study contributes to the understanding of multisource feedback systems to assess expatriate leadership effectiveness by identifying likely group ratings tendencies linked to cultural distance and hierarchical perspectives. Organizations should develop strategies to mitigate possible effects of cultural distance on subordinate and peer ratings of expatriates. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

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 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.     

Expatriates of host-country origin: ‘coming home to test the waters’

Expatriates are an integral part of any multinational company's (MNC) staffing strategy. However, the high failure rate of expatriates has forced these firms to look at alternate or complementary staffing strategies. This paper focuses on one such strategy, i.e., transferring people of host-country ethnic origin from parent-country to manage host-country operations. The purpose of this exploratory study is to ascertain whether and how MNCs have used expatriates of host-country origin (EHCO) as a global staffing strategy, in the context of India, and the extent of its success both for the individuals and the organizations concerned.

Based on a survey and in-depth interviews of human resource managers of 15 MNCs with operations in India, the study concludes that EHCOs are more willing to accept expatriate assignments than parent-country nationals (PCNs); however, their success on the assignment depends on the breadth and depth of their experience both in the parent and host country. With regard to their work effectiveness vis-à-vis PCNs, no significant difference was found. Managerial implications of this staffing strategy are explored and future research directions identified.     

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.     

The impact of participative leadership on job performance and organizational citizenship behavior: distinguishing between the mediating effects of affective and cognitive trust

This study examines the mediating effects of cognitive trust and affective trust on the relationship between supervisors' participative leadership behavior and subordinate work outcomes, using data obtained from 247 dyads in a manufacturing organization located in mainland China. Structural equation modeling revealed that while affective trust fully mediated the relationships between participative leadership of supervisor and subordinate job performance and organizational citizenship behavior, cognitive trust had non-significant effects. These findings underscore the importance of interpersonal interactions between the supervisor and subordinate for engendering subordinate work outcomes. They also lend support to the exchange (relationship)-based explanation as to how trust enhances the response of subordinates to the participative leadership behavior of their immediate supervisor, given that affective trust involves a process of social exchange between both parties over an extended period of time.     

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.     

Personality in context: effective traits for expatriate managers at different levels

The purpose of this article is to assess how management level as a contextual factor interacts with personal characteristics in predicting expatriate performance. In particular, we focused on proactive personality (the individual’s disposition to change the organizational environment) and self-control (the individual’s disposition to change oneself to fit the organizational environment). Surveying 307 business expatriate managers in China, we hypothesized that in relation to work outcomes, the effect of proactive personality would be stronger for CEOs while the effect of self-control would be stronger for non-CEOs. We found both proactive personality and self-control to have favorable effects on our performance indicators: job performance, effectiveness, and time to proficiency. In line with our prediction, we also found the effect of proactive personality on job performance to be stronger for CEO expatriates while the effect of self-control on performance was stronger for non-CEO expatriate managers.     

Implicit leadership in an intercultural context: theory extension and empirical investigation

Prior literature highlights that subordinates' identification with their leader is important for leader success. This study explores new mechanisms of implicit leadership and their effects on identification by subordinates. Using data from two sources – subordinates from five regional clusters and expatriate leaders – this study reveals that a leader's underfulfilment of subordinates' expectations of leadership harms their leader identification. Moreover, simple fulfilment of subordinates' expectations toward leadership does not affect their identification; to do so requires overfulfilment. Furthermore, the effects of underfulfilment strengthen with greater collectivism and low power distance, whereas overfulfilment effects are mitigated by these cultural dimensions.     

Perceived organizational support and expatriate performance: understanding a mediated model

What are the mechanisms by which multinational corporations (MNCs) can facilitate the effective performance of their expatriate staff in foreign countries? There is a substantial literature on expatriation, yet few studies have addressed how perceived organizational support (POS) may impact upon expatriates' work adjustment and affective commitment, and then on their job performance. We use data on 118 expatriates working at the German subsidiaries of Japanese MNCs, and demonstrate that career POS has a direct positive influence on work adjustment and affective commitment. Our results indicate that work adjustment fully mediated the relationship between career POS and task performance. We further discovered that both work adjustment and affective commitment play a pivotal role in mediating the impact of career POS on contextual performance. We discuss the practical implications of these findings and provide suggestions for future research.     

Fostering expatriate success: A meta-analysis of the differential benefits of social support

While social support is recognized as an important factor for successful international assignment, there is, to date, no overview of the supportive agents during the expatriation process and their influence on different criteria of expatriate success. We culminate findings of 84 independent studies that examined the social support provided by community-, work-, and family-domain agents in relation to four criteria of expatriate success: adjustment, commitment, performance, and retention. We explore the role of social support proximity: the physical, cultural, or hierarchical distance between a supporting agent and the expatriate. Our meta-analysis demonstrates that the strength of the support-success relationship (ρ = .24 overall) depends on this supporting agent and the success criterion under study. We visualized the meta-analytical estimates of the different relationships between social support and success criteria using a force-directed graph, demonstrating that adjustment and performance criteria have similar relationships to social support, distinct from those of commitment or retention criteria. Implications for future research and practices that do or do not foster the success of expatriate assignments are discussed.     

Narrative construction of expatriate experience and career cycle: discursive patterns in Finnish stories of international

Expatriate experience is not only a disconnected occasion for cross-cultural anxiety and adjustment but also an important event in the process of self-development and learning. Following this view and arguing for a discursive approach, the paper focuses on ways in which expatriates themselves tell and interpret their development and movement across expatriate career cycle. Meaning systems connecting expatriate job with previous and following work experiences in career stories of Finnish engineers and managers were identified using a combination of narrative and discourse analysis. No evidence was found of an autonomous expatriate discourse but, in contrast, expatriate career cycle was narrated using available organizational repertoires of development and career. Describing and discussing the meaning-making properties of three identified discourses - bureaucratic, occupational and enterprising - the paper emphasizes the organizational environment of expatriate experience while acknowledging the limits of these contemporary career vocabularies in addressing individual learning and change in cross-cultural settings.     

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.