Antecedents of expatriate/local relationships: pre-knowledge vs socialization tactics

Abstract

This exploratory paper empirically examines pre-knowledge and socialization tactics used by Swedish expatriate managers and their immediate Hong Kong subordinates in learning how to get along. It was found that the Swedish expatriates had more pre-knowledge about Hong Kong and its culture than their Hong Kong middle managers had about Sweden and the Swedes also used more socialization tactics than their Hong Kong middle managers. However, this was not significantly associated with how quickly Swedish managers were getting along with their immediate subordinates. On the other hand, despite the lesser use of socialization tactics by the Hong Kong middle managers than their Swedish bosses, it had a strong positive association with how quickly they were getting along with their superiors. Pre-knowledge had no such significant association. Practical implications of these findings are discussed in detail.