Defining Cross-Cultural Efforts: Commitment and Learning in Franco-Indian Work Relationships.

Abstract

The implications of cross-cultural adjustment remain ill-defined. This article analyses the efforts the cross-cultural relationships require. The objective of this study is firstly to understand what the main efforts made by the individual to adjust to this international professional relationship are. Secondly, it aims to observe whether these efforts are linked to a specific type of individual, according to their sociological or professional background. The analysis of the narratives of 15 French expatriates in India and 15 of their local colleagues in 15 companies enables to detail the interpersonal perspectives which make these efforts necessary. I identify four processes (repeating, making yourself understood, understanding and questioning) and two types of effort (commitment and learning) characterising the difficulties of cross-cultural relations people perceive in the Indian context. For the expatriates and for their colleagues these processes are identical, even if they do not function in the same...