Expatriate cultural values alignment: The mediating effect of cross‐cultural adjustment level on innovative behaviour

Abstract

Multinational companies assign expatriates to bridge the scarcity of employees with innovative behaviour from the local labour market. Despite expatriates' significant role in inducing innovative ideas for multinational companies, the existing literature has scarcely examined those antecedent factors that affect their innovative behaviour. Even though previous studies indicated the determinant impact of host countries' culture on the expatriates' work‐related behaviour, little is known about how far it affects their innovative behaviour. Therefore, drawing on the person‐environment fit theory, this study examines the impact of personal value orientation and the host country's culture alignment on expatriates' innovative behaviour. The study covers 149 expatriates, from nine countries, who work in the high‐tech industrial zone of Shenzhen, South China's industrial hub. Moreover, it applies a structural equation model using AmosTM 23 to conduct the analysis. The results reveal that personal value orientation fit with the host country's national culture has a significant impact on expatriates' innovative behaviour. Cross‐cultural adjustment level is found to mediate this relationship. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and suggestions for future research are drawn from the study's limitations.