Expatriate Job Research Articles

Virtual expatriate assignments and host country national support: The role of higher-level construals in social categorization processes

Although extant research on expatriate management has explored the drivers of host country nationals’ (HCNs’) support for expatriates in traditional physical work environments, there is limited understanding in the context of virtual expatriate assignments. This necessitates further theorizing that departs from the presupposition that HCNs and expatriates interact physically. It integrates the particularities of working virtually to understand if and how the virtual context affects the provision of HCN support for expatriates, and whether related social categorization and identification processes work differently as part of virtual assignments. We draw on social identity and construal level theory and develop a conceptual model explaining the emergence of three types of HCN support that virtual assignees can receive, i.e., emotional support, appraisal support, and informational job support. We focus on the interplay between social categorization mechanisms and higher-level construals and, thus, more interpersonal neutrality and social disengagement originating from the virtual work context. We contribute by deriving a set of propositions that outlines the varied consequences of performing the expatriate job role virtually, with a particular focus on the provision of different types of support for expatriates by HCN co-workers.

Role of intraorganizational social capital and perceived organizational support on expatriate job performance: empirical evidence

Purpose An expatriate is a person living outside their native country and is physically mobile across international borders for professional or personal reasons, whether for a short or long time, whether organizationally sponsored or not. In the competitive and globalized world, expatriation helps organizations to sustain international competition. Based on the social capital theory, performance theory and organizational support theory, this study aims to explore the impact of intraorganizational social capital (IOSC) and perceived organizational support (POS) on expatriate job performance (EJP) along with the intervening role of Islamic work ethics (IWE). Design/methodology/approach Data are collected from Expatriate employees working in UAE for at least three years among various knowledge-based industries. A total of 268 filled responses were received using the convenience sampling technique. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results indicate that POS and IOSC positively influence most EJP dimensions except demonstrating effect dimension and IWE acts as a partial mediator. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design, and the respondents are white color expatriates working in the knowledge-based industries across the United Arab Emirates. Various other business sectors, such as tourism, hospitality, manufacturing, oil and energy can be considered in the study context and longitudinal research designs can be adapted to generalize the findings. Research limitations/implications The study adopted a cross-sectional research design, and the respondents are white color expatriates working in the knowledge-based industries across the United Arab Emirates. Various other business sectors, such as tourism, hospitality, manufacturing, oil and energy, can be considered the study context and longitudinal research designs can be adopted to generalize the findings. Practical implications Human resource managers need to formulate their company policies so that a recruit is given orientation and training the existing workforce on the benefits of IWE, as it can be seen as developing employee morale and ethical behavior. Onboarding an expat from different regions is an expensive initiative for the organization. The organization should consider both tangible and intangible costs that go into the recruitment, selection and onboarding of an expat. Originality/value Very few studies have explored the role of IWE with a second-order EJP construct with the respondents from the knowledge-based industries of the UAE.

Big Five personality traits, cultural intelligence, and expatriate job performance: a configurational perspective

Big Five personality traits, cultural intelligence, and expatriate job performance: a configurational perspective

The relationship of cultural intelligence and cross-cultural adjustment on expatriate job performance effectiveness: a study of Indonesian expatriates

The research aims to determine the relationship between four-dimensional cultural intelligence and cross-cultural adjustment towards the effectiveness of Indonesian expatriates’ performance. In line with the research aim, this dissertation adopts a quantitative method by distributing questionnaires among 25-30 Indonesian expatriates who work at multinational corporations in the United Kingdom. The finding demonstrates a significant relationship between motivational and cross-cultural adjustment and expatriate performance effectiveness. Additionally, this research claims that most expatriates received no training prior to departing. In implication, managers are recommended to be more receptive to expatriates in terms of helping them assimilate to local culture rapidly and accordingly. Also, further research should investigate gender effect as a moderator between four-dimensional Cultural Intelligence (CQ) to Cross Cultural Adjustment (CCA), which may affect their job performances.

Expatriate effectiveness: from conceptualization to operationalization

Expatriate effectiveness has been studied extensively in the expatriate literature. Despite its popularity, the construct has not been well-defined or properly operationalized. Adopting a performance perspective, we conceptualize expatriate effectiveness in terms of task, contextual, and adaptive performance. The relative importance of each type of performance may vary across expatriate jobs and over the course of the expatriate’s tenure. We propose six operational and implementation guidelines for expatriate effectiveness measurement in the contexts of the nature of the expatriate job, the prioritized performance at each stage of adjustment, rater sources and capabilities, rater culture, frequency of evaluation, and the fit between measurement methods and criteria. We contribute to cross-cultural management research by providing a thorough description of the criterion issues in this literature, offering a conceptual framework to differentiate and integrate a variety of constructs that reflect different aspects of cross-cultural effectiveness, and calling attention to the influential role of measurement operations and implementation for the validity of research studies.

How Career Adaptability, Job Fit, and Job Characteristics Impact Expatriates’ Career Success

Expatriation is a highly developmental experience for individuals frequently amidst a context of higher autonomy, increased responsibility, and fewer support structures. Thus, this developmental experience impacts their future careers after the international assignment (IA). The next move – repatriation or re-expatriation to a new assignment – is an important transition that entails many changes in assignees' lives and represents both opportunities and threats for their career development. In order to analyse the implications of expatriation on the subjective and objective career success of two types of expatriates, assigned expatriates (AEs) and self-initiated expatriates (SIEs), we investigated data from 202 assignees five years after their initial work abroad. Our findings indicate that expatriate job characteristics, job fit after the IA, the degree of assignees' career adaptability, and expatriate type impact the career success of expatriates. We found that the expatriate type moderates the relationship between expatriates’ career adaptability and objective career success. The work contributes to our understanding of boundaryless, international careers.

Impact of Workplace Acculturation on Expatriate Job Performance: Does Inter-Cultural consciousness and Self Efficacy play a role

Impact of Workplace Acculturation on Expatriate Job Performance: Does Inter-Cultural consciousness and Self Efficacy play a role

Impact of workplace acculturation on expatriate job performance: does inter-cultural consciousness and self-efficacy play a role

Impact of workplace acculturation on expatriate job performance: does inter-cultural consciousness and self-efficacy play a role

An Overview of Factors Influencing Expatriate Job Performance: A Critical Review of Literature

An Overview of Factors Influencing Expatriate Job Performance: A Critical Review of Literature

Empowerment leadership as a predictor of expatriates job performance and creative work involvement

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between empowering leadership and organizational commitment and its effect on job performance and creative work involvement within the expatriate society of the UAE.Design/methodology/approachThe paper suggests a theoretical model derived from survey responses gathered from expatriates used in multinational organizations located in Dubai city in the UAE.FindingsThe results show that organizational commitment partially mediates the relationship between empowering leadership and job performance. Furthermore, the results show that organizational commitment partially mediates the relationship between empowering leadership and creative work involvement.Originality/valueThis research adds to the existing body of knowledge on international business by investigating the effects that organizational commitment and empowering leadership have on creative work involvement and job performance of expatriates.

Expatriate faculty job satisfaction and performance in public universities of Saudi Arabia

Expatriate faculty job satisfaction and performance in public universities of Saudi Arabia

Expatriates' salary expectations, age, experience and country image

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain how candidates' expectations of salary in relation to job offers as expatriates in developing societies are related to country image and to age.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from over 500 engineers living in France, Portugal and Spain, evaluating two hypothetical expatriate proposals to six different African and Latin American countries. Multivariate hierarchical regression was applied to statistically detect significant predictors, with a broad range of control variables, to investigate expatriate salary expectations.FindingsResults evidence the role of age, seniority, previous international experience and culture attraction for the host country in influencing salary expectations for potential expatriate postings. These results are discussed at the light of selection, optimisation and compensation theory (SOC), conservation of resources theory (COR) and social identity theory.Practical implicationsFindings call for multinational companies to consider age, individual background, career attributes and location concerns when evaluating salary expectations involved in expatriation to developing countries.Originality/valueThe study shows how individual expectations about required salaries for accepting expatriate job offers in developing countries (hardly addressed in the extant literature) result from the potential for professional development opportunities and the responsibility of the jobs being offered, the country image, and the age and motivation of the individuals. Furthermore, it integrates research through use of SOC and COR theories.

Employee Engagement in Multinational Diverse Organization in Difficult Terrain: A Study of Non-Family Station Organization

Engagements and commitments of many expatriates are often determined by several socio-economic, demographic, cultural, environmental and organizational factors. These issues faced by employees in duty stations like United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) often have telling effects on their work. Consequently, the broad objective of this study was to assess the influence of the working environment on foreign job commitment in UNAMID. The study applied "a mixed-method research approach", utilizing both "qualitative and quantitative research" strategies, with a sample size of 100 respondents from the United Nations Peace Keeping Mission in Darfur, Northern Sudan. Specifically, questionnaires and in-depth Interview were the main instruments. Findings from the quantitative studies showed no significant relationship between employee disengagement, work terrain, job stress, communication, socio-cultural factors and expatriate’s job commitment in UNAMID. While for the qualitative analysis, it was reported that there are both negative and positive effects of working in another country. The study, therefore, concludes that employee disengagement, job stress, working terrain, communication and socio-cultural factors are not associated, with expatriate's job commitment in UNAMID. It is therefore recommended that organizations should develop organizational peculiar plans and programs that would help cushion the physical and psychological effect of new working terrain on expatriates for them to be able to be effective, productive and be able to eventually achieve the ultimate goal of their deployment to the new work station.

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This article is related to:How does a boundaryless mindset enhance expatriate job performance? The mediating role of proactive resource acquisition tactics and the moderating role of behavioural cultural intelligence

Satisfaction with an expatriate job

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on satisfaction with an expatriate job and how such satisfaction is linked to leadership. Specifically, this research examines how two different kinds of distances – physical distance and functional distance – between an expatriate and his/her supervisor are related to satisfaction with the expatriate job.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted among 290 Finnish expatriates. Moderated hierarchical regression analysis was conducted in order to test the research hypothesis.FindingsThe results show that low functional distance with a supervisor is related to greater satisfaction with the expatriate job. The physical distance is not directly connected to expatriate job satisfaction, but the common effect of the two types of distance shows that among those whose functional distance is low, working in the same country with the leader is linked to greater expatriate satisfaction than recorded among those who were physically distant. Interestingly, expatriates with high functional distance are more satisfied with the expatriate job if they work in a different country to their supervisor.Originality/valueThis study makes a contribution in three areas; first, it addresses the understudied phenomena of international work-specific job satisfaction, specifically satisfaction with an expatriate job. Second, it provides new knowledge on the outcomes of leader distance in the context of expatriation, a work situation that is inherently related to changes in physical location and to organizational relationships. Third, it contributes to leadership literature and highlights the importance of the conditions and the context in which leadership occurs.

Does Emotional Intelligence Pave way for Psychological Well Being and Enhancing Work Performance

Purpose – Present study is a descriptive and analytical in nature aiming to bring out the relationship among emotional intelligence, cultural intelligence, perceived organizational supporting practices, family support on psychological wellbeing and work performance of the Indian expatriates in United States of America. Design/Methodology/Approach- This study adopts positivist deductive approach it, starts with clear variables which are derived from theory and based on these variables. The data for the study was collected through the structured questionnaire. The sample for the present study was collected from the Indian IT expatriates who are assigned to USA working in the four major IT cluster of USA i.e. California, Washington, New York, & Chicago. A total 634 questionnaires were received indicating a response rate of 52 %. The questionnaire for this study consists of 87 items and the five point Likert type response format is used for all the measures ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. SPSS 21 and Microsoft excel are the statistical packages and regression is the tools used in the present study Findings- An important affiliation was observed among emotional intelligence and expatriate job performance and psychological wellbeing. As the job performance and psychological wellbeing largely dependent on the emotional intelligence of the employee, the job performance of the expatriates is also influenced by the emotional intelligence level of the expatriate. Higher levels of emotional intelligence predict higher the job performance and psychological wellbeing of the expatriate. A significant relationship was found between cultural intelligence and expatriate job performance and psychological wellbeing. When the expatriate face culturally diverse work environment, the Cultural intelligence of the expatriate allows the expatriate to adopt behaviours which potentially contributes to the success of the expatriate in the diverse work environment. A signification had been observed between perceived organizational supporting practices and expatriate performance. Inclination towards repayment towards the organization is high among the employees who are in receipt of major support from the organization. The support of the organization becomes more relevant in the instance of the expatriates because the expatriates are working away from the parent organization in culturally diverse settings. A signification relationship was found between perceived family supports and expatriate performance. When the accompanying family is well adjusted to the new culture, the employee can concentrate more on the job responsibilities. Hence,

Job role localisation in the oil and gas industry: A case study of Ghana

International oil and gas companies and their contractors are increasingly required to localise job roles in order to comply with host government’s local content legislations. This practice does not come without risks, costs and challenges for asset operators investing in these countries. As such, a progressive training and development process should be followed to enable oil and gas companies to replace expatriates with nationals with the relevant education, competencies and experience. This paper aims to analyse the viability of localising particular job roles, employing a systematic decision support approach for specific job roles and further investigating the result of early investment in the training and development of local people to enable oil and gas companies to reduce staffing costs by localising expatriate job roles. The proposed approach examines the case study of Ghana through engagement with appropriate stakeholders which endorse the validity of the results.

Atypical Finishing with Lower Incisor Missing and Lower Primary Canine Retained using Improved Super-Elastic Ti-Ni Alloy Wire and Aligners

Introduction: This is an atypical finish case with extraction of bilateral deciduous canines and three incisor finishing due to lower lateral incisor congenital missing replaced by 1st premolars. We used improved super-elastic Ti-Ni alloy wire (ISW) for anterior anchorage preparation during the molar mesial drive. Aligners for finishing and detailing were adopted because patient was ordered to an international expatriate job. We are going to discuss the mechanism we used, atypical finishing consideration and timing for aligners using. Findings: This case report describes an adult female patient with lower incisor missing, lower bilateral primary canines retained, and dental crossbite. All were treated successfully with improved super-elasticity Ti-Ni alloy wire and aligners. Conclusions: After the treatment, a desirable outcome was achieved and the patient was pleased with the treatment result. To sum up, wire orthodontics (WO) and aligner orthodontics (AO) will be a flexible and humanity treatment strategy for patients in the future.

Expatriates Self-Motivation, Competencies, Job Performance and Cultural Adjustment: Empirical Evidence from the ICT Sector in Malaysia

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of self-motivation and competencies towards job performance of expatriates working within the ICT sector in Malaysia. Additionally, this study examines the mediating effect of cultural adjustment. A survey strategy associated with a quantitative method using a self-administered questionnaire was carried out. Data was collected through simple random sampling from a sample of 301 expatriates. The AMOS software developed for analyzing the Structure Equation Modeling (SEM) was utilized. Emotional and job related competencies were found to have a significant effect on expatriate job performance. However, the impact of self-motivation on job performance was found to be not significant. The findings also supported the role of cultural adjustment as a mediator. The theoretical framework emerging from this study support the results from some earlier studies and also brings out several new ideas such as the importance of competencies and cultural adjustment. The findings have significantly contributed to the advancement of knowledge as it is evident that expatriate emotional and job related competencies facilitate job performance and cultural adjustment. By investigating self-motivation and competencies, this study informs organizations on ways they can implement improvements in the areas of expatriate hiring, training and support practices. It is recommended that organizations consider both emotional and job related competencies and implement suitable HR policies when selecting, training and motivating the right candidate.

Expatriates’ Performance Profiles: Examining the Effects of Work Experiences on the Longitudinal Change Patterns

Using four-wave, longitudinal, archival data sets from an expatriate sample (237 engineers and 191 managers) working in China, we explore whether different performance change patterns exist for expatriates during their international assignments and how work-related experiences accumulated prior to the assignments relate to performance change patterns. Using a latent class growth analysis, we identify the coexistence of four distinct longitudinal change patterns of expatriate job performance (i.e., u-curve, learning-curve, stable high-performance, and stable low-performance patterns). Further, we demonstrate that three different types of prior work experiences (i.e., international, job, and organizational) are important antecedents of such performance change patterns. Specifically, expatriates with moderate levels of work experiences displayed a u-curve pattern, expatriates with a high level of international work experience but low levels of job and organizational experiences displayed a learning-curve pattern, expatriates with an abundance of work experiences started off with a high level of job performance and maintained this performance level over the course of the international assignment, and expatriates with insufficient work experiences started off with a low level of job performance and were unable to improve their performance during the course of their international assignments. This set of findings contributes to the expatriation literature by highlighting the coexistence of multiple subgroups with different performance-change patterns based on prior work experiences and providing an effective integration of the social learning perspective and the human capital accumulation perspective.