Expatriate Spouses Research Articles

Male trailing spouses in the United Arab Emirates: adding novel insight to the prevailing expatriate spouse adjustment frameworks

The number of female expatriates with male trailing partners has been increasing in recent years and it is likely that this trend will continue in the future. The present study attempts to comprehend the challenges in the adjustment process of Western male spouses during their time in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Instead of merely problematising this as an impediment to be managed, this study also contends that spouses are in fact partners who stand to gain as much as from the expatriation process as the expatriate employees themselves. Extending beyond the conventionally studied trailing female spouses, this paper considers Western male spouses of female expatriates working in the UAE where the domestic conditions are very different from those in China and the USA, countries have been the focus of most past research attention. This issue will pose a significant challenge for multinational corporations in the coming decade and failure to address this challenge could jeopardise their expansion endeavours in the countries like the UAE.

Expatriate family adjustment: How organisational support on international assignments matters

This research examines how organisational support mechanisms extended to expatriate families influence the adjustment of the expatriate, the spouse, and accompanying children. We present data from 173 accompanying expatriate spouses in China and 135 expatriates employed in foreign and local multinationals in China. We report on expatriates' perceptions about the impact of organisational support on the adjustment of their spouse and children. We also report on their perception of how organisational support influences their own adjustment. Our study reveals that organisational support positively influences the adjustment of expatriates, their spouses and children, although the dynamics among family members differ. Noteworthy results include that children's adjustment impacts the expatriate spouse directly and the expatriate's adjustment indirectly, emphasizing the importance of direct organisational support for the family unit beyond the expatriate. The paper offers implications for international human resource management researchers and practitioners.

Model of cross-cultural adjustment and view of life-career among Japanese expatriate spouses in India

In the globalized economy, it is necessary to consider expatriates’ cross-cultural adjustment, which is affected by their spouses, whose cross-cultural adjustment should not be neglected. We examined a model of cross-cultural adjustment among Japanese spouses in India. We hypothesized that demands (e.g., cultural differences, language immaturity) and resources (e.g., spouse’s personality/agreeableness, perceived social support) negatively and positively affect cross-cultural adjustment, respectively. In turn, cross-cultural adjustment positively affects subjective happiness and intent to stay. In addition, cross-cultural adjustment consists a part of life-career perspective for expatriate spouses who quit their job when go to abroad. To examine the hypotheses, we use a mixed methods approach (QUAN→QUAL) that uses multiple variables and sampling to collect quantitative and qualitative data over two phases sequentially. First, from August to October 2018, a survey using a web-based questionnaire was conducted in four areas in India: New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Bengaluru. Responses from 105 participants, who are parents of Japanese school children or members of a parenting support group were received. Second, from October to December 2018, the interview data for 17 participants were collected at Bengaluru. To confirm the hypothesized model, we tested a structural equations modeling (SEM) analysis. Additionally, the interview transcript data were analyzed with a modified version of the Grounded Theory approach (M-GTA). The Results demonstrated that Japanese expatriate spouses who had difficulties in communicating in English and felt large cultural differences, decreased their adjustment, their subjective happiness was lowered, and they wanted to return to their home country early. However, the more the personality was cooperative and compassionate, and the more they worked to adjust to their international life; their subjective happiness increased. Additionally, expatriate spouses obtained the concept of view of life-career. The view of life-career included cross-cultural adjustment. Cross-cultural adjustment affects positive view of life-career that will lead to smooth re-employment after returning to Japan.

Model of cross-cultural adjustment and view of life-career among Japanese expatriate spouses

Model of cross-cultural adjustment and view of life-career among Japanese expatriate spouses

Expatriate spouse adjustment: an analysis of challenges facing western female expatriate spouses in the United Arab Emirates

The present study endeavours to strengthen the existing knowledge by investigating factors impacting the adjustment process of the western female expatriate spouses of the expatriates on their international assignments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We have conducted a qualitative research with 15 western expatriate female spouses who were relocated due to their husbands' international assignments in the UAE. The core findings reinforce the results of previous studies and this should be viewed as a warning signal for MNCs trying to expand their operations in the Middle East and in the UAE in particular. In this region, MNCs need to initiate support practices for expatriate spouses, as failure to do so could jeopardise their expansion activities in countries like the UAE. This has implications for training as well as for the management of foreign assignments and it creates new avenues for research on expatriate management.

Expatriate spouse adjustment: an analysis of challenges facing western female expatriate spouses in the United Arab Emirates

Expatriate spouse adjustment: an analysis of challenges facing western female expatriate spouses in the United Arab Emirates

Repatriation: a qualitative study of repatriates after returning from China assignments

Purpose Companies expend significant resources on global assignees’ success during deployment. However, the broader repatriation experience of organizational expatriates and their families, beyond securing employment, is still largely unexplored. Thus, the purpose of this paper, an exploratory study, is to describe the repatriation experience of five US Christian repatriates who returned to the USA after long-term expatriate assignments in China. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach was employed, and data were collected through five open-ended interviews with US Christian repatriates, focusing on their social networks and family repatriation experiences. Findings Upon repatriation, most global assignees received assistance with relocation and securing stateside employment but no assistance with readjustment issues for themselves or their accompanying family members. Most found repatriation the most difficult part of the assignment, and home churches were of little assistance. The findings support the deterioration of home social networks during longer assignments and extend the literature’s findings to the expatriate spouse and families. Originality/value This exploratory study addresses the experiences of Christian US repatriates and their social support through work and non-work home social networks. The findings highlight the importance of intentional efforts by repatriates and their families to strengthen their home social connections in order to minimize repatriation difficulties.

Male trailing spouses in the United Arab Emirates: adding novel insight to the prevailing expatriate spouse adjustment frameworks

Male trailing spouses in the United Arab Emirates: adding novel insight to the prevailing expatriate spouse adjustment frameworks

A Review of Empirical Research on Global Talent Management

Global talent management as an academic field is regarded as a multi-disciplinary bridge field, which has recently emerged from the strategic international human resource management (HRM) and talent management fields as a critical strategic issue for multinational firms. While some literature reviews have been conducted on the topic, there is no systematic review of drivers, outcomes and challenges in empirical global talent management research. This study therefore provides a rigorous systematic review of empirical global talent management research from 2008 to 2017. The evidence reveals that global talent management can enhance multinational companies’ global mobility outcomes, employer attractiveness, competitiveness and performance. However, challenges, such as huge financial costs, high rate of turnover among global talents, localization difficulties, corporate culture, and adjustment problems, of expatriate spouses can undermine the effectiveness of global talent management practices and programmes. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the qualitative approach and cross-sectional design have dominated empirical research on the topic while only few studies have performed multi-level analysis. The findings urge stakeholders to adopt a more holistic and well-informed view while designing and implementing global talent management initiatives either as researchers or practitioners. It also implies that despite the substantial interest in global talent management, the field is still under-explored or under-researched. The study makes contribution by providing the first systematic review of empirical global talent management research.

The diplomatic spouse

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between adjustment, social support and satisfaction with life for expatriate spouses. The sample consists of European diplomatic spouses, residing all over the world. Design/methodology/approach This is a quantitative study. The sample consists of European diplomatic spouses, residing all over the world. The sample consists of 268 participants: 231 females and 44 males. Findings The findings of this study reveal that there was a significant relationship between adjustment and emotional and instrumental support as well as satisfaction with life. Furthermore, a multiple regression was performed to predict the level of satisfaction with life. Both adjustment and emotional support were statistically significant and they explained nearly 50 percent of the variability in participant’s satisfaction with life. Research limitations/implications The limitations of the paper include, for example, method bias, language and geographic location. Practical implications Foreign Ministries within the European Union (EU) will be in a better position to improve their expatriate programs and policies. Furthermore, this study indicated that the well-being of diplomatic spouses can be enhanced by considering how social support is provided, the level of adjustment and satisfaction with life. Social implications This study highlights the importance for diplomatic spouses to belonging to various groups, and group membership serves as a means to gain access to social networks. Therefore, being part of support groups of other expatriate spouses can aid cross-cultural adjustment. Originality/value Little is known about diplomatic spouses. This paper will be an important first step in examining the relationship between adjustment, social support and satisfaction with life for the spouses of diplomats working for the Foreign Ministries within the EU and European Economic Area.

The Spouse as “the Forgotten Other”: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Expatriation Literature

In this paper, we explore how the spouse is discursively constructed and represented in the expatriation literature since the publication of “The influence of the spouse on American expatriate adjustment and intent to stay in Pacific Rim overseas assignments”, the most cited article related to the expatriate spouse, published by Black and Stephens (1989). Using a qualitative content analysis, we review 185 academic articles and identify four key discourses around the expatriate spouse, namely domestication, de-professionalization, objectification, and denunciation. We highlight the essentializing and gendered assumptions concerning the spouse and its role in the expatriation process that the expatriation literature builds on. By doing so, we hope to reinvigorate a critical discussion concerning the current limitations and the gendered nature of the research on spouses in the expatriation literature.

The Diplomatic Spouse: Relationships between Adjustment, Social Support and Satisfaction with Life

This study investigates the relationship between adjustment, social support and satisfaction with life for expatriate spouses. The sample consists of European diplomatic spouses, residing all over the world. The sample consists of 268 participants: 231 females and 44 males. The findings of this study reveal that there was a significant relationship between adjustment and emotional and instrumental support as well as satisfaction with life. Further a multiple regression was performed to predict the level of satisfaction with life. Both adjustment and emotional support were statistically significant and they explained nearly 30% of the variability in participant’s satisfaction with life. In relation to theory, this study contributes to the field of cross-cultural research and it helps to further explain expatriate spouses’ cross-cultural adaptation. This study also furthers previous research in the field of International Human Resource Management. On the practical side, testing the relationship between adjustment, social support and satisfaction with life, Foreign Ministries within the European Union will be in a better position to improve their expatriate programs and policies.

The influence of expatriate spouses’ coping strategies on expatriate and spouse adjustment

PurposeDrawing upon Folkman and Lazarus’ (1984) coping framework and interdependence theory (Thibaut and Kelley, 1959), the purpose of this paper is to investigate how expatriate spouses’ coping strategies (problem-focused and emotion-focused) affect expatriate spouse adjustment and expatriate adjustment. In addition, the authors also examine the mediating effect of expatriate adjustment on the spouse coping strategies-spouse adjustment relationship.Design/methodology/approachTo test these relationships, the authors collected multi-source data from 191 expatriate spouses and their expatriate partners living in 37 countries.FindingsThe results revealed that problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies positively and negatively, respectively, influenced all types of spouse adjustment: personal, interaction, and cultural. Both forms of spouse coping also influenced expatriate adjustment. The authors also found that expatriate adjustment mediated the relationship between expatriate spouses’ coping strategies and spouse adjustment.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that multinational organizations should pay equal attention to the adjustment of both their expatriates and their spouses. Both expatriates and their spouses should be included in the initial selection process and in pre-departure training to get well equipped before the international assignment. Training spouses to adopt problem-focused coping strategies would help to facilitate the effective adjustment of both spouses and expatriates.Originality/valueThe research provides one of the first examinations that investigate expatriate spouses’ coping strategies and their impact on expatriate and expatriate spouse adjustment. This research also highlights the interdependency of expatriates and their spouses.

DEALING WITH DUAL CAREER COUPLES: A TOOL FOR ACCEPTING AND MAKING INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENTS EFFECTIVE

The study seeks to explore existing literature on how MNCs are dealing with dual career couples for international assignees to accept international assignment and what these MNCs have not been able to provide so that contribution can be made to the existing literature. The study was exploratory research where the contributions of various authors were assessed to determine if dual career couples pose a threat for international assignees to accept international assignment. The exploration reveals that MNCs need to deal with issues associated with dual career couples since it contribute significantly to the rejection of international assignments. There are various strategies MNCs adopt in order to entice the international assignee’s spouse to give his or her blessing to the international assignment and mainly among them captured in the literature are providing a lump sum payment for the trailing spouse, inter-firm networking, assisting the trailing spouse to find job in the host country, engaging in reciprocal arrangement with other MNCs to find job for the trailing spouse in the host country and providing career support in order to make the trailing spouse skills, knowledge and abilities relevant to the host country job market. The study identified two strategies that could be used to deal with dual career couples which were not captured in the literature and these are the active involvement of the expatriate spouses in the recruitment and selection process and the use of virtual assignments by relying on the availability of technology for international assignments.

Threatened identities: adjustment narratives of expatriate spouses

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore changes in the identity constructions of expatriate accompanying spouses, as experienced throughout their first year of adjustment to living in Sarawak, Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachUsing interview data collected longitudinally throughout ten participants’ first year of living in Malaysia, changes observed in participants’ adjustment narratives over time form the basis of an analysis of successful and unsuccessful cases of identity adjustment.FindingsAn international relocation presents varying degrees of threat or challenge to expatriate spouses’ central identities. The degree of threat posed will predict the amount of redefinition of social, role, and personal identities required for successful adjustment across social, cultural, and personal domains. Men experienced threats to their career/worker identity, whereas women faced multiple threats to identities such as mother, wife/partner, child, and also their career/worker identity.Research limitations/implicationsResults of this small-n research may not be generalisable, but do offer new interpretations of adjustment processes, including potential gender differences. The usefulness of longitudinal narrative inquiry for exploring experience of change is highlighted.Practical implicationsConversations about identity constructions should be held with expatriate spouses in order to support relocation decision making, and to customise support programmes. Governments wanting to attract and retain foreign talent should consider policies that address employment options for spouses, which will allow for the continuation of central career identities.Originality/valueLongitudinal case study analysis results in new interpretations of the adjustment experiences of expatriate spouses over time.

A Key Challenge in Global HRM: Adding New Insights to Existing Expatriate Spouse Adjustment Models

This study is an attempt to strengthen the existing knowledge about factors affecting the adjustment process of the trailing expatriate spouse and the subsequent impact of any maladjustment or expatriate failure. We conducted a qualitative enquiry using grounded theory methodology with 26 Indian spouses who had to deal with their partner’s expatriate assignment relocation. The open and axial coding techniques and the process of theoretical sampling are discussed at length. Our investigation reveals the recurrence of several factors earlier studied in previous models such as cultural novelty, family and peer support, the organization’s support and the spouse’s personality. Additionally, we found that the Indian spouses’ adjustment to expatriate assignments was influenced greatly by their perceived gender-role ideology and their marital obligations to their partners. The resulting extended model of spousal adjustment to expatriate adjustments may help management practitioners to enhance expatriate success in global assignments.

Benefits of Dual-Career Support for Expatriate Spouses

The purpose of the paper is to explore the benefits of on-assignment dual-career support for expatriate spouses. The article is based on survey data collected from a large organization in the oil and gas industry. The author argues in favor of the hypothesis that dual-career support is beneficial for trailing spouses. Cultural and occupational support is perceived as most favorable. The main

International Management : Developing a Global Management Cadre

In the age of globalization and liberalization, executives at all level moves around the world with long term posting abroad. Migrant may feel cultural shock while working in the foreign land as well as reverse cultural shock while they return due to differences in culture across countries. This paper outlines the necessity of support programmes that could improve the comfort level of employees who are moving around the globe for professional purposes. Support programs for expatriates should include information from and contact with the home organization as well as career guidance and support when they return from overseas assignments. The expatriate's spouse plays a crucial role in the potential retention and effectiveness of the manager in host locations. Companies should ensure the spouse's interest in the assignment, include him or her in the pre-departure training, and provide career and family support during the assignment and upon return. Global management teams offer greater opportunities by sharing experiences, technology for international managers and greater opportunities for cross-cultural understanding and greater complexity in the workplace. Women and minorities represent underutilized resources in international management. A major reason for this situation is the assumption that culturally based biases may limit the opportunities and the success of women and minority community. Labor relationships refer to the process through which managers and workers determine their workplace relationships. The labor relations environment, system, and processes vary around the world and influence how the international manager must plan strategy and maximize the productivity of local human resources.

Enhancing Social Integration and Work Performance: The Role of Expatriates’ Significant Other

International assignments remain a crucial aspect of multinational corporations’ global strategy, even with their high costs. While multinational corporations (MNCs) must consider the advantages and disadvantages of hiring local employees for specific roles, expatriates’ roles are still significant. Culturally adjusting to the local environment has always been a problem for most expatriates and their accompanying family members. Failing to adjust culturally will lead to mediocre performance and under-utilising the wealth of host country-related information that only locals possess. Therefore, this research highlights the influential role that accompanying expatriate spouses could play in ensuring the smooth communication and cooperation between expatriates and their local subordinates and the local community. Path analyses of 134 expatriate and spouse related matched datasets show that spouses are more positively accepted by the host country nationals (HCNs) as opposed to expatriates. New relationships emerged from the path analyses which indicated the influential roles that spouses play in establishing better rapport with the locals. As such it is suggested that spouses are the ‘missing link’ that could foster better social integration and cross cultural communication and adjustment between expatriates and the host country nationals. Theoretical and managerial implications are subsequently discussed and future research suggestions are then put forth.

Lean on me: The importance of one's own and partner's intercultural personality for expatriate's and expatriate spouse's successful adjustment abroad

This research explores the role of three intercultural personality traits—emotional stability, social initiative, and open-mindedness—as coping resources for expatriate couples’ adjustment. First, we examined the direct relationships of expatriates’ and expatriate spouses’ personality trait levels with psychological and sociocultural adjustment. Psychological adjustment refers to internal psychological outcomes such as mental health and personal satisfaction, whereas sociocultural adjustment refers to more externally oriented psychological outcomes that link the individual to the new environment. Second, we examined the association of expatriates’ personality trait levels with professional adjustment, which was defined in terms of job performance and organizational commitment. Cross-sectional analyses among 196 expatriates and expatriate spouses (i.e., 98 expatriate couples) revealed that the three dimensions are each associated with specific facets of adjustment. A longitudinal analysis among a subsample (45 couples) partially confirmed these findings. Furthermore, we obtained evidence for a resource compensation effect, that is, the compensatory process whereby one partner's lack of sufficiently high levels of a certain personality trait is compensated for by the other partner's high(er) levels of this traits. Through this resource compensation effect, the negative consequences of a lack of sufficient levels of a personality trait on adjustment can be diminished. Apparently, in the absence of sufficiently high trait levels, individuals can benefit from personality resources in their partners.