Host Country Nationals Research Articles

Conceptualizing knowledge transfer between expatriates and host country nationals: The mediating effect of social capital

AbstractThis paper aims to propose a conceptual model of knowledge transfer by relating two specific personal factors of expatriate and host country national (HCN) dyads as antecedents of knowledge transfer, and mediated by social capital factors. An intensive literature review method was employed to identify and analyse relevant literatures. The paper used a dyadic bi-directional approach in theorizing knowledge transfer by integrating the social capital theory, and the anxiety and uncertainty management theory. The paper considers two personal factors (cultural intelligence and knowledge-seeking behaviour) and two social capital variables (trust and shared vision) as mediators of knowledge transfer. Upon model validation, the paper could offer practical interventions for human resource practitioners and managers to assist multinational corporations towards managing knowledge transfer involving expatriates and HCNs.

Multifaceted effects of host country language proficiency in expatriate cross-cultural adjustments: a qualitative study in China

While expatriates often face language barriers in host countries, relatively little research has focused on the influence of host country language proficiency on cross-cultural adjustment. We drew on social identity theory and conducted an interview-based study with 70 expatriates and their host country national (HCN) colleagues to provide a contextual account of host country language proficiency's effects on work and non-work-related adjustment in China. Our findings suggest that expatriate host country language proficiency has multifaceted effects on expatriates' HCN interaction, social support, and network-related work and non-work adjustment.

The experiences of host country nationals in international schools: A case-study from Malaysia

Although there has been considerable research into expatriate children attending international schools, there has been little investigation into children who attend international schools within their own nation. Seeking to redress this imbalance, this article analyses interview data from a small-scale study of host country nationals attending an international school in Malaysia, in order to examine the significance attached by them to international schooling, and contrasts these accounts with interviews conducted with their expatriate teachers.

Context matters: Acculturation and work-related outcomes of self-initiated expatriates employed by foreign vs. local organizations

Research on various outcomes of foreign assignments has seldom involved the specific organizational context. This study examines the acculturation of self-initiated expatriates in local and foreign-owned organizations. Based on the choice-within-constraints framework in new institutional theory, we propose that self-initiated expatriate academics in local organizations are better adjusted to general life and interaction with host country nationals than their counterparts in foreign-owned organizations. We also suggest that, due to limited available human cognitive capacity, the adjustment of expatriate academics with regard to general life and interaction in the two types of organizations has different consequences for work-related outcomes. Specifically, we hypothesize that for expatriates in foreign organizations, general adjustment is positively associated with work-related outcomes while, for expatriates in local organizations, interaction adjustment is instead positively associated with their work-related outcomes. Based on 210 self-initiated expatriate academics in China and Taiwan, our findings generally provide support for these hypothesized relationships. By demonstrating the role of organization type in expatriate adjustment we contribute to the use of social learning theory in this area) arguing that acculturation should not be perceived to occur in a vacuum. Rather the adjustment patterns of expatriates are affected by the social and institutional context.

Burden or support? The influence of partner nationality on expatriate cross-cultural adjustment

Purpose– The family and specifically, the partners of expatriates are unfortunately the major cause of expatriate maladjustment. Drawing from and extending the concept of relational demography, the purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the nationality of expatriates’ partners, conceptualized as host, home or third country nationality, on expatriates’ cross-cultural adjustment.Design/methodology/approach– Survey data from 299 expatriate academics in China, Japan and South Korea were analysed. The authors used confirmatory factor analyses to validate the scales and ANCOVA to test the hypotheses. To further understand the interactions effects the authors conducted simple slopes analysis.Findings– Results show that differences in expatriate academics’ cross-cultural adjustment are notper sebased on the different nationality of their partners, but are mainly due to an interaction effect of partner nationality and length of stay in host country. Expatriates with host country national partners perceived the highest increase in cross-cultural adjustment over time, followed by those with third country national partners, whereas those with home country partners did not experience any increase in cross-cultural adjustment.Research limitations/implications– The study was based on a cross-sectional survey of expatriate academics in Asia. Thus, longitudinal, multisource data from various contexts would increase validity and generalizability of findings. Despite these limitations, the study provided new and intriguing findings. The theory and empirical evidence underscore the importance of expatriate partner nationality and thereby, relational demography between expatriate partners and expatriates.Practical implications– The research aims to emphasize the important role that expatriate partners can play concerning the success of expatriate cross-cultural adjustment. Greater attention should be paid to the adjustment processes of expatriates and their partners to facilitate expatriate cross-cultural adjustment.Originality/value– The authors are among the first to study the influence of nationality, conceptualized as host, home country or third country nationality, of expatriates’ partners on expatriates’ cross-cultural adjustment by applying the concept of relational demography. Moreover, the authors look at the role that time in the host country has on the partner’s influence on expatriate adjustment.

International adjustment of female vs male business expatriates. A replication study in Switzerland

Purpose– Reasons for women’s underrepresentation in international assignments include stereotypical assumptions within organizations about their ability to adjust abroad and more broadly a lack of trust from the corporate headquarters. Female expatriates’ adjustment may strongly vary depending on the host country and on host-country nationals’ attitudes toward them. Yet up until today, very few studies have examined female expatriate adjustment in a single and non-Asian host country. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by comparing the cross-cultural adjustment of male and female expatriates in Switzerland.Design/methodology/approach– This study replicates Selmer and Leung’s (2003a) study design in order to compare adjustment of male and female expatriates working in multinational companies in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Based on 152 valid questionnaires collected, the authors performed a multivariate analysis of covariance and further analyses of covariance to compare male and female expatriate adjustment.Findings– The authors find that female expatriates have significantly higher interaction and work adjustment levels than their male counterparts, while no significant differences between men and women were observed in terms of general adjustment. These findings in a European context are consistent with those of Selmer and Leung in an Asian context.Originality/value– Very few studies to date have examined the adjustment of female expatriates in a western host-country context, despite the fact that host-country cultural norms might strongly influence women’s experiences. The research brings new empirical evidence about cross-cultural adjustment of female and male expatriates in a western location. Contrary to persistent stereotypical assumptions, results emphasize again that women are able to adjust better or at least as well as their male counterparts.

The moderating effects of Social Desirability responding on the criterion-related validity of self-report personality inventory

This study aimed to examine how social desirability responding(SDR) affects the criterion-related validity of self-reported personality. Specifically, this study examined how SDR, impression management(IM) and self deceptive enhancement(SDE) can take distinct effects on criteria when personality traits of 91 expatriates such as empathy, cooperation, and friendliness predict their performance criteria. Although previous studies suggested either suppression or moderation effects of SDR, the results indicated that there was no suppression effects but statistically significant moderation effects of SDE on the link between each of some predictors(empathy and cooperation) and expatriate’s negative emotional expression and helping behavior in organization rated by peers(host country nationals). However, such effects were not supported in case of IM. The importance of specifying two factors of SDR and suggestions for the future research were discussed.

Funding conditions for aid effectiveness: A mixed blessing for the sustainable development of host‐country‐national employees

AbstractThis paper explores whether—and how—aid effectiveness funding conditions impact the human resource development of host‐country national (HCN) employees. To investigate this relationship, I conducted a phenomenological study with 31 participants from three international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs). Results suggest that the pressure toward funds accountability brings mixed blessings: From a staffing perspective, more HCNs are being hired instead of expatriates, building local capacity. However, vital training and performance review functions are cast as inefficient overheads. The paper concludes with a conceptual framework, practical strategies for INGOs and donor governments, and directions for larger scale empirical research. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Managerial Selection Decisions in Multinational Corporations: Teaching International Business Using Problem-Based Learning

Companies face many challenges as they staff managerial positions in overseas operations, including decisions on whether to staff using expatriates, host-country nationals, or third-country nationals. We developed an exercise—designed to help students understand the differences between these three groups of employees—that requires students to develop a set of criteria that would form the basis for choosing the candidate they deem to be the best one. In addition, the exercise can serve as a springboard to discussion of the different training and compensation requirements for each of the three different types of employee. The steps involved in the exercise are presented together with suggestions for debriefing the exercise.

Host Country National Willingness to help Expatriates - The role of in-group / out-group Categorisation

Host Country National Willingness to help Expatriates - The role of in-group / out-group Categorisation

International Training and Management Development Policies and Practices of South Korean MNEs in China

International training and management development has to date received little research attention. This study aims to contribute to the international human resource management literature by empirically exploring international training and management development policies and practices for both expatriates and host-country nationals (HCNs) of South Korean multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in China. The data for this study were collected through in-depth interviews with both HCN managers and expatriate managers of 10 Korean MNEs. The results show that in our sample, South Korean MNEs provide expatriates with inadequate and low-rigor predeparture cross-cultural training and leadership training. However, the sample MNEs provide extensive predeparture and postarrival language training and regular postarrival technical and professional training. On-the-job training is provided mainly to HCN production workers in order to improve productivity and work safety. Selected high-performance HCN middle managers and employees are sent back to headquarters for training. This, however, is not regarded for career development but for rewarding good performance. The sample South Korean MNEs pay little attention to management development for both expatriates and HCNs. Consequently, this has a negative effect on employees' organizational commitment and retention.

Expatriate Cultural Antecedents and Outcomes

This field note is based upon a case study of US expatriates working for a multinational nonprofit organization in North and Central Africa. The purpose of this study was to examine expatriate culture adjustment from two vantage points. First, the study tested the impact of three organizational conditions on expatriate culture adjustment. Second, the study examined the relationship between an expatriate's culture adjustment and (1) their intention to prematurely leave the international assignment and (2) their effectiveness in host country relationships. In the first phase of analysis, the study found that the expatriate's alignment with organizational mission and values, level of team esprit‐de‐corps, and job satisfaction were significant predictors of national cultural adjustment. In the second phase, the study found that higher levels of expatriate cultural adjustment (1) yielded lower levels of employees’ premature turnover intention and (2) enhanced the expatriate's ability to work with host country nationals and their organizations. The validated survey instrument in this study provides managers with a tool to measure the organizational conditions, expatriate's level of cultural adjustment, turnover intention, and relationships with host ‐country nationals. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

"Trust Building with Chinese Host Country Nationals – Competence, Affect, and Cultural Intelligence"

Integrating the literature on trust building and cultural intelligence, this study seeks to understand how expatriate managers build trust with their host country nationals (HCNs) in China. Qualitative data collected via extensive interviews with 12 expatriate managers and 34 HCNs from 7 MNCs in Shanghai found that both expatriate managers and HCNs need to demonstrate their work competence at the initial stage of the relationship to form cognitive trust. Over time, successful expatriate managers enact culturally intelligent behaviors to promote perceptions of trustworthiness in HCNs who in turn, reciprocate with affective trust. Implications for theory and practice were discussed.

Host Country National's Voluntary Knowledge Sharing with Expatriates and Its Motivating Factors

This study advances the host country national perspective on knowledge transfer by highlighting the perceptions and attitudes that matter to the extent host country nationals (HCNs) share knowledge...

The Categorization of Expatriates and the Support Offered by Host Country Nationals

Although several authors have suggested that host country nationals (HCNs) play an important role in the management of expatriates (e.g., Toh & DeNisi, 2003; Farh et al., 2010), research has also s...

Expatriates' personal attributes and knowledge acquisition in brownfield IJVs: the case of CJ LION in Korea

International joint ventures (IJVs) are increasingly provoked as a predominant mode replacing the traditional market entry strategy because it is a vehicle to multi-directionally exchange invaluable complementary knowledge between multinational corporations (MNCs) and local firms through their subsidiaries (i.e., IJVs). However, although IJVs are multifaceted phenomenon, researchers often look at IJVs' fragmentary aspect by focusing on only greenfield type of collaborative formations and overlooking the brownfield type of entities. In particular, expatriates in brownfield type of IJVs (BIJVs) are often referred to be a key actor for their knowledge exchange activities. In this vein, this paper attempts to examine the effects of expatriates' personal attributes (EPAs) promoting the knowledge transfer capacity of MNCs. Through a case-study on CJ LION, we empirically find that willingness to communicate and possession of prior-related job/local market knowledge are proven to be effective in knowledge acquisition of host country nationals (HCNs). Our findings contribute to better understand knowledge transfer capacity of MNCs as a theoretical concept, and also provide invaluable and practical implications for MNCs that plan to invest in emerging markets.

Corporate Language Proficiency and Reverse Knowledge Transfer in Multinational Corporations: Interactive Effects of Communication Media Richness and Commitment to Headquarters

While corporate language proficiency provides the ability for employees in foreign subsidiaries to transfer knowledge to headquarters (HQ) in multinational corporations, this topic has received relatively little attention in international management research. In this paper, I link host country national (HCN) employee corporate language proficiency to reverse knowledge transfer. In addition to its direct effect, I draw on media richness theory and related research to hypothesize that communication media richness has a mediating effect between HCN corporate language proficiency and reverse knowledge transfer. As employees also need to be motivated to transfer knowledge to HQ, I draw on ability–motivation frameworks to hypothesize that HCN employee commitment to HQ has a moderating effect between communication media richness and reverse knowledge transfer. Data derived at two points in time from 661 functional departments of foreign subsidiaries in Japan provide support for the direct and interactive effects.

A perspective-taking model for global assignments

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to propose a model that explains how proactive cognitive processes, such as perspective-taking, relates to expatriates’ effectiveness.Design/methodology/approach– This conceptual paper presents the model that is based on the perspective-taking models developed by Parkeret al.(2008) and applies them to the expatriate context.Findings– The authors present a framework that delineates how the perspective-taking process leads to an expatriate’s effectiveness. The authors provide propositions about which factors motivate expatriates to engage in perspective-taking and which factors influence higher accuracy of understanding of the host country nationals’ (HCN) perspective.Practical implications– Guidance is provided for the training of expatriate to develop perspective-taking.Originality/value– The paper expands the expatriate research by incorporating the perspective-taking model to identify which factors may motivate expatriates to see the HCN view point. Also, the paper contributes to the literature by identifying how resources such as expatriates’ psychological capital may promote the degree of accuracy or comprehension with respect to the HCN thoughts and feelings.

Expatriate Social Networks in Terrorism-Endangered Countries: An Empirical Analysis in Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia

Abstract Despite the increasing relevance for international business, international assignments in terrorism-endangered countries have hardly been analyzed. Applying a social network perspective, this study investigates the impact of expatriate social network characteristics on psychological well-being in the terrorism-endangered environment of Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan. Drawing on data surveying 175 expatriates, the study finds that large and diversified networks positively affect the psychological well-being of international expatriates. When including the influence of terrorism it is revealed that a higher terrorism level per se does not necessarily negatively affect the psychological well-being of expatriates, however, the impact of expatriate social network characteristics on psychological well-being is amplified. Hence, social networks are more beneficial on expatriates' psychological well-being in countries which suffer from terrorism. Discussing these findings, the study also differentiates between closeness with host country nationals and other nationalities, and presents several implications for managers how to improve psychological well-being.

Perceived senior leadership opportunities in MNCs: The effect of social hierarchy and capital

Drawing on the structural perspective in organizational theory, this study develops a conceptual framework of the social hierarchy within the multinational corporation (MNC). We suggest that parent country nationals (PCNs), host country nationals (HCNs), and third country nationals (TCNs) occupy distinctively different positions in the social hierarchy, which are anchored in their differential control or access to various forms of capital or strategically valuable organizational resources. We further suggest that these positions affect employees’ perceptions of senior leadership opportunities, defined as the assessment of the extent to which nationality and location influence access to senior leadership opportunities. Using multilevel analysis of survey data from 2039 employees in seven MNCs, the study reveals two significant findings. First, HCNs and TCNs perceive that nationality and location influence access to senior leadership opportunities more than PCNs. Second, three moderating factors – gender, tenure, and education – increase the perception gaps between PCNs on the one hand and HCNs and TCNs on the other, although these results are inconsistent. These findings indicate that the structural position of PCNs, HCNs, and TCNs in the social hierarchy affect sense-making and perceptions of access to senior leadership opportunities.