The Mediating effects of Pre-and Post-Assignment Activities on the Quality of Work Life of Expatriates: Evidence for Managers in the PRC (original) (raw)
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This paper differentiates between cross-cultural adjustment and performance based upon Campbell's model of performance (1990). It examines the roles that cross-cultural adjustment plays as intervening variables in a model of expatriate performance. Firstly, the paper refers to the literature on job performance and cross-cultural adjustment in the expatriate domain. Based upon a multidimensional view of both job performance and cross-cultural adjustment, the paper conceptualizes cross-cultural adjustment as a mediator of the relationships between selected organizational support mechanisms and six components of job performance. The three types of cross-cultural adjustment were found to play differential roles when the model was tested in a study with Australian expatriates in the Special Administrative Regions of China (SARs). ). There were six factors found to be relevant to the sample upon which the model was tested as part of the author's PhD thesis. A brief description of the measure and procedure towards its development is presented in the section on measures.
Expatriates adjustment and job performance
International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 2013
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effects of expatriate adjustment (work, general and interaction) between individual (previous international experience, self‐efficacy, social network and cultural sensitivity) and organizational factor (direct and indirect support) and job performance.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected from 201 expatriates working in Malaysia and analyse by using structural equation modelling (Amos‐16).FindingsThe results of the study indicated that expatriate adjustment (work, general and interaction) mediate the relationship between individual and organizational factors and expatriate performance (supervisor rated).Research limitations/implicationsThe data were collected from the expatriates working in Malaysian universities. There can be differences between education industry and pure business organization in terms of working environment, selection process and management support. The respondents were citizens of differen...
Expatriate Job Performance and Adjustment: Role of Individual and Organizational Factors
Journal of Business & Management, 2012
The expatriate literature has highlighted many individual and organizational factors which effect expatriate job performance and adjustment but the role of some individual and organizational factors is still not clear and/or has been ignored by past researchers. For example, the role of direct and indirect support has not been well conceptualized in past studies. In addition, only a few studies have explained the importance of self-efficacy, cultural sensitivity and social networking in the related expatriate literature. Furthermore, the role of previous international experience has conflicting results in past research. The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical grounding and highlight the importance of those individual and organizational factors which have been ignored by past researchers. In this regard, researchers have reviewed journals/articles from different databases, books, and magazines. This paper proposes a comprehensive framework based on the gaps in the literature and suggests propositions. The proposed conceptual framework provides a theoretical grounding for individual and organizational factors that includes individual factors (self-efficacy, previous international experience, cultural sensitivity, and social network) and organizational factors (direct and indirect support). This paper suggests that expatriate adjustment (work, general, and interaction adjustment) mediates the relationship between individual factors (self-efficacy, previous international experience, cultural sensitivity, and social network), organizational factors (direct and indirect support), and expatriate job performance (rated by peer and supervisor). The proposed framework is developed based on past theoretical and empirical studies in order to cover the gap and contribute to the body of knowledge in the field of the literature. Based on the proposed framework, this paper invites researchers to empirically test the suggested propositions in order to further strengthen and develop understanding about individual and organizational factors as predictors of expatriate adjustment and job performance.
Social Behavior and Personality: an …, 2008
In this study the mediating effects of expatriates' operational capability on the success of expatriation were examined. The moderating effects of social support were also tested in this study. Two hundred and twenty-two expatriates of Taiwanese multinational companies (MNCs) participated in the survey. Results reveal that expatriates' personality has direct effects on perceived adjustment and operational capability. The expatriates' operational capability was found to be a mediating variable for both expatriates' personality and adjustment on performance. Moreover, social support moderated the effects of expatriate personality on perceived adjustment, operational capability, and performance. The practical implications as well as academic contributions of the research are presented.
The construction and initial validation of a measure of expatriate job performance
Based on Campbell’s (1990) multi-factorial model of job performance, the Expatriate Performance Scales were developed to measure components of expatriate performance. Item generation for the scales was informed by job performance theory, content analysis of interviews with expatriates and item sorting by subject matter experts. The scales (48 items) were administered to 106 Australian expatriates in the Special Administrative Regions of China. Data were subjected to exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis as well as tests for criterion, convergent and discriminant validity. These procedures resulted in 32 items measuring an amended model of expatriate performance with six components: task performance, communication performance, demonstrating effort, maintaining personal discipline, team and leadership performance and management and administration performance. Results provide initial psychometric evidence of criterion, convergent and discriminant validity.
Effects of individual characteristics on expatriates' adjustment and job performance
European Journal of Training and Development, 2013
Purpose-Researchers have been focusing on the predictors of expatriates' adjustment and job performance at different levels (individual level, organizational level and societal level), but still some of the predictors have been ignored or unclear in the expatriate literature. The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive framework in order to better understand the role of individual factors in expatriate adjustment and job performance. Design/methodology/approach-The review of past research is used to develop a conceptual framework. Findings-This conceptual paper provides theoretical ground for individual factors which include Big Five, self-efficacy, previous international experience, cultural sensitivity and social network and proposes that expatriate adjustment (work, general and interaction adjustment) mediates the relationship between individual factors (personality traits (Big Five), self-efficacy, previous international experience, cultural sensitivity and social network) and expatriate job performance (rated by peer and supervisor). Practical implications-This paper also provides practical implications for the managers and professionals involved in expatriates' selection, training and performance management. This paper suggests that managers involved in selection of candidates for international assignment should consider personality traits, level of self-efficacy, previous international experience, social network and cultural sensitivity at the time of selection of candidates for international assignment. Furthermore, managers should design pre-departure training programs in a way that enhances candidates' self-efficacy level, overcomes cultural sensitivity, and motivates them to expand social network. Finally, managers should explain to the candidates how they can use their personal skills and knowledge to gain work, general and interactions adjustment in order to achieve job tasks. Originality/value-The proposed framework is developed based on the past theoretical review in order to cover the gap and contribute to the body of knowledge in expatriate literature. Based on the proposed framework, this paper invites researchers to empirically test the suggested propositions in order to further strengthen and develop understanding about individual factors including Big Five and other expatriates' adjustment and job performance predictors.
The SAGE Handbook of Industrial, Work and Organizational Psychology, 2018
The SAGE Handbook of Industrial, Work and Organizational Psychology 'Success' Indicators for Expatriates: An Explication of the Criterion Space One key question of expatriate management is what constitutes a successful assignment. Although there is considerable debate about the exact proportion of those assignments that fail (Forster, 1997; Harzing, 1995; Harzing & Christensen, 2004), there is broad consensus in that failures are costly. There is also some agreement that failures cannot only be defined as returning home early, but that failure encompasses a broad array of variables, ranging from low job performance during the assignment and damage to overseas business relationships to expatriates' personal dissatisfaction with the assignment (Brookfield, 2009; Dowling & Welch, 2004). Thus, in the following, we offer an overview of these and other 'success' criteria for expatriates. Discomfort regarding the criteria used to conceptualize expatriate success can be traced back to early publications of the field (e.g., Kealey, 1989) and uneasiness with the operationalizations of success criteria appears to be a constant in the expatriate literature (e.g., Hippler, Caligiuri, Johnson, & Baytalskaya, 2014; Ones & Viswesvaran, 1997). This discomfort is an extension from the work psychology literature in general: 'success' is not a criterion variable used in industrial, work, and organizational (IWO) psychology settings, due to its ill-defined nature. Rather, it has been long concluded that it is best to focus on well-defined, scalable behaviors and outcomes that may be of interest to organizations (e.g., job performance, turnover) and employees themselves (e.g., job satisfaction). A clear delineation of the criterion space for expatriates is theoretically important, empirically essential for research, and operationally vital for evidence-based practice. For example, understanding the expatriate criterion space is crucial for all other HR interventions, as criteria are the basis for knowing what we recruit, select, and train for. In this section, we review research on variables used as criterion variables for expatriates, including job performance, counterproductive work behaviors, adjustment, job satisfaction, commitment, turnover, and career success. We are dismayed that only a handful of empirical studies have examined relationships among criterion variables for expatriates. The relationships among criteria have been summarized in three meta-analyses
Adjustment and satisfaction of expatriate U.S. personnel
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 1992
This study investigated the evaluation of the overseas assignment by repatriated US. personnel in managerial and technical positions. One hundred forty-nine repatriated US. staff of multinational firms completed a questionnaire that examined (a) issues of cultural immersion, (b) work satisfaction, and (c) relocation motives and satisfaction. Findings indicated that (a) personnel who reported using more culturally appropriate interpersonal skills and cognitions were more satisfied with the assignment, (b) personnel in Europe were more satisfied with both social and work conditions than those in non-Western and/or third-world settings, (c) intrinsic work satisfaction was somewhat greater than that found with domestically relocated personnel, (d) personnel with prior experience abroad were Iikeiy to use culturally appropriate interpersonaI skills, and (e) expatriates who lived in US. compounds felt Iess cross-culturally competent.
You Can Take It With You: Individual Differences and Expatriate Effectiveness
Journal of Applied Psychology, 2006
Currently, there is little consensus on the requisite individual differences, or the content of effectiveness criteria, for international assignees. This paper describes the collaborative efforts of two teams of researchers who were independently investigating the effects of stable personality traits and dynamic behavioral competencies on the same, three-dimensional structure of effectiveness: psychological (cultural, interaction, and work) adjustment, assignment withdrawal cognitions and (contextual and overall task) performance. Extending a model of cross-culturally relevant individual differences developed by , we describe the results of model tests in three studies. Study 1, using multi-source data from a multinational sample of 182 expatriates stationed in Hong Kong, and matched pairs of their spouses and work colleagues, examined the predictiveness of the "Big Five" personality traits. Study 2 tested the outflow of four dynamic competencies (cultural flexibility, task and people leadership orientation, and ethnocentrism) with self-report data from a sample of 309 Korean expatriates posted around the world. Study 3 was a longitudinal replication of Study 2, using pre-departure and on-assignment data from Japanese expatriate managers sent to overseas positions. Results of correlation and regression analyses testing the direct and indirect effects of individual differences on effectiveness indicated that they had a widespread impact, in a pattern that is sharply divergent from the domestic selection literature. The importance of traits and competencies as differential predictors of adjustment, withdrawal, and performance has implications for both selection and training of expatriates.
This paper examines the roles that organizational support mechanisms play in the relationship with expatriate job performance amongst Australian expatriates in the Special Administrative Regions of China (SARs). Firstly, the paper refers to the general literature on job performance and applies it to the expatriate performance domain. Based upon a multi-dimensional view of job performance and support, the findings indicate that informative support (measured via role clarity) is positively related to task and administrative performance but that contrary to received wisdom practical support may not be useful in assisting expatriates perform. Alternative explanations for the unexpected negative relationship between practical support and performance hinge on trait activation theory and social support theories. Keywords: Expatriation, Performance, Support, Multiple Regression Analysis, China, Cross-Cultural Management