Globalization and international labor mobility have provided the opportunity for highly qualified people to work in almost any country they desire. The people who take advantage of this opportunity ...can be categorized as 'self-initiated expatriates' (SIE). This study explores the motivation and cross-cultural adjustment of 30 SIE academics in South Korea. The respondents were motivated to expatriate by a desire for international experience, attractive job conditions, family ties, and poor labor markets in their home countries; most of the respondents were well adjusted. Based on our findings, we propose a theoretical framework linking the motivation and cross-cultural adjustment of expatriates.
This study advances our understanding of the contextualization of the effects of cultural intelligence (CQ). Drawing from trait activation theory and institutional theory, we develop a multi-level ...model showing how host countries’ informal and formal openness towards foreigners facilitate or constrain the importance of expatriates’ CQ in becoming embedded in the host organization. Furthermore, this study positions organizational embeddedness as a mediator in the association between expatriates’ CQ and a central element of expatriates’ jobs – knowledge sharing in the foreign workplace. Results from a cross-lagged survey of 1327 expatriates from 100 different nations residing in 30 host countries combined with secondary data indicate expatriate CQ relates positively to organizational embeddedness. Cross-level interaction analyses further suggest that in-group collectivism, the proxy for host countries’ informal openness towards foreigners, facilitates the importance of CQ as a predictor of expatriates’ organizational embeddedness. In contrast, CQ was not found to interact with the proxy for host countries’ formal openness towards foreigners, i.e. national immigration policies. Consistent with predictions, we identified that CQ relates positively to knowledge sharing and that organizational embeddedness carries an indirect effect. We discuss the implications for theory and practice.
Expatriates are often presented in the cross-cultural adjustment literature as a homogeneous, broad population. However, recent research that makes a distinction between organizational expatriates ...(OEs), those who are dispatched by their home companies to international posts, and self-initiated expatriates (SIEs), those who themselves make the decision to live and work abroad, has identified differences between the two groups. The present study compares the cross-cultural adjustment of these two groups of expatriates. Survey results of 179 expatriates in Japan show that SIEs are better adjusted to general aspects of their host country and interactions with host-country nationals than OEs. Suggestions for practice are provided.
Organizations have increasingly relied on virtual teams (VTs). For VTs to succeed, the collaborative behavior of team members plays an important role. Drawing from the open systems theory and using a ...phenomenon-driven approach, we investigate the dynamic pattern of collaborative behavior convergence among members of VTs (i.e., the emergence of collaborative behavior consensus) and its relationship with VT performance. Moreover, we investigate the differential influence of external crises, exemplified by key dynamic facets of the COVID-19 crisis (i.e., COVID-19 health threat and social distance). We used a multilevel approach (i.e., time, individual, and team levels) with the multilevel group-process framework to test our hypotheses. Results from a survey of 3,506 participants nested in 703 teams suggest that collaborative behaviors of VT members tend to converge over time, leading to the emergence of collaborative behavior consensus. Furthermore, a dynamic COVID-19 health threat leads to lower collaborative behavior consensus over time. Moreover, our results show that collaborative behavior consensus is partially positively related to VT performance and is particularly important for VTs with a lower level of collaborative behavior at the end of the collaboration. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.
Reflecting on recent trends in the international labor force, this study investigates and compares organizational expatriates (OEs), who are dispatched by their companies to international posts, with ...self-initiated expatriates (SIEs), who by their own volition move and work abroad. Findings from a survey of 57 OEs and 124 SIEs in Tokyo show several differences in individual- and job-related factors, cross-cultural adjustment and job satisfaction between OEs and SIEs. More specifically, mediation analyses show SIEs to have higher interaction adjustment because of their longer stay in the host country and higher host-country language proficiency. However, SIEs have lower job satisfaction because they work more often under host-country national supervisors.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on knowledge sharing and the moderating effects of individual demographics, organizational ...context and cultural context in that relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
This study conducted a meta-analysis of 44 studies involving 14,023 participants to examine the direct and moderating effects of motivation on knowledge sharing.
Findings
Results revealed that both extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors were associated with higher levels of knowledge sharing, while the effect was stronger for intrinsic motivation. Moreover, results revealed that substantial variance was explained by moderating variables. Further investigation revealed that individual characteristics (age, gender), organizational context (organizational setting vs. open system, IT infrastructure) and cultural context (collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, performance orientation, power distance) moderated the motivation and knowledge sharing relationship.
Research limitations/implications
As a meta-analysis, this study is confined to variables that have been frequently analyzed in prior research. Future research could further increase our understanding of different types of knowledge sharing and various boundary conditions.
Practical implications
Organizations should provide customized incentive systems to specific target groups to align motivation and knowledge sharing. Multinational organizations may consider different motivation schemes across countries to better suit cultural differences.
Originality/value
Despite a growing number of studies highlighting the important role of motivation in predicting knowledge sharing, the evidence is mixed. Based on a meta-analysis, this study identified true relationships and identified moderating effects that help explain prior mixed results.
•We examined the interactive impact of host country context and expatriate personality traits on job satisfaction.•The theoretical framework was drawn from the cultural fit hypothesis.•Expatriates ...with high Cultural Empathy had higher job satisfaction in Japan than in Brazil; Social Initiative was more important in Brazil.
This study draws on the cultural fit hypothesis to examine interactive effects of host country context and four (Multicultural Personality Questionnaire) expatriate personality traits – Cultural Empathy, Social Initiative, Emotional Stability, and Open Mindedness – on job satisfaction. The cultural fit hypothesis maintains that it is not only the expatriate personality traits per se, but the cultural fit between expatriate personality traits and host country cultural values, norms, and prototypical personality traits that predict expatriate adjustment in host countries (Searle & Ward, 1990). Providing partial support for the cultural fit hypothesis, data derived from 191 expatriates in Brazil and Japan shows that the importance of two personality traits varies in these countries. Specifically, expatriates with high Cultural Empathy were more satisfied with their jobs in Japan than in Brazil, whereas Social Initiative was more important for expatriates in Brazil.
► This study examines the impact of expatriate personality traits on cross-cultural adjustment through the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ). ► The theoretical framework is drawn from the ...cultural fit hypothesis and the socio-analytic theory. ► The hypotheses tested with 181 expatriates in Japan show positive relationships between the personality traits of Open Mindedness and interaction adjustment, Emotional Stability and Cultural Empathy and general adjustment, and Social Initiative and work adjustment.
While regarded as among the most important factors affecting expatriate cross-cultural adjustment, little focused research with a broad array of personality traits has been conducted. This study draws from the cultural fit hypothesis and the socio-analytic theory to examine the impact of expatriate personality traits through the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire on the general-, interaction-, and work-related facets of cross-cultural adjustment among 181 expatriates in Japan. The results show positive relationships between the personality traits of Open Mindedness and interaction adjustment, Emotional Stability and Cultural Empathy and general adjustment, and Social Initiative and work adjustment.
Within a short time, China, Japan, and Korea have produced worldwide leading multinational enterprises (MNEs). As they expand globally, these companies face major challenges in global talent ...management (GTM). This article provides a comparative analysis of the major GTM challenges MNEs from these countries experience and the underlying reasons thereof. Our comparative overview reveals similarities in ethnocentric staffing, traditional headquarters-driven organizational cultures, and home-country language policies. While there are striking differences in performance appraisal, reward and compensation, and promotion and career advancement, these GTM practices of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean MNEs are converging to Western style global best practices, though at different levels. Building on and enriching the convergence debate and the distance literature, we identify organizational and country characteristics that help better understand the reasons for these similarities and differences.
•Comparative analysis of global talent management (GTM) of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean multinational enterprises•Similarities in ethnocentric staffing, traditional HQ-driven organizational cultures, and home-country language policies•Striking differences in terms of HR practices•Conceptual framework explaining similarities and differences in GTM practices provided•Directions for future research in GTM in general, and for Asian MNEs specifically provided
Cultural distance and expatriate job satisfaction Froese, Fabian Jintae; Peltokorpi, Vesa
International journal of intercultural relations,
2011, 2011-1-00, 20110101, 2011-01, Letnik:
35, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
▶ Cultural distance perspective helps explain expatriate job satisfaction. ▶ National cultural distance decreases expatriate job satisfaction. ▶ Expatriates show lower job satisfaction under ...host-country supervisors. ▶ Self-initiated expatriates show lower job satisfaction.
Despite its strong impact in domestic settings on job performance, organizational commitment, stress, and turnover intentions, job satisfaction has received little attention in the literature on expatriates. This paper analyzes the predictors of job satisfaction that may arise in an expatriate context. Drawing on the cultural distance perspective, we propose that the national cultural distance, supervisor's nationality, host-country language proficiency, expatriate type, and company nationality are important determinants of expatriate job satisfaction. Survey results from 148 expatriates in Japan demonstrate that national cultural distance, supervisor's nationality, and expatriate type have a statistically significant influence on expatriate job satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications are provided.
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