Role interference and subjective well-being among expatriate families

The present study examined the relation of demands and social support, and positive and negative Work-Home (WHI) and Home-Work interference (HWI) with the subjective well-being of expatriates. Moreover, we were also interested in crossover effects of expatriate interference to the subjective well-being of their spouses. In a questionnaire study among expatriate couples (N?=?72), we found that particularly home demands, and the negative spillover effects of expatriate roles at home on their work roles were related to expatriate and spouse subjective well-being. Crossover effects from one partner to the other seemed to run via subjective well-being in one partner to subjective well-being in the other, supporting the idea of emotional contagion among couples in times of stress.     

When learning is not enough: A process model of expatriate adjustment as cultural cognitive dissonance reduction

Although considerable organizational research exists on the topic of expatriate adjustment and early departure, little has focused on the actual psychological processes causing change in adjustment outcomes. Specifically, researchers have not focused on cognitive dissonance that arises from adopting or condoning culturally expected behaviors that are inconsistent with the expatriate’s own values or attitudes. We propose that dissonance experiences and the methods used for dissonance reduction influence expatriates’ adjustment outcomes and, in turn, their tendency for early departure. We further specify key situational and individual difference constructs that regulate these causal relationships. Along with a greater understanding of cross-cultural adjustment, the current model suggests new directions for expatriate research and management.     

SOURCES OF SUPPORT AND EXPATRIATE PERFORMANCE: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF EXPATRIATE ADJUSTMENT

This study examined the role of 3 sources of support in facilitating expatriate adjustment and performance. A model was developed that examined the effects of perceived organizational support (POS), leader-member exchange (LMX), and spousal support on expatriates' adjustment to work, the country, and interacting with foreign nationals. In turn, it was expected that expatriate adjustment would influence expatriate task performance and contextual performance. The model was tested using a sample of 213 expatriate-supervisor dyads via structural equation modeling. The results indicated that POS had direct effects on expatriate adjustment, which in turn had direct effects on both dimensions of performance. Although LMX did not influence adjustment, it did have direct effects on expatriate task and contextual performance. Spousal support did not relate to adjustment or performance. Practical implications for facilitating expatriate adjustment and performance are discussed.     

EXPATRIATES' PSYCHOLOGICAL WITHDRAWAL FROM INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENTS: WORK, NONWORK, AND FAMILY INFLUENCES

Integrating the expatriate adjustment and employee turnover literatures, we develop a model of expatriates' decisions to quit their assignments. This model explicitly considers the role of adjustment, the project-based nature of international assignments, and the importance of several nonwork and family context factors in this withdrawal process. We test this model with a sample of 452 expatriates and a matched subsample (providing multiple sources of data) of 224 expatriates and spouses, living in 45 countries. Consistent with domestic turnover research, multiple regression analyses indicated that the work-related factors of job satisfaction and organizational commitment were significant predictors of expatriate withdrawal cognitions. We also found support for the direct, indirect, and moderating influence of nonwork satisfaction and several family context variables (i.e., family responsibility, spouse adjustment, spouse overall satisfaction, and living conditions) on decisions of expatriates to quit their assignments. Implications for both organizational withdrawal and international HRM researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

Determinants of effective coping with cultural transition among expatriate children and adolescents

The present study examined the influence of family and parental work factors, personality, and attachment on the intercultural adjustment of expatriate children and adolescents (N=104). Children from families high in cohesion exhibited higher levels of adjustment than children from low cohesive families. Expatriate work satisfaction was significantly related to children's adjustment. Emotional Stability appeared as an independent predictor of adjustment. Attachment dominated as the strongest predictor of adjustment, whereby an ambivalent attachment style was negatively related to adjustment. Interestingly, personality and attachment moderated the influence of family- and work-related factors on adjustment, whereby the beneficial effects of a healthy family and work situation were particularly found among children high on the intercultural traits and high in secure attachment.     

The effectiveness of expatriate coping strategies: the moderating role of cultural distance, position level, and time on the international assignment

On the basis of the stress and coping literature, the authors examined the diverse coping strategies used by expatriate managers in response to the problems encountered while on international assignments. It was hypothesized that although problem-focused coping strategies may be more effective than are emotion-focused coping strategies in affecting cross-cultural adjustment and intention to remain on the international assignment, the relationship is moderated by contextual factors such as hierarchical level in the organization, time on the assignment, and cultural distance. Coded semistructured interview responses from 116 German expatriates on assignment in either Japan or the United States were analyzed with moderated regression analyses. The results suggest that the effectiveness of problem-focused coping strategies in predicting cross-cultural adjustment is moderated by cultural distance and position level but not by time on the assignment. The use of problem-focused coping strategies was not related to expatriates' intention to remain on the assignment.     

Relative importance of personality dimensions for expatriate selection: A policy capturing study

Policy capturing was used to examine relative importance placed by managers on the Big Five personality factors (Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness) in the context of expatriate selection. Ninety‐six managers with expatriate staffing and management experience made judgments about 32 expatriates based on characteristics associated with the Big Five. Judgments were made about (a) completion of overseas assignment, (b) adjustment, (c) interpersonal relations with host‐country nationals, and (d) overseas job performance. Across all four decisions, the raters tended to use the cues (i.e., the Big Five personality factors) in a similar manner. Conscientiousness was perceived to be the most important personality factor for all four judgments examined. Openness to Experience was perceived to be important for completion of overseas assignment. These results from policy capturing are compared and contrasted with those from criterion‐related validity studies of the Big Five for expatriate selection. Implications for expatriate selection systems are discussed.     

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.     

Predicting expatriate effectiveness: The role of personality,cross‐cultural adjustment,and organizational support

The interest in expatriate effectiveness has grown remarkably as a consequence of globalization and the possibility of failure in international assignments. This study has tested a comprehensive model of expatriate effectiveness in a sample of 108 Spanish expatriate managers. They responded to a survey which included a set of variables, including personality, adjustment, language skill, cultural distance, organizational support, and expatriate effectiveness (i.e., job performance, intentions of early return, and manager efficacy perceived by others). The results showed that cultural distance and cross‐cultural adjustment were the immediate predictors of expatriate effectiveness and that achievement, sociability, organizational support, and language skills predicted cross‐cultural adjustment and cultural distance. The results showed a good fit to the hypothesized model (GFI = .973; CFI =.975; RMSEA = .056; SRMR = .053). Finally, we comment on the implications of the findings for the research and practice of selection in international assignments.     

Let it be: expatriate couples' adjustment and the upside of avoiding conflicts

This research examines the moderating effect of conflict avoidance on the relationship between conflict and psychological adjustment among 45 expatriate couples at two points in time. We propose a model based on the actor–partner interdependence model, which assumes both intrapersonal and interpersonal effects, to address simultaneously the effects of one's own and the other's avoidance behavior. We found substantial support for our model, especially for expatriate spouses. As expected, and only for expatriate spouses, avoidance moderated the conflict–adjustment relationship such that both one's own and one's counterpart's avoidance behavior diminished the negative effect of conflicts. Because these effects were observed only at T2 and psychological adjustment decreased from T1 to T2, our research suggests that the impact of expatriation-associated interaction particularly manifests itself in the long run.     

中国跨国公司外派人员多目标主动行为的前因与后果——挑战性-阻碍性压力视角

传统研究强调跨文化多重压力阻碍外派成功, 但相对忽视压力具备的动力作用。该研究基于挑战性-阻碍性压力视角, 遵循“压力-动机-行为-结果”的逻辑框架, 对中国跨国公司外派人员多目标主动行为及结果的产生机制展开研究。依据自我决定理论分析挑战性-阻碍性两种不同属性压力如何通过影响动机和主动行为进而影响外派人员的职业发展、工作绩效及组织绩效的过程, 并根据工作要求-控制模型, 从组织和工作资源两方面识别两种压力影响外派结果的边界条件, 以及跨文化背景下主动行为发挥作用的边界条件。该研究揭示外派主动动机及行为在高不确定性跨文化背景下的价值功效, 可以为中国跨国公司挑选、培训、激励和保留国际化人才提供实践的参考。     

Let it be: expatriate couples' adjustment and the upside of avoiding conflicts

This research examines the moderating effect of conflict avoidance on the relationship between conflict and psychological adjustment among 45 expatriate couples at two points in time. We propose a model based on the actor-partner interdependence model, which assumes both intrapersonal and interpersonal effects, to address simultaneously the effects of one's own and the other's avoidance behavior. We found substantial support for our model, especially for expatriate spouses. As expected, and only for expatriate spouses, avoidance moderated the conflict-adjustment relationship such that both one's own and one's counterpart's avoidance behavior diminished the negative effect of conflicts. Because these effects were observed only at T2 and psychological adjustment decreased from T1 to T2, our research suggests that the impact of expatriation-associated interaction particularly manifests itself in the long run.     

Perceiving expatriate coworkers as foreigners encourages aid: social categorization and procedural justice together improve intergroup cooperation and dual identity

We propose that social categorization can encourage particular forms of intergroup cooperation because it differentiates a group in need from a group that can give aid. Moreover, social categorization is most likely to occur when individuals perceive procedural justice (i.e., fair treatment) from authorities in a superordinate group that includes the individuals' subgroup. Two field studies investigating relations between local and foreign coworkers tested not only this prediction, but also whether high social categorization and procedural justice would yield a dual identity, in which group members identify simultaneously with their social category and the superordinate group. Both studies supported our predictions: Local employees engaged a dual identity and offered knowledge to aid a foreign coworker's adjustment more often when local-foreign categorization and procedural justice from organizational authorities were high than when these variables were low. These discoveries point to controllable mechanisms that enable intergroup cooperation, and our findings have important implications for intergroup aid, expatriate adjustment, immigration, and multiculturalism.     

Does Family Life Help to be a Better Leader? A Closer Look at Crossover Processes From Leaders to Followers

Although research on family‐to‐work processes is accumulating, not many studies have looked at how the leader's family issues spillover to work and what the consequences are for their followers. We investigate whether leaders’ family‐to‐work conflict (FWC) and enrichment (FWE) influence first their own well‐being at work (i.e., job burnout and work engagement) and consequently the well‐being of their followers due to crossover processes. We test whether crossover is due to the transfer of emotions from the leader to followers (affective crossover) or due to diminished or enhanced support from the leader (behavioral crossover). Using a sample of 199 leaders and 456 followers, we found that leader FWC (Time 1) was positively related to leader feelings of burnout 4 weeks later (Time 2), consequently enhancing follower feelings of burnout 5 weeks after Time 1 (Time 3). Similarly, leader FWE had a positive relationship with follower engagement, through leader enhanced engagement. Our findings fully supported the affective crossover mechanism. In addition, leader burnout was negatively related to leader supportive behavior, indirectly increasing burnout among followers. Our results underscore that leaders’ family life matters at work, influencing not only their own well‐being but also how they motivate and support their followers.     

THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS AS PREDICTORS OF EXPATRIATE'S DESIRE TO TERMINATE THE ASSIGNMENT AND SUPERVISOR-RATED PERFORMANCE

Applying the evolutionary theory of personality, this study proposed and tested the hypotheses that each of the Big Five personality characteristics (Extroversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Openness or Intellect) predict two criteria of expatriate success: (a) desire to prematurely terminate the expatriate assignment, and (b) supervisor-rated performance on the expatriate assignment. The participants were 143 expatriate employees (and 94 supervisors) from a U.S.-based information technology company. Results from correlation and regression analyses suggest that Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability are negatively related to whether expatriates desire to terminate their assignment. Conscientiousness is positively related to the supervisor-rated performance on the expatriate assignment. Practical implications for expatriate management (e.g., self-selection) are given.     

Dispositional Affectivity and Work-Related Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis

This study meta-analytically reviews the influence of individuals' dispositional negative affectivity (NA) and positive affectivity (PA) on a broad range of work-related outcomes grouped into 3 categories: (a) work attitudes; (b) workplace experiences; and (c) work behavior. Across cumulative studies, it was found that NA and PA demonstrated significant effects on most of these outcomes. Moreover, we found some interesting differences in NA's and PA's relationships with work outcomes. Specifically, while NA had more influence on variables pertinent to work stressors (e.g., role problems), PA demonstrated a stronger effect on variables related to positive job and organizational context (e.g., job autonomy, procedural justice). Implications for theory advancement and future research in this area are discussed.     

Culture, Society, and the Individual: Cross-Cultural Political Psychology in Japan

Studies of political behavior and attitudes in Japan have often looked to similarities and differences between the West, most notably the U.S., and Japan. This paper details two approaches concerned with examining Japanese social and political behavior within a cross-cultural context. The first—nihonjinron—works with cultural nationalism, which argues that Japanese values are unique and thus no social theory developed in the West can be applied to Japanese society. The second approach is characterized by field studies and tries to assess Japanese social behavior by comparing it to that of Americans and Europeans. There is a great deal of knowledge on political behavior in Western countries which scholars in Japan often refer to in order to evaluate the significance of their survey results. But there is still limited information on the Japanese situation, and any attempt to construct a general theory in either cultural or cross-cultural political psychology will have to refer also to human attitudes in this non-Western industrial society.     

Maternal Socialization Goals,Parenting Styles,and Social-Emotional Adjustment Among Chinese and European American Young Adults: Testing a Mediation Model

The authors compared the associations among perceived maternal socialization goals (self-development, filial piety, and collectivism), perceived maternal parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, and training), and the social-emotional adjustment (self-esteem, academic self-efficacy, and depression) between Chinese and European American young adults. The mediation processes in which socialization goals relate to young adults’ adjustment outcomes through parenting styles were examined. Results showed that European American participants perceived higher maternal self-development socialization goals, whereas Chinese participants perceived higher maternal collectivism socialization goals as well as more authoritarian parenting. Cross-cultural similarities were found in the associations between perceived maternal authoritative parenting and socioemotional adjustment (e.g., higher self-esteem and higher academic self-efficacy) across the two cultural groups. However, perceived maternal authoritarian and training parenting styles were found only to be related to Chinese participants’ adjustment (e.g., higher academic self-efficacy and lower depression). The mediation analyses showed that authoritative parenting significantly mediated the positive associations between the self-development and collectivism goal and socioemotional adjustment for both cultural groups. Additionally, training parenting significantly mediated the positive association between the filial piety goal and young adults’ academic self-efficacy for the Chinese group only. Findings of this study highlight the importance of examining parental socialization goals in cross-cultural parenting research.     

Maternal socialization goals, parenting styles, and social-emotional adjustment among Chinese and European American young adults: testing a mediation model

The authors compared the associations among perceived maternal socialization goals (self-development, filial piety, and collectivism), perceived maternal parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, and training), and the social-emotional adjustment (self-esteem, academic self-efficacy, and depression) between Chinese and European American young adults. The mediation processes in which socialization goals relate to young adults' adjustment outcomes through parenting styles were examined. Results showed that European American participants perceived higher maternal self-development socialization goals, whereas Chinese participants perceived higher maternal collectivism socialization goals as well as more authoritarian parenting. Cross-cultural similarities were found in the associations between perceived maternal authoritative parenting and socioemotional adjustment (e.g., higher self-esteem and higher academic self-efficacy) across the two cultural groups. However, perceived maternal authoritarian and training parenting styles were found only to be related to Chinese participants' adjustment (e.g., higher academic self-efficacy and lower depression). The mediation analyses showed that authoritative parenting significantly mediated the positive associations between the self-development and collectivism goal and socioemotional adjustment for both cultural groups. Additionally, training parenting significantly mediated the positive association between the filial piety goal and young adults' academic self-efficacy for the Chinese group only. Findings of this study highlight the importance of examining parental socialization goals in cross-cultural parenting research.     

Expatriate adjustment: The role of justice and conflict in intimate relationships

Framing expatriation as family relocation, this research examines the influence of perceived justice and conflict on the psychological adjustment of 103 expatriate couples. Based on the actor–partner interdependence model, the proposed model simultaneously addresses effects of justice and conflict on own and partner's outcomes. Supporting the current model, and based on the self‐interest model, distributive justice influenced work‐related task conflict among expatriates and household‐related task conflict among expatriate spouses. Among expatriate spouses, and in line with the group‐value model, fairness perceptions regarding interpersonal treatment influenced both parties' personal conflict. Unanticipated, both parties' distributive justice also influenced personal conflict. Personal conflict negatively affected both parties' psychological adjustment and acted as a mediator in the relationship between distributive justice and psychological adjustment.