International–local remuneration differences across six countries: Do they undermine poverty reduction work?

Despite the rhetoric of a single global economy, professionals in poorer countries continue to be remunerated differently depending on whether they are compensated at a local vs. international rate. Project ADDUP (Are Development Discrepancies Undermining Performance?) surveyed 1290 expatriate and local professionals (response rate = 47%) from aid, education, government, and business sectors in (1) Island Nations (Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands), (2) landlocked economies (Mala?i, Uganda), and (3) emerging economies (India, China). Difference in pay was estimated using purchasing power parity, from the World Bank's World Development Indicators 2007. Psychological measures included self‐reported pay and benefits (remuneration), self‐attributed ability, remuneration comparison, sense of justice in remuneration, remuneration‐related motivation, thoughts of turnover and thoughts about international mobility. We included control measures of candour, culture shock, cultural values (horizontal/vertical individualism/collectivism), personality (from the “big five”), job satisfaction and work engagement. Controlling for these and country (small effects) and organization effects (medium), (a) pay ratios between international and local workers exceeded what were perceived to be acceptable pay thresholds among respondents remunerated locally; who also reported a combination of a sense of relative (b) injustice and demotivation; which (c) together with job satisfaction/work engagement predicted turnover and international mobility. These findings question the wisdom of dual salary systems in general, expose and challenge a major contradiction between contemporary development policy and practice, and have a range of practical, organizational, and theoretical implications for poverty reduction work.     

Remuneration discrepancies in the landlocked economies of Malaŵi and Uganda

Although the original study of remuneration differences between local and expatriate development workers took place in the landlocked economy of Mala?i, the study has never been replicated outside of one sector and organization (the National University), and took place prior to the 2000 Millennium Development Goals. Participating in the present studies were 458 aid and development professionals, working across a range of sectors in Mala?i (n = 241, response rate = 50%) and Uganda (n = 217, response rate = 51%). The size of the gap between local and international workers, measured using the World Bank's purchasing power parity, was higher in Mala?i (4.04:1) than in Uganda (1.97:1). The ratio was more clearly within tolerance levels in Uganda than in Mala?i. Consistent with these differences, and controlling for organization, cultural, and demographic factors, locally remunerated workers reported more and expatriate workers less injustice and demotivation in Mala?i than in Uganda. Although sample sizes for the internationally remunerated are small, the findings suggest that wider disparities may (1) hinder perspective‐taking and (2) decrease motivation. In‐country workshops with stakeholders and subject‐matter experts considered the findings, and potential solutions offered through the survey form. They recommended the implementation of performance‐based remuneration, including competency‐based job analysis and evaluation. Competencies in such functions can be provided by humanitarian work psychology.     

Remuneration disparities in Oceania: Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands

This paper explores the impact of remuneration differences on workers in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. In these countries remunerative differences are linked to government policy (in Papua New Guinea) and job contracts (in the Solomon Islands), and have impacted on industrial relations in both settings (strike action). A total of N = 350 professionals (n = 60 expatriates) from 54 organizations in aid, government, higher education and industry (mean response rate = 36%) responded to an organizational survey form. Remuneration ratios between international and local respondents based on the World Bank's index of purchasing power parity approached 9:1. In both sites staff compared pay and benefits (remuneration) packages: Internationally remunerated staff rated their ability higher than their local counterparts did; locally remunerated groups reported more injustice in remuneration, were more demotivated by the gaps, and were more likely to be thinking about leaving the organization. In-country workshops of N = 40 largely local stakeholders from aid and community organizations plus government ministries considered the survey's findings and recommended: in Solomon Islands, (a) introducing a policy of localization, (b) establishing a remuneration commission (already existent in Papua New Guinea), and (c) reducing the remunerative gap; in Papua New Guinea, (d) reversing the post-Independence "dual pay system" (currently official policy), (e) instituting pay-for-performance, and (f) ensuring the existent localization policy is applied to recruitment, selection, and staff career planning and management.     

Relationships among Organisational Justice Perceptions, Adjustment, and Turnover of United States-Based Expatriates

Expatriate turnover is a potentially expensive problem for organisations. This study examined the process of cognitive evaluation that can result in the formation of turnover intentions. Expatriates from two organisations participated. Results indicated that facets of justice and adjustment interacted to explain turnover intentions. Specifically, when procedural fairness perceptions were low, general adjustment was related to turnover perceptions. Also, assignment satisfaction partially mediated relationships between facets of justice and adjustment and turnover cognitions. Findings are integrated into existing models of expatriate adjustment and turnover cognitions.
La rotation du personnel expatrié revient potentiellement cher aux organisations. Cette étude examine comment le processus d'évaluation cognitive peut avoir comme résultat l'émergence d'intentions de turnover. Des expatriés de deux organisations ont participéà cette étude. Les résultats indiquaient que les aspects de la justice et de l'adaptation interagissaient pour expliquer les intentions de turnover. Plus particulièrement, lorsque les perceptions d'équité procédurale étaient basses, l'adaptation générale était liée aux perceptions de turnover. De plus, la satisfaction de la mission influençait partiellement les relations entre les aspects de la justice, l'adaptation et les cognitions à propos du turnover. Ces résultats ont été intégrés aux modèles existants à propos de l'adaptation des expatriés et des cognitions à propos du turnover.     

Expatriates and Trade

Using unique cross-sectional data on international bilateral migration stocks, I evaluate the contribution to bilateral trade of expatriates from the OECD countries living in less developed economies, and of immigrants from less developed economies located within the OECD. The expatriates' role in trade differs both quantitatively and qualitatively from the role of immigrants. A 10% increase in the size of expatriate community leads to a 0.6% average increase in its OECD country-of-origin imports, as compared to a notably stronger 2.5% impact of immigrants into the OECD countries. Furthermore, unlike in the case of immigrants located within the OECD, the estimates on expatriates' role in exports are not statistically different from zero. The imports-facilitating role of expatriates' networks is centered in host countries with low institutional quality. In economies lying within the lowest third of the institutional quality distribution, a 10% increase in expatriate stock would lead to a 1.7% increase in imports into their country of origin. The study further addresses the hypothesis that bilateral immigrant-driven trade gains might be offset by lower trade volumes with other trade partners. The estimates suggest that despite the consistency with offsetting immigrant-driven shifts in trade flows, the overall net effect of immigrant networks on aggregate trade is still non-negative.     

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.     

Assessing occupational stress, strain, and coping for North American teachers in Kuwait

In this study, differences in levels of occupational stress and strain experienced by North American local (n=24) and expatriate (n=43) teachers working in Kuwait were investigated by married (n=34) and single status (n=31) and by male (n=30) and female (n=47) sex. All teachers self-administered the Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised. No differences appeared among measures of stress or strain between male and female teachers or between married and single teachers. However, locally hired teachers reported higher role insufficiency and interpersonal strain than expatriate teachers. Some significant differences in coping styles also appeared between these groups. None of the measures used revealed any significant correlations between age and years of service.     

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.     

When does priming justice promote forgiveness? On the importance of distributive and procedural justice for self and others

Two studies show that thinking about justice can both enhance and impede forgiveness, depending on whether thoughts about distributive and procedural justice for self and others are activated. In Study 1 (n = 197), participants expressed more forgiveness towards a prior transgressor when primed to think about justice for self or procedural justice for others, and less forgiveness when primed to think about distributive justice for others. Study 2 (n = 231) used an alternate priming method and replicated these effects by inducing an interpersonal transgression and measuring forgiveness intentions, emotions and behavior. Study 2 also showed that priming justice influences forgiveness especially when the perceived severity of an interpersonal offense is high. The current research shows that activating justice cognitions can enhance or impinge on forgiveness in predictable ways. We discuss contributions to emerging justice theory, potential implications, and future directions.     

Problem‐Focused Content in the Job Search: Two Tests of the Cognitive‐Emotional Theory of Esteem Support Messages

The Cognitive‐Emotional Theory of Esteem Support Messages posits that messages intended to enhance recipients' state self‐esteem focus on cognitions and/or behaviors. In the current studies, problem‐focused message content (i.e., content focused on enacting behavior to alleviate the esteem threat) was of particular interest. College students (Study 1, n= 227) applying for postgraduation jobs and unemployed, underemployed, and/or displaced workers recruited from a government one‐stop career center (Study 2, n = 292) rated esteem support messages varying in degree of focus on behaviors vs. cognitions relevant to the job search process. Messages focused on behavior were rated as less effective than those focusing on cognitions relevant to the esteem threat, although support for this result was stronger in Study 2.     

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.     

Contributions of contingencies in modern societies to "privacy" in the behavioral relations of cognition and emotion

The aim of this paper is to examine specific features of modern individualistic societies that contribute to "emotions" and "cognitions" becoming a matter of privacy. Although some behavior analysts identify emotions and cognitions as "private events," we argue with Skinner (1945) that cognitions and emotions are relations among events and that their origin is in public events in the contingencies of reinforcement maintained by other people. Guided by Elias (1939/1996), we suggest that the shift from feudal economies to market economies involved the increasing individualization of society's members. This individualizing process includes the socially maintained contingencies that bring some verbal responses under control of private stimulation and reduce the magnitude of some verbal responses to a covert level. Behavioral relations in which either stimuli or responses (or both) cannot be observed by others set the stage for a concept of "privacy." Changes in societal contingencies that gave rise to individualization and the attribution of privacy to cognitions and emotions are suggested to include the following: (a) increasing frequency of individual consequences that have no apparent or direct relevance to the group; (b) increasing numbers of concurrent contingencies and choice requirements; (c) conflicts between immediate and delayed consequences for the individual; and (d) conflicts between consequences for the individual and for the group.     

Relationship of IQ to suicide and homicide rate: an international perspective

IQs were correlated with the z score of suicide rate minus z score of homicide rate using nine regions of the world--established market economies, formerly socialized Europe, India, China, other Asian nations, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, Middle East Crescent, and the USA. Correlations were .85 and .83 with crude rates and age-adjusted rates, respectively. The homicide findings are consistent with previous research in individual countries showing that less intelligent persons commit homicide more often. However, the present findings of a positive correlation between IQ and suicide rates are the opposite of what has been found in the more definitive studies within countries. Explanations for the apparent paradox and for the findings more generally were offered.     

Identity Distress During the Era of Globalization: A Cross-National Comparative Study of India,China, and the United States

In recent decades, globalization has become a growing concern for developing countries. Eastern countries in particular, who have traditionally adhered to group-focused interests and the development of an interpersonal sense of identity, have endured sweeping changes as Western values, opinions, and attitudes begin to pervade its younger generations. With the ease of connection that technological advances such as the Internet provides, late adolescents and emerging adults must negotiate between adopting an identity that is based on the traditional viewpoints of their local culture and adopting an identity that is consistent with the values of a global culture. In this study, the identity distress reported by 422 late-adolescent college students in India, China, and the United States was compared as it relates to the endorsement of individualistic and collectivistic value systems. Identity distress was found to significantly vary by country, with participants from China and India scoring significantly higher than those in the United States. Collectivism was associated with less identity distress in India and more distress in China. Reasons for this disparity are explored and questions for future research are discussed.     

Selling in an asymmetric retail world: perspectives from India,Russia, and the US on buyer–seller information differential,perceived adaptive selling,and purchase intention

The current research aimed to contribute to our understanding of (a) how adaptive selling is perceived by retail consumers in different types of economies when they have differing levels of buyer–seller information differential and (b) how this phenomenon influences their purchase intention. The focal countries were the US (a developed economy) and India and Russia (both developing economies). These three were selected owing to their disparate economic and cultural contexts. This investigation used a relatively new construct: perceived adaptive selling (PAS). PAS refers to the degree to which the buyer perceives that the salesperson is adapting. The study examined whether the impact of PAS was a function of a country’s level of development and whether such perceptions were influenced by the level of buyer–seller information differential in the retail transaction. The findings suggested that buyers in Russia and India PAS and were influenced by it differently from their US counterparts. This work provided a general framework for understanding tactical implementation of the salesperson’s PAS behavior.     

The role of goal orientation during expatriation: a cross-sectional and longitudinal investigation

Using cross-sectional and longitudinal data from expatriates in China, the authors investigated the roles of general, work, and interaction adjustment, as well as work stress, as mediators between the antecedents (learning, proving, and avoiding goal orientations, and perceived organizational support) and expatriate outcome (job performance and premature return intention) relationships. Results indicated that goal orientations toward overseas assignments had differential relationships with expatriate job performance and premature return intention. In addition, it was found that these relationships were partially mediated by expatriate adjustment facets. Implications for expatriate adjustment research and practice are discussed.     

You can take it with you: individual differences and expatriate effectiveness

The authors report the collaborative efforts of 2 research teams that independently investigated the effects of stable personality traits (the Big Five) and specific behavioral competencies (cultural flexibility, task and people orientations, and ethnocentrism) on key dimensions of expatriate effectiveness: psychological adjustment, assignment withdrawal cognitions, and job performance. Analyses of multiple-source and longitudinal data from 3 studies, including a diverse sample of expatriates in Hong Kong and separate samples of Korean and Japanese expatriates posted around the world, indicate several direct effects of individual differences. Further data show reliable distinctions between the traits and competencies as well as incremental prediction by either set of predictors in the presence of the others.     

U.K. consumers' perceived risk of buying products from emerging economies: A moderated mediation model

Although considerable research has been conducted on consumer attitude towards foreign products, most of these studies focus on the attitude of products from Western developed countries. Our study intends to investigate the effects of consumers' national identification and culture sensitivity on their perceived risk of buying products from Eastern developing countries. Especially, this study advances the literature by identifying the mediation effect of consumer ethnocentrism and the moderating effect of consumer value consciousness. Taking China and India as focal emerging economies, the consumer survey (n = 308) in the United Kingdom produced the following results. First, U.K. consumers' national identification is positively related to their perceived risk of buying Eastern products through consumer ethnocentrism, whereas their cultural sensitivity has a negative relationship. Second, the effect of consumer ethnocentrism on the perceived risk of buying Eastern products is moderated by consumer value consciousness. Third, value consciousness also attenuates the indirect relationships between national identification or cultural sensitivity and perceived risk via consumer ethnocentrism.     

Procedural justice and preferential treatment: A brief review and comment

To put Singer’s (1992) work on relative deprivation and responses to preferential treatment in context, studies from a procedural justice perspective are reviewed. That review suggests that the psychological dynamics of preferential treatment are well accounted for by concepts derived from theories of procedural justice. It is thus argued that, to be parsimonious, Singer’s work is best conceptualized in procedural justice rather than relative deprivation terms.     

An Analysis of Factors Influencing the International Migration of Indian Nurses

Based on our survey conducted in Tamil Nadu, this paper analyses the characteristics of Indian migrant nurses and the factors influencing their migration. India is considered the second largest exporter of nurses after the Philippines. Many Indian nurses have migrated to work in OECD countries, the Gulf countries and some ASEAN countries. While Indian nurses are migrating overseas to fill shortages at their destinations, India has itself been suffering from an acute scarcity of nurses since its independence in 1947. Therefore, the large scale of nurse migration is a serious threat to the Indian healthcare system. The results of the survey imply that international migration by nurses can be explained in part by the gap between the private sector and the public sector in terms of salary and working environment. Since the impact of social status on the migration decisions of nurses has lessened, economic factors are the crucial determinant of international migration of nurses. Policy intervention in this area is the necessary first step to solving this long-standing problem. The priority in any policies formulated should be given to nurses working in the private sector whose salaries are considerably lower than those in the public sector and whose voices are unheard.